The gift of eloquence can be yours at the simple price of a trip to the beautiful Blarney Castle and a death defying lean off the castle wall to kiss the Blarney stone. About 50 feet up in the open air is the Blarney Stone. It is rumored if you kiss the stone you with be get the gift of gab. A long standing tradition and almost joke in Blarney Ireland leads thousands of tourists each each to Blarney. A tiny town outside of Cork, Blarney is one of the most beautiful places I visited while living in Ireland.
We stayed at the International Youth Hostel in Cork and got two bunks in a shared dorm. The hostel was fine, but do not opt to lock your bags up for the day if you want to travel around the city before leaving. We almost missed our bus because no one was on duty for 3 hours while we waited for them to unlock the room they had put our bags in. The room was on the cheap side maybe 10 to 15 euro per night and the hostel was nothing special. It was clean, but noisy and they were not that friendly. Some of our friends stayed on the other side of Cork at Bru Hostel, the town is small within an hour to walk around most of the city, and they had a wonderful experience and a busy pub attached downstairs. That hostel is very new, clean and was completely packed full of young tourists wanting to have a good time. It runs about 15 euro and up a night.
alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5592128002812232882" />Cork hold on the most important prisons from the famine and the 1916 uprising. There is tons of history rooted in the Cork City Goal and they have a great self guided tour which is really information and you can go at your own pace. The jail is surprisingly very pretty, but the individual prisoners stories are heartbreaking You don't need a ton of time to visit Cork, but there are many surrounding attractions which you might want to take a look into. Cobh is very close and has an array of historical sites and a famous port. Waterford is a lovely town which is on the way either to or from Dublin. Waterford is known for some of the nicest crystal in the world. Blarney is a short bus ride from Cork and you will need a day to devote to seeing Blarney. You can walk around the park and see Blarney House but the castle is the real gem. The history of this castle is just amazing and the amount of castle still left that you can tour is wonderful. Be prepared if you are afraid of heights their is only one way up and down and they are steep stone steps that are withered away.
The easiest way to travel to Cork is by bus or train. Bus Eirrean is a cheap way. We got our round trip tickets at an 8 euro student rate and it is easy to take the bus to other cities around Cork or to another park of Ireland. The train is the way to travel if you want a more scenic and a faster route. Check out www.hostelbookers.com for more information on great hostels in Cork and Ireland.
