Today we set out for Killarney and Blarney Castle getting fun facts along the way.\u00a0 In Ireland if you are caught speeding you get an 80 euro fine, and a minimum of 2 penalty points on your driving record.\u00a0 If you get 12 in a year you loose your license.\u00a0\u00a0 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.\u00a0 If you are caught driving without a license\u00a0 you go in front of the judge, pay a very large fine and spend time in prison.<\/p>\n
All the road signs are done in both English and Gaelic.<\/p>\n
Also learned that license plates stay with the vehicle.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 The county is also written across the top of the plate in Gaelic.<\/p>\n
Also, learned hedgerows (hawthorne bushes) to divide property for a couple of reasons.\u00a0 First, because animals won’t go through bushes with thorns on it and second because small animals live in them.\u00a0 The government will also pay property owners for keeping the hedgerows up and trimmed.<\/p>\n
Homes here\u00a0 are generally made of some form of stone because of the wet weather.\u00a0 Roofs are made of slate or tile and there are no basements.\u00a0 Again because of the wet weather.\u00a0 They build garages but never used for their cars.\u00a0 As our guide said they are used to store extra junk that they keep.<\/p>\n
St. Patrick I learned was a slave boy that was kidnapped from Wales and brought to Ireland.\u00a0 It was said that god spoke to him and told him to escape Ireland.\u00a0 He did and learned Christianity.\u00a0 Ireland celebrates St. Patrick’s day with a week long festival.<\/p>\n
Finally stopped at the Blarney Castle and the woolen mills.\u00a0 We walked up to the castle and got to actually walk through the castle.\u00a0 You can get an idea of what the floor plan used to be like.\u00a0 Kind of funny to look up at a wall in the air and see a fireplace sitting there.\u00a0 We walked up one tower to get to the battlements (top of the castle).\u00a0 The stairs were very narrow and very steep.\u00a0 It was fun to be able to walk through but a little discomforting to be up that high.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 My legs felt like jello when we were finished, but I have to say that was extremely fun.\u00a0 Next, we went into the woolen mills.\u00a0 Didn’t buy anything because the prices are very expensive.<\/p>\n
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