Day 7 - June 17th
June 17th - Dunmore Cave and Blarney Stone
Today we had to get up early, because we had a car drive up to Dunmore cave. It wasn’t that long, only around an hour and a half, so we decided to take a car instead of a train or bus. We rented a car instead of taking a taxi, since we knew were going to be in that part of Ireland for a couple of days. Everyone voted for Emily to drive, and she reluctantly did, even though all she wanted to do was go back to sleep. The car ride was peaceful overall, and we soon made it to the cave.
Dunmore Cave - Nature
We were almost to the cave when Hanna tripped, but she got up like nothing happened, and the group continued to the entrance. We got to the entrance and paid our 5 euros to get in (which is about $5.90 USD). The next available tour was in fifteen minutes, so everyone just walked around the gift shop to see what they could potentially buy. Hannah, being Hannah, was reading all the brochures on how to stay safe in the cave. She thought a rock might break and the whole cave would collapse, trapping everyone in the cave forever. The tour guide returned with the previous group and everyone in our group got prepared for the adventure.
We walked into the cave and down a flight of stairs to get further. The cave was stunning, filled with beautiful rock formations that seemed almost impossible, but at the same time, were real. We walked past greenish pillars of rock and reddish stalagmites that were almost touching the ceiling. In some places, the rock looked like a liquid frozen in the middle of its flow. Leah pulled out her phone, taking pictures of almost everything, while the tour guide educated us on the history of the cave and how the rocks were formed into the shaped that they were. As we walked through the cave, the tour guide told us to duck below a low hanging rock, but Joseph wasn't paying attention, so he walked straight into the rock. Hannah briefly worried that Joseph would cause the whole cave to collapse from hitting it too hard, but that obviously didn’t happen, and the cave was fine.Continuing on the tour, we walked past some crystals that grew in the cave and an underwater lake. We were soon led back to the entrance, and as the light from the sky started showing, we turned around to say bye to the cave.
After we were let out, we went back to the gift shop. Joseph bought a few colorful crystals that he thought would look good as a desk ornament, and Hanna bought a T-shirt to remember this place. The tour had taken up around half of our day so we all agreed to get lunch at a local restaurant named Petronella Restaurant and Cafe that served Irish delicacies. Together, we ordered a huge chicken to share and individual raspberry chocolate delights. We ate our food pretty fast, since walking around the cave and driving had made us pretty hungry.
Blarney Stone - History
The next stop on the list was the Blarney Stone, a stone that, if you kiss it, is said to give you eloquence and persuasiveness. We all thought it would be a fun and exotic thing to do, so we hurried to get to the stone. Everyone, except Hannah, who had researched the place, thought it would be just a simple stone. That simple stone turned out to be at the top of a huge tower, and you have to lean back over it to reach and kiss the stone. Leah and Joseph got scared, even though there was protection, that they would fall out from the tower. Emily, Hannah, and Hanna thought it would be fun and risky.
We got to the front desk and paid the entrance fee, which was 14 euros each ($82.60 total). The lines were very long and we thought that we'd be there for hours, but it ended up going pretty fast and taking us only 30 minutes. We got to the top of the tower, and Leah and Joseph were shaking, both because of how cold and windy it was and because of how high up we were. Hannah was also nervous, but it was because she was worried that she's catch a disease from the other people kissing the stone. When it was about to be Joseph's turn, he almost quit, but Emily reminded him that this costed money, and she didn't want to have him waste it. First Hanna went, then Emily. Leah, Joseph, and Hannah kept switching places so they didn’t have to go but Leah ended up going, then Joseph, then Hannah. The only thing that we ended up feeling after kissing the the stone was the taste of slightly moist rock, which didn't make us feel very eloquent. It was fun anyways, and we decided to stay around to get a little tour of the place and its history.
After the tour, we went back to the hotel to get a little sleep and just hang around. Those few hours turned into many hours, and it ended up being pretty late when we woke up. We all felt great after our naps, and we went out for some dinner near the hotel. We agreed on a place close called The Nook. Everyone ordered some sandwiches and we ate them up pretty quickly after that nap. After dinner, we went back to the hotel and called it a night. We hope that tomorrow's adventure will be just as fun as today was.
Blarney Stone - History
The next stop on the list was the Blarney Stone, a stone that, if you kiss it, is said to give you eloquence and persuasiveness. We all thought it would be a fun and exotic thing to do, so we hurried to get to the stone. Everyone, except Hannah, who had researched the place, thought it would be just a simple stone. That simple stone turned out to be at the top of a huge tower, and you have to lean back over it to reach and kiss the stone. Leah and Joseph got scared, even though there was protection, that they would fall out from the tower. Emily, Hannah, and Hanna thought it would be fun and risky.
We got to the front desk and paid the entrance fee, which was 14 euros each ($82.60 total). The lines were very long and we thought that we'd be there for hours, but it ended up going pretty fast and taking us only 30 minutes. We got to the top of the tower, and Leah and Joseph were shaking, both because of how cold and windy it was and because of how high up we were. Hannah was also nervous, but it was because she was worried that she's catch a disease from the other people kissing the stone. When it was about to be Joseph's turn, he almost quit, but Emily reminded him that this costed money, and she didn't want to have him waste it. First Hanna went, then Emily. Leah, Joseph, and Hannah kept switching places so they didn’t have to go but Leah ended up going, then Joseph, then Hannah. The only thing that we ended up feeling after kissing the the stone was the taste of slightly moist rock, which didn't make us feel very eloquent. It was fun anyways, and we decided to stay around to get a little tour of the place and its history.After the tour, we went back to the hotel to get a little sleep and just hang around. Those few hours turned into many hours, and it ended up being pretty late when we woke up. We all felt great after our naps, and we went out for some dinner near the hotel. We agreed on a place close called The Nook. Everyone ordered some sandwiches and we ate them up pretty quickly after that nap. After dinner, we went back to the hotel and called it a night. We hope that tomorrow's adventure will be just as fun as today was.
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