Irelands Best Castle
Blarney Castle
Our morning began by being served breakfast by our gracious Airbnb host and her family. They served us scones and breakfast tea. After breakfast we journeyed to Blarney Castle. Blarney Castle was built more than 600 years ago, and is most famous for its Blarney Stone. It is said that if you kiss the stone that you will be endowed with eloquence in word and in writing. Aside from the castle, you can also tour the castle gardens. There is a wide variety of flora to explore including a poison garden, bog garden, and some woodlands. Blarney House is also worth checking out. Blarney House is a Scottish Baronial mansion that was built in 1874. All in all, we spent about half a day at Blarney Castle, and it was the highlight of this region for me.
Tip: Get there early to beat the crowds. Blarney Castle can get busy during peak tourist season. We did not have any problems with crowds because we were in Ireland during the shoulder season. If you want to save money on flights and expenses, then I recommend traveling during the shoulder seasons.
Cobh
After spending the morning exploring Blarney Castle, we then made our way to Cobh. This town is best known for being the last port of harbor for the Titanic. The main reason I went to Cobh was to get a picture of the famous Deck of Cards, a row of colorful houses. You can get great pictures of the Deck of Cards by walking the street that runs parallel to it and straddling a stone fence to get an elevated picture. Make sure to include St. Colman’s Cathedral in your photo for a nice backdrop. After snapping some photos of the Deck of Cards we made our way down to the Cathedral. The Cathedral is massive, standing over 300 feet tall. Check out the interior to see even more impressive architecture. After checking out the port and walking around Cobh a bit more, we then made our way to Cork.
Cork
We walked along Oliver Plunkett Street, as this is the main center of activity for the city. We then made our way to the English Market to grab some dinner. Cork is known as the food capital of Ireland, so make sure to do your research and find out the best places to eat for you. After eating dinner, we then made our way to Killarney, excited about discovering one of Ireland's most beautiful national parks.
