Irish Road Trip Begins!

With Finn on the dashboard, our GPS fixed in place and the trunk of our rented Hyundai i30 packed tightly with all our bags we set of south out of Dublin towards Cork. Straight away we were so happy we'd made the decision to rent a GPS for the trip as we were confused by the roads and going the wrong way within five minutes! Unfortunately insurance is extremely expensive for anyone under the age of twenty five, so Mat was our sole driver, so Sam was the self assigned co-pilot and navigator, and Katrina and I were the support team in the back :) After we managed to make our way out of the city we were met with the rolling green hills and farms, seperated into neat squares by dark lines of bush with horses, cows and sheeps scattered across the landscape. It was quite windy and it was almost calming to watch the wind sweep  through the grass on and on for miles. We had a quick stop for lunch in Cashel before heading on down to Cork. It's very strange being able to drive for three hours and almost cover the entire length of a country when in Australia three hours won't even get you out of NSW! It was nice to be able to get to a number of places so quickly, considering the short amount of time we had to do it all.

Arriving in Cork we checked in to Sheila's Hostel just on the outskirts of the city centre. We only had the late afternoon and night in Cork so wanted to make the most of our time there. The reception desk at the hostel suggested that we check out the Food Markets in town if anything, so we went for a wander down there. They were great to look around, in terms of the range of meats, fish, vegetables, fruits etc set up in a small market place packed with people - I thought the place was so colourful and vibrant. However considering how lucky we are in Australia in terms of what fresh produce etc is available for us it wasn't overly exciting. I'm glad we had a look though. We did pick up some dinner to cook when we got back to the hostel and I got some sweet chilli chicken kebabs with vegetables which were delicious!

We had a quiet night as Mat and Katrina weren't feeling very well due to various stomach bugs so we just spent some time at the hostel. Our room was fairly average, with ten bunks but not much room anywhere else for bags etc but we were quite tired so all slept alright! We had an interruption during the night when a drunk girl thought our room was her room and followed one of our room mates in after he went to the toilet. Eventually one of the Irish guys in our room persuaded her to leave after she started getting aggressive and we all managed to get back to sleep. We checked out around eight thirty and set off for Blarney Castle to kiss the stone!

I've been to Blarney Castle once before and it's such a beautiful place. It's about a twenty minute drive from Cork so we arrived quite early while there wasn't many people. The gardens are so green and lucious, and because there weren't many people the only noise was the creek whispering past and a slight rush of the wind through the trees. It's a gorgeous walk up to the castle, especially in the morning sun. Reaching the castle you can start crawling/walking/ducking into the different stone pathways and tunnels on the outside of the castle. It's quite eerie when you get deep inside, water dripping through and writings on the walls. Wandering up to the entrance there are great views of the castle from the ground where I took some photographs. You then get to wander through all the rooms of the castle such as where the kitchen, dining hall, bedrooms etc used to be. Obviously the main attraction of Blarney Castle is kissing the Blarney Stone. Legend has it that if you kiss the stone you gain eloquence. To kiss the stone you have to lie down on your back, hold onto the bars behind you and lean backwards and down over a gap in the castle wall so you can see the ground way below. It's safe though, there are bars no one could fit through should they fall and a man who sits there holding your legs and talking you through it. We heard on Hamish and Andy's podcast that he has been there for about six years, and sees about 500,000 people kiss the stone a year. What a funny job and what a lucky stone! We all had a go before taking so beautiful shots of the country surrounding the castle from the high levels. After we left the castle, we had a frolic in the grass before heading into the town to have some breakfast.

Next stop - Killarney! Peter, the lovely Irish man at the front desk in Dublin suggested we stay at a hostel called Sugan in the town centre. It was the coolest little place! Bright colours on the outside and a warm, cluttered but cosy feeling inside. There was one employee who met us at the door who was so relaxed. For example he explained; "Check out is at ten, but by ten I mean anytime between nine and eleven, if you get what I mean." We were lucky enough to get a ten bunk room all to ourselves as well so after having a wander around and a picnic in the Killarney Gardens which had beautiful views of the mountains we had a nap in the afternoon. We loved this little place, would recommend it to anyone! 

We considered a night out but were due to drive The Ring of Kerry peninsula the next day so once again had an early one, we were just so busy during the day we had no energy for the nights! Plus early mornings meant we needed to feel fresh. Slept well ready for the big drive the next day. So far loving Ireland!