Blarney Castle & Killarney (day 11)

Today we set out for Killarney and Blarney Castle getting fun facts along the way.  In Ireland if you are caught speeding you get an 80 euro fine, and a minimum of 2 penalty points on your driving record.  If you get 12 in a year you loose your license.   If you are caught drinking and driving you are arrested on the spot, held overnight, see the judge and loose your license for a minimum of 2 years and pay a fine.  If you are caught driving without a license  you go in front of the judge, pay a very large fine and spend time in prison.

All the road signs are done in both English and Gaelic.

Also learned that license plates stay with the vehicle.  The first two digit of the license plate indicate the year the care was registered, the letter indicates the county the car was registered in and the remaining digits are unique to the vehicle and are stamped on the engine block.  The county is also written across the top of the plate in Gaelic.

Also, learned hedgerows (hawthorne bushes) to divide property for a couple of reasons.  First, because animals won’t go through bushes with thorns on it and second because small animals live in them.  The government will also pay property owners for keeping the hedgerows up and trimmed.

Homes here  are generally made of some form of stone because of the wet weather.  Roofs are made of slate or tile and there are no basements.  Again because of the wet weather.  They build garages but never used for their cars.  As our guide said they are used to store extra junk that they keep.

St. Patrick I learned was a slave boy that was kidnapped from Wales and brought to Ireland.  It was said that god spoke to him and told him to escape Ireland.  He did and learned Christianity.  Ireland celebrates St. Patrick’s day with a week long festival.

Finally stopped at the Blarney Castle and the woolen mills.  We walked up to the castle and got to actually walk through the castle.  You can get an idea of what the floor plan used to be like.  Kind of funny to look up at a wall in the air and see a fireplace sitting there.  We walked up one tower to get to the battlements (top of the castle).  The stairs were very narrow and very steep.  It was fun to be able to walk through but a little discomforting to be up that high.  We walked around the top, past the Blarney stone (no, I did not lay down on my back to kiss a rock) and down another stone staircase.  My legs felt like jello when we were finished, but I have to say that was extremely fun.  Next, we went into the woolen mills.  Didn’t buy anything because the prices are very expensive.