Hey everyone,
So it was our last day on the Paddywagon 6 day tour of Ireland. I woke up with 15 minutes before we had to get on the bus and surprise...the first thing I needed to do was spew! This was the sickest I'd been on my travels and was back to my god old spewy ways :( I felt so sick on the Paddywagon bus as we were driving to Blarney Castle that I vomited four times on the way there in a black garbage bag Lee had kept on the bus for people who were feeling sick. Lucky I vomit quietly because I couldn't help it that day, poor Anna was behind me and could see everything in the window reflection she said ha As soon as we got to Blarney Castle I got off and knew I needed to have something to eat before I did anything because I had vomited so much that I was spewing up dark yellow bile, gross! I had a sprite and a sandwich and sat down before I walked to see the castle which made me feel a little bit better.
Blarney Castle:
The Castle is located northwest of Cork in the village of Blarney and receives a gazillion visitors a year. The Castle is 10 minutes walk from the banks of the River Martin. The main attraction inside the Castle is the Blarney Stone. This castle is a genuine 12th century masterpiece and has dungeons, caves and hidden bedrooms for you to see whilst inside.
Even though I was feeling so sick I enjoyed walking through the beautiful Blarney Castle gardens which had wonderful views of over 60 acres of sprawling parklands. We walked up 100 steps of the Blarney Castle to kiss the world famous Blarney Stone- which is probably also one of the world's most unhygienic sites as millions of people kiss the same stone each year. The McCarthy clan believed kissing the stone would give them the gift of eloquent speech: the gift of the gab. This site is definitely not for germ phobic people but it has to be done!lol On the way of to the Blarney Stone the stairs were really narrow and it was a little scary climbing them in my slippery ballet flats. It was so cool to be in an actual castle in Ireland and after we all kissed the Blarney Stone we walked back through the amazing gardens to the bus.
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| Me kissing the Blarney Stone |
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| Me walking down the spiral staircases of Blarney Castle |
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| Jeremy and Vicky in Blarney Castle |
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| Security tower of Blarney Castle |
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| view from Blarney Castle |
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| Beautiful parklands surrounding Blarney Castle |
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| Blarney Castle |
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| Security tower of Blarney Castle |
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| View from Blarney Castle |
Guinness Storehouse:
After we had lunch we drove on for another hour or two until we were back in Dublin where we began 6 days ago. We made one last stop to the Guinness Storehouse and for someone who doesn't drink beer at all this place was awesome. The Guinness Storehouse was once a Fermentation Plant from 1904-1988 and is now a seven storey visitor experience dedicated to the history and making of this world famous beer. The building is designed in the shape of a giant pint of Guinness and if it were to be filled it would hold 14.3 million pints lol The Guinness Storehouse had everything restaurants, souvenir shops, a gravity bar where you could receive a complimentary pint of Guinness while you relaxed and enjoyed spectacular views across Dublin. Besides the videos and exhibitions about the making of Guinness they also had computers were you could complete quiz like tests on how much you learned during the time you spent at the storehouse and you could also enter information to trace whether or not your ancestors had once worked in the Guinness brewery! They had so many cool posters of old Guinness advertisements and you could even learn to pour your own pint from the bar. I found out so many interesting facts whilst in the storehouse such as: Arthur Guinness was an Irish brewer and the founder of the Guinness brewery business and family. In 1761 he married Olivia Whitmore in St. Mary's Church, Dublin and they had 21 children all who worked for them as part of the Guinness family business. Apparently back in the day if you worked for the Guinness family in the Storehouse you were entitled to unlimited pints of Guinness as you worked, now days they limit the workers to a maximum of 2 pints per day.
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| Me and Anna at the Guinness factory |
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| What goes into Guinness? |
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| Aussie fact! |
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| one of many signs explaining the process for making Guinness |
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| Exhibitions |
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| Guinness bottles from the past |
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| Guinness anyone?? |
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| Taste testing Guinness |
Another group of friends made on Paddywagon:
As we arrived back at Paddy's palace it came time for me to say goodbye to Vicky, Jeremy, Chris and Ryan. Luke, Justine, Anna and I were staying another night at the hostel before heading off on our separate ways. I felt so lucky to have met another great group of people who I really liked and enjoyed spending time with. Travelling alone has it's up's and downs and can be a little scary at times but it is honestly the best way to meet lots of people!I have met so many amazing people through travelling alone and putting myself out there. We all had so many good, fun times together on Paddywagon and I will remember this trip forever.
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| Our room at Paddy's Palace-Dublin ha |
Anna:
Thank you Anna for making me laugh pretty much the whole trip and I had some really good times with you around Ireland. I will always remember your travelling stories as you have done everything there is to do and you have travelled to so many amazing places!When I'm your age I hope to be as well travlled as you are. I can imagine you would be the most amazing nanny and I was always a little envious when listening to your stories about the countries you had travelled to with your working family. You were such a relaxed and carefree women who wasn't afraid to say what she thought and we got on like a house on fire. I loved teasing you with the rest of our little gang about your negative attitude towards the trip after your Southern Ireland tour was cancelled the day before we left lol I will definitely take you up on your offer to come and stay with you in Queenstown, NZ in the near future. I'm so glad we met Anna and I hope your having lots of fun with your nanning kids and getting plenty of snuggles from Browser xx
Chris:
Chris you have lived life to the max here in London for the past two years and have also seen so many amazing places in your time in the UK. I loved your vibrant personality and beautiful smile and the way you always seemed to look amazing even after a big night out . I had plenty of drunk and fun nights with you and I hope we can catch up again when I get back to Australia. x
Luke and Justine:
Luke and Justine you were a beautiful fun couple and at times on the trip I felt like your little sister lol I had so many fun nights with you two and many laughs on the bus which was fun. You are two people who I would definitely want to catch up with when I get home!I hope you guys have had the time of your lives travelling and I think it's amazing that you packed up everything in Australia to see and experience the world. x
Jeremy and Vicky:
I loved how funny and sarcastic you were as you made me laugh countless times on the trip. You were both so honest and weren't afraid to give me shit along the way. Even though you were both younger than me I felt like I was also a little sister who you played jokes on and stirred up on the bus. I will always remember you two as the B&B couple lol
Jarren and Jodie:
Even though I only met and got to spend time with you guys for two days I felt that we clicked really easily. Jodie you were so cute and reminded me of my cousin Lauren in a certain way. Jarren we had lots of laughs and you were so fun to be around. I'm so glad we have kept in touch since you guys left and I had fun catching up with you at the theatre here in London the other night. I definitely know I will be seeing more of you both in the near future x
Love The Spewy Blarney Stone Kissing Backpacker
