Procrastination, part I

Quick update: I wish I had more time to tell about the Cork weekend trip, but I will say two things: if you ever visit Ireland, Cork is definitely a place you should visit! Especially the English Market; it's pretty much a huge indoor farmers market. You can find the usual meat and vegetables, but you can also buy squid, rabbit, oh, and chocolate! I made sure to sample some of that (Valentine's weekend, what can I say?) and I highly recommend it! Second: you should also visit Blarney Castle. Yes, getting to kiss the famed Blarney Stone is cool, but in my opinion, the highlight of the visit was the castle itself and the walking around the castle grounds. There were a lot of posted signs inside the castle, so you get to learn about what daily life was like back in its heyday; I found out that I would not live in one--I thought it was really chilly and damp inside. The view from the top was beautiful; you could see for miles. But, back to outside of the castle, there is the Blarney House, which was built in the late 19th century. I wasn't able to visit it this time, but I want to go back and make up for that. There's also a cool dungeon built under the castle that you can crawl around in. The best part, though, is the Rock Close, a garden area that honestly feels like you are in Middle Earth. Unfortunately, my camera batteries died right as we were walking in, but I would go to this website to see awesome pics: http://www.blarneycastle.ie/attractions/view/13. They've got the obligatory cool names for sites, like the "wishing steps" and the "witch's kitchen", too. I imagine it's even prettier in spring when flowers start blooming. There's a waterfall leading into a river and paths you could wander for hours. There are also walking routes around the entire estate, but there wasn't enough time to try either of them.