10:00 a.m. – On our way to Kilkenny (I’m driving again!), but first, a stop at Blarney Castle. I don’t think any of us expected it to be so wonderful here. The Castle is a huge attraction there once you get past the gates, of course, but it’s also just a ton of beautiful gardens and greenery. There’s walking pathways, little buildings to explore, cafés, and more. We have beautiful weather and we luckily get to the Castle early, so there are no lines to get into the structures. We go right upstairs at the Castle and kiss the Blarney Stone, which is super unsanitary and scary! You have to hang upside-down while a man holds you. We wait in line and are shocked when we see how it works. There’s a bunch of blankets on the ground and a rubber mat for you to lay on, face-up, with your head tilted down towards the castle wall. There are two workers – two men – one who takes your photo with your phone and one who holds your waist as you lean backward and down to kiss the stone. I always thought the stone was more like a Plymouth Rock situation on the ground but no – it’s built into the castle wall and there’s a hole in the ground to let you “down” to where the stone is built into the wall. Imagine if you lay on your back over an open manhole – that’s basically what you’re doing, except not on your stomach, only on your back so you can stretch your back downwards down the hole to kiss the stone that’s opposite the wall you’re laying on. Almost like a backbend? It’s so hard to explain and very scary since you’re like four stories up! There are metal bars about five feet down but I mean… what if you fall!? I’m short, so I could barely reach the stone and I don’t trust the man to grip my waist tight enough as he lowers me down. T. starts a rumor that I “licked” the stone instead, but it’s untrue! I definitely kissed it. (And wiped my mouth with hand sanitizer afterward. The men “clean” the stone after every few people but, ew. Still worth it.)