castles and kissing

We visited several castles while in Ireland.

It’s easy to do.

They are in nearly every town and around every corner.

We stayed at some.

We just visited and toured others.

The castle we stayed at that we loved most was Dromoland Castle Hotel & Country Estate.

It is beautiful in all aspects and the staff is exceptional.

Our only regret was not staying there more than one night.

The castle that we most enjoyed visiting and touring most was the Blarney Castle House & Gardens. If you visit Cork, make sure to leave time in your itinerary to go and visit this medieval stronghold! This castle is one of Cork’s most popular tourist attractions, which is probably why most hotels in Cork get booked up quickly.

And to our surprise, the Blarney Stone itself is atop the castle. I had known that one had to get into a precarious position to kiss the stone, but I did not know it was at the top of a castle.

This was the queue we stood in, after climbing the more than 100 narrow and winding stairs to get to the top.

And here is Connor, kissing the stone. There is an attendant there to help get you in position and then hold you when you tip your head back to kiss.

Our conclusion?

Castles are Brilliant!

A pair of swam parents and their cygnets at Dromoland Castle.