Many of you(some?) already know that I have family in the south of Ireland, in Cork. Usually when I visit my big brother - we go for a long walk with the whole bunch of us. We usually choose parks or woods - because we feel best there. Away from all people:)

But not this time. Kids stayed at home, so we had a smaller group than usual and a bit more room to manoeuvre. So we went to see Blarney Castle (Irish: Caisleán na Blarnan).

This is a medieval fortress located in the town of Blarney, near Cork.
Although earlier fortifications were built on the same site, the present fortress was built by the MacCarthy of Muskerry dynasty, and dates from 1446. The Blarney famous stone is among the machicolations of the castle.

I admit that I found it really hard to believe that people actually kiss the stone to improve their eloquence... but about that - later:)

The castle surroundings themselves are beautiful - not only you can find ponds, streams, glades, meadows and massive trees - you can walk here all day and not hit the same spot twice. On the top of that - there are the beautiful gardens - including the so-called 'Poison Garden'.

Identifying plants and herbs used to be an extremely important skill. Knowledge of this kind could mean to be or not to be. Some plants could provoke vomiting or upset the stomach, but others - such as belladonna (Lilly of the Valey) if used incorrectly - could lead to death.

And as for the castle itself - the building isn’t very different from the other castles of the same period. What interested me most - were the engravings and inscriptions carved into the plaster. 'Earl's bedroom' stood out very much from the other rooms for this very reason. The chamber looked like something out of a modern horror film. The dim light coming through the narrow windows showed a terrifying interior that had been vandalised for years or even centuries. Where do people get this need to leave an engraved 'I was here'?

Remember the scene in 'The Shawshank Redemption' - when Brooks carved his name before deciding to end his life?

It always makes me wonder what drives people who leave behind mutilated trees or ‘inscribed’ bus stops. And at the same time - when I walked into Earl's 'bedroom' - I couldn't get enough of looking at the walls so 'decorated'.

The place was overwhelming and the air was thick with history and memories. I wonder what it was like in its heyday?

To breathe a little - we climbed the winding, slippery steps to the very top of the building - where we could have the honour of kissing the famous 'stone'. This is a task for the brave or an idiot - you have to lie on your back, grab the metal railing, lean back and kiss the stone from underneath. Not only that - you get a certificate at the end.

A paper proving that you are a complete loser. No, thanks.

But the views - beautiful. A place worth seeing, highly recommended to everyone. But mind you - take good shoes, it is extremely slippery on the way up!