A YEAR IN MY LIFE ( or 3 ): THE GIFT OF THE GAB (or kissing the blarney stone)

This is the last post that i will be doing on this particular blog site. A year in my life that turned into 3 and got extended to 4 has come to an end..... i will be flying home on Saturday! I am ending this chapter in my life the same way i started it, on the spur of the moment. I quit my job, packed up all my belongings and booked a flight for home....all within a week! I am leaving this country with no visa (expired on the 9th of April) just as i entered it.....with no visa!

Since i wasn't flying home until the 17th of April and having finished everything and moved out of my apartment on the 30th of March, i decided to do a little more exploring of Ireland. So with my Irishman in tow, we decided to explore his neck of the woods! Co. Cork and Co. Tipperary.....what better way than with your own personal tour guide!

First stop: The Blarney Stone. They say that if you kiss the Blarney Stone, you will be blessed with the gift of the gab!!! My friends laughed at this as they said that i did not need it, oh well. The actual stone is on the top of Blarney Castle and the only way you can reach is is by basically hanging upside down and craning your neck! It's a long drop down if you miss.

Next on our slow tour was the English Market in Cork city. It's the best market i have seen in Ireland!! We picked up lots of goodies to take back to our hotel as dinner was not till 8:45. Back at our hotel we dived in and devoured cheese, pate, chorizo, olives and sundried tomatoes. Being Good Friday, no alcohol is served or bought anywhere in Ireland and i was mad that i had not thought sooner and brought a bottle with us. There were signs posted all over the hotel stating this but to our surprise.......you could order a drink with your meal! Guess signs were for legal reasons.

The next day found us on the very wind swept Rock of Cashel. Most people search the whole area for the "Rock". What they don't realize is that the castle is actually built on the "Rock". It's more of a monastery that was finally abandoned do to the very harsh weather conditions. Yup, it was windy and cold......just glad i had not packed away my down jacket as i think i wore it for most of the trip!

We drove on to Mitchelstown Caves. Very cool subterranean caves with some of the Europe's best stalagmites and stalactites. No photography allowed i'm sad to say..........but they do hold the odd concert in here and the acoustics are amazing. We did an impromptu round robin song that sounded pretty good.

That night we stayed in an old lodge in the Glen of Aherlow at the base of the Galtee Mountains. What a beautiful view from our room........they were covered in snow and with the sun shining on them......incredible. With Brendan growing up in this area, he pointed out lots of interesting things along the way. After breakfast the next day, it was off to his home town of Cahir and Easter dinner with his Mom and Dad, brother, sister in-law and a gaggle of kids. Fun and alot of laughs with a trip to the park with the 2 youngest ones.......the twins weren't interested in joining us.

Our final day (easter monday) was spent walking the grounds of Cahir Castle. Built in the 13th century for the Butler family.....the last surviving member died in 1961, the castle then became part of the state and major restorations took place. The Butler family got it's name because a butler who worked for the king made it big and changed his last name to Butler! Hahahaha. Turns out alot of names were conceived in this way.......it all depended on the job you did! As a teenager, Brendan once played here in a concert with his Clarinet!

Not far from the castle is the Swiss Cottage, built in the 1800's by the family. Some say it is where the men of the house kept their mistresses but it was actually a hunting and fishing getaway from the everyday life of running a Castle. We entered the same way the servants did back then.......through an underground tunnel that led to the kitchens. That way, the guests never had to be annoyed by comings and goings of the lower class staff!

This was such a great way to wind up my time here in Ireland........a wonderful slow journey through an area of Ireland that i had yet to explore with the best tour guide you could have.

So, it is a bitter sweet goodbye for me, leaving all my friends behind. It has been an incredible journey, one that i will always remember and one that i will never regret. But something tells me that i will be back!