The Eagle Has Landed ... And So Have We

And those were the first words said to me by my parents as they got off the plane in Dublin. That's right, it is family week in Ireland. The sibling and fiancee came the next day and we all met up in Cork in Sunday.

It's been a lot of fun to hang out with all of them and go touring.
We did the Blarney Stone on Monday which was neat because last time I went I was 3 and don't remember it. I learned one crucial fact about myself. I don't mind heights... however climbing up to them in dark enclosed stairs that get progressively narrow the higher you go does kinda freak me out a little bit. Fun castle fact: they design the stairs so if you are right handed with a sword charging up the stairs you would keep banging it against the wall, and the right handed person coming down would have the advantage. This mind you is after you make it into the castle where they would have random holes where they would pour boiling water on unwelcome visitors. Brings a whole new meaning to the term warm welcome...

Anyway we reached the top where we had a good time quoting Monty Python Holy Grail lines back and forth to each other. See the below scene. The brother and I can recite word for word. Only me and the brother kissed the stone. It's actually a little nervewracking how far back you have to lean. Blarney is also interesting for it's Poison Garden. Someone decided to make a garden full of poisonous points as a method of education. So it has Wormwood, and Cannabis and Belladonna and other such fun plants which will wreak all kinds of havoc if ingested.



After Blarney, we went to Jameson. So now I am a certified whiskey taster X 2. I wish I could somehow put that on my resume but somehow I feel like that is not what my future employer will be looking for. Call it a hunch. The next day we went to St. Finbarre's Cathedral, and the Butter Museum. Everyone may not have been enthralled with the Butter Museum as I was but all were glad that they went. However we did discover the song featured below and it's a gem. Who knew that was the secret to a faithful husband?



We also checked out St. Anne's Cathedral because St. Finbarre's is actually not Catholic. Yesterday we met up after class and went to a bar called An Spailpin Fananc. I have no idea how to pronounce it but it played Irish music and I even recognized some of the songs like "Whiskey In the Jar" and "Wild Rover." It was a lot of fun. Anyway it's been kind of a whirlwind week and still continuing...