We were granted a beautiful, sunny day in Cobh, Ireland. The captain made the decision to bypass Dublin due to stormy seas, so the passengers were especially anxious to get to Cobh, (pronounced “cove,”) which is famous for being the last port at which the Titanic stopped. If I tell you there was transportation to Cork, Ireland, can you guess what I did?
“Here, on the top, exists the wondrous stone,
Which to the tongue imparts that soft’ning tone;
Its high pretensions are acknowledged wide,
And with the nation ‘tis identified:
Nor can its long-established fame subside
Throughout the world, till tongues themselves have died;
But this strange feature multitudes have got
Who know no other of this charming spot.”
-Hogan 1842
I kissed the Blarney Stone, of course! Busloads of people from all over the world file in to hike up the spiral, cobbled stairs of the famed Blarney Castle, slide down onto their backs and arch backward and upside down (as is necessary to gain the Gift of Eloquence) and kiss the stone. They actually have 2 guys stationed there to hold you from falling into the metal bars separating you from the plunge to the ground. What a thrill!
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