Day 9

Mallow, County Cork

Ireland

I am back at that expensive Internet cafe, but because I bought a meal they are giving me a bit of a break.

In case you were curious, I did have soup again. This time it was cream of mushroom. I've had so much soup in Ireland that I'm thinking of titling my travel memoir Adventures In Soup. If only that had a nice ring to it. ;)

The past few days have been quite eventful. I got over my hip pain and immediately went to explore as much as I could.

On Wednesday, I took a train into Cork. I had never been there and I had no map. I was only armed with the little bit that I had read in my guidebook. Once at Kent Station, not knowing where I was in proximity to the city centre, I just kind of followed the people around me in the general direction they were going. To my extreme delight, they all headed to the bus station.

As I went inside, I looked up at the big board that shows destinations and departure times and I had that first delicious moment where I realized that I could go anywhere and for any reason, based on pure whimsy. Of course I had an idea the night before that I was going to trek to Blarney. It seemed as though it would be completely remiss to be in Ireland and not go. I am so glad I did.

Blarney is located about 6km from Cork so the bus ride was very short. As I was standing in line to board, I noticed this man from Texas. How did I know he was from Texas, you ask? Well, he was completely decked out in the burnt orange regalia that is unique to the biggest state in the union. From his baseball cap to his sweatshirt to his watch...full on Texas, baby. He was an older man and was extremely robust in his manner and cadence. He too was traveling alone, and having that in common, I couldn't help but tune into his mannerisms. Unlike me, he spoke to EVERYONE. He even cast a spell on a British couple as he described the hot weather and hotter nights in east Texas. It was kind of awesome.

As we arrived in Blarney, there were many, many more Americans there to share in the experience of kissing the stone. I'll venture to say that about 85% of the people there were from the States. I found that odd, only because it didn't fit in with my expectations, but I am quickly learning that the less expectations I have about anything, the better. 

The grounds surrounding the Blarney castle were staggeringly beautiful. As I made my way up the path to the castle in the distance, I walked across a creek, was adjacent to a bog, and gazed upon a beautiful, grand pasture in the distance. It felt strange and wonderful to be there by myself, and I wanted so badly to lean over to a nearest and dearest to ask if they had ever seen anything like this before in their life? I felt moments where I needed to bounce everything I was seeing off of someone else, so I could have the barometer of another's reactions to gauge my own. Not having that opportunity though, enabled something else to happen. More on that in a sec.

I climbed the extremely narrow steps up through the middle of the castle, and once at the top, I was rewarded with the most breathtaking view. Honestly, words would just not do it justice. This is a beautiful, glorious country and that view afforded me a little bit of everything I have found wonderful about Ireland.

I walked the circumference of the parapet and made my way to the spot where millions of others before me have kissed the magical stone that bestows upon them the power of eloquence. But alas, the two men working there were having tea and I had to wait a few moments while they finished.

While I was sitting with the sun on my face and the cool wind whipping through my hair, East Texas strolled up. He walked past me up to the two lunching Irishmen.

"Mind if I interrupt y'all? I want to kiss that stone."

"In a bare minute, Paddy. We're having a break. Thanks a million."

East Texas' eyes got a little big, and he turned back toward me. "I assume that's why you're waiting here, miss"

I shrugged and smiled. "I didn't want to interrupt."

Once they were finished, I was beckoned forward and told to lay on my back. (Thankfully I had also read about this in my guidebook and was somewhat mentally prepared for the ensuing awkward position.) Once I was on my back, I grabbed two metal bars fastened to the castle wall above me, and I then had to slide further backwards, so that the upper half of my body was suspended upside down, while one of the Irishmen held me around the waist. I then leaned forward and kissed the stone in front of me. (The sound of my lips smacking against the cold stone reverberated in my head for hours afterwards.)

Feeling a little giddy and even a bit more foolish (but totally not caring), I walked down more ridiculously narrow steps back to the bottom and took a walk through the woods. Once among the foliage and greenery, I had a very strange, kind of out of body experience. For a quick moment, I was able to step outside myself and see everything that was surrounding me with my body in it, and I was rocked by sheer disbelief that I was where I was at that moment. It felt honestly unreal to be there and like it was happening to someone else. I tried to connect my body that was standing there with the one that was one the outside looking in, and for a few seconds I couldn't.

It felt as if I was exactly where I was supposed to be at that exact moment, and my perception had to be knocked sideways to realize it.

It was nuts.

And fabulous.

More soon.

xo.