As we wrap up week 3, there is a lot to look back on, continuing to explore Dublin. This past week, we attended a fairy storytelling, got a great dinner at the Royal Merchant, attended the Blarney and Cahir castle. Saturday was a very eventful day learning about different castles, and how they were used in history.
After work on Thursday, I was planning on catching the 77A bus to head towards city centre, but that did not go as planned. As I was waving the bus down, the bus switched it’s sign to “out of service”, so I had to come up with a different plan. I had to either order a taxi, or walk the 1.3 miles. I ended up walking because it was a nice day out, and got see most of city centre. I arrived at Stags Head 30 minutes early, so I decided to walk around downtown a little bit. When it was time to go in, I was amazed at the size of this pub, having 3 floors, with even a wedding reception happening on the top floor. I got a drink, and headed downstairs for the storytelling. I had no prior knowledge of the fairies, so I was really intrigued going into it. The narrator was very knowledgable, and gave us various stories that helped us understand fairies a little bit better. The main takeaway I have from the stories was to never mess with fairy fortes, as you will have bad fortunes for the rest of your life.
We followed the storytelling by a great dinner at the Royal Merchant. We arrived at the place a little early, so they weren’t as prepared as they would have hoped, but that was no problem. We has 3 great courses, and enjoyed each others company. My favorite part of the meal was the stuffed chicken, as it was moist and easy to eat.
Fast forward 2 days, it was time to head to the famous Blarney Castle. But before we went to the Rock of Cashel. We were on our own for this part, and we explored what this castle had to offer. One thing that we noticed were the graves inside, and the beautiful landscape surrounding it. Then we headed towards the Blarney Castle, right outside of Cork. There was a long que, but after 90 minutes of waiting, we made it to the Rock. When kissing it, you laid flat on your back, holding onto the railings. I was further away than anticipated, and had to lean back to kiss the bottom rock. After that, we quickly got some food before heading back on the bus.
