Andrew, Simon and I climbed to the top of Blarney Castle to kiss the Blarney Stone. It would be more accurate to say that we queued up Blarney Castle. The queue snaked its way up a teeny-tiny, narrow spiral staircase and along the battlements.

The whole process is a bit like a production line. You sit down on the ground, there is an attendant who holds on to your waist as you lean back over the castle wall to kiss the stone. Queueing takes an hour; kissing the Blarney stone, over in a few seconds. Thousands of people do this during the high season. Apparently they disinfect the stone a few times a day.

The legend goes that those who kiss the Blarney stone are bestowed with the gift of eloquence. I was a little worried for Simon as he kissed the stone. Simon is well known for his ability to talk to anyone about anything. He's already well endowed with the Gift of the Gab. Maybe the stone takes as well as gives. I shouldn't have worried. Simon is still as verbal as ever.



This post is part of the Paddywagon series. We did a 6-day tour around Ireland with Paddywagon. It was grand; the craic was great. This is the first entry from that trip.