Life Is Such A Sweet Insanity.

Today was the reason we came to Ireland for this little trip. Today Earl and I were witnesses to Rick and Helen getting married.

We started out the day by heading to Limerick, where Rick and Helen exchanged their vows in a very brief civil ceremony. The ceremony lasted no more than 10 minutes. While quite nice, I felt like I was watching a wedding at high speed. i don’t think Las Vegas wedding ceremonies are even this brief.

After Limerick, we headed to Gregan’s Castle Hotel, located near Ballyvaughan. This hotel is a beautiful spot tucked away in the Irish countryside. While it has amenities found in your normal four-star hotel, it’s a quaint little place with a decidedly bed and breakfast feel. It is quite comfortable.

We readied ourselves and dressed in kilts of the county colours and headed to the Cliffs of Moher for the blessing. We were joined by Dara, a local monk who performed a pagan wedding ceremony.

Here’s Earl and I waiting for the bride to arrive. Rick was kind enough to snap the photo.

The ceremony was held at O’Brien Tower at the Cliffs of Moher.

The cliffs had a mystical shroud of fog. It added to the ambience.

The crew at the Cliffs were kind enough to provide buggy service for the bride and groom. Earl and I walked the 800 m from the car to the site of the ceremony. We were the subject of numerous tourist photos and had to stop several times as requests were made in several languages.

After the service, we headed back to Gregan’s Castle Hotel. Along the way we stopped along the coast for more photos. I think this snapshot captures the magic that was in the air. I loved Helen’s dress and pagan-esque cape.

After we got settled back into the suite, Earl was kind enough to snap a photo of me in my wedding-witness attire.

Afterwards we all settled in to the hotel for the night, we had a delicious dinner at the hotel restaurant and a nightcap before calling it a night.

Today has been a truly blessed, magical day.

Earl and I and Rick and Helen took the day and headed south toward Cork, as we went to tour Blarney Castle and kiss the Blarney Stone. The weather was beautiful today, with sunny skies and the temperature around 17 degrees (62 fahrenheit).

The drive was only two hours or so and was quite enjoyable. Only a short section was along dual carriageway (freeway/expressway), the rest was along two lane roads through the countryside. I really like the way Ireland marks the roadways; the signs are simple to follow and you always know where you’re headed. I hope it’s a trend that continues throughout the entire country. We also stopped at a fast food restaurant much like McDonalds for a quick bite to eat, it’s called SuperMac’s.

Blarney Castle is about a five minute walk from the entrance to the grounds.

We found the castle to be quite impressive. The grounds are beautiful and the castle itself is beautiful. Unlike Runbatty Castle we were in yesterday, there’s no furnishings at all in Blarney Castle. This gives the touring experience a more “raw” feel.

Here’s Earl standing next to the watch tower, found along the walk to the castle.

After a climb up a very narrow, very steep spiral staircase, we made it to the top of the castle, where the Blarney Stone is found. Here we are on the roof.

The line for the honour of kissing the Blarney Stone was short. There was little debate amongst the four of us. I ended up being the only one in the group to actually kiss the Blarney Stone. Make a tick mark next to one more thing accomplished in my life. I have a souvenir photo of my actual kiss, Earl snapped this photo after I was being brought back up to the surface.

For those unaware, you just don’t lean over and give this stone a kiss. A man sits there as you lie on your back and spidey your way a little bit down the wall, where the ground is a distant site many stories away, and then you give this stone in the wall a peck. Another older gentleman snaps your photo and you’re given a ticket with your file number. Grand things are to happen as you’re bestowed the gift of gab from kissing the stone. Earl said I was gabby enough. Apparently I now have extra gab.

After Blarney Castle we did some touring around the City of Cork a bit, which is a very nice city, before heading back to Ennis for supper and hanging out before calling it a night.

There are more pictures on my flickr page, just click one of the photos about to get there.

So today has been our first full day in Ireland. In all actuality, aside from a short nap this afternoon it has been a continuation of yesterday, but with the time difference and wildly scheduled meals, I’ve hardly noticed the marathon day aside from the slight dizziness and buzzing in my ears.

We are having a great time. The first order of business was to drive to Limerick to try on our tuxes/kilts for the wedding on Wednesday. Here we are, complete with rental tags.

After we confirmed everything fit properly and we also navigated the mechanics of a kilt, we did some touring of Limerick. Afterwards we headed back up N18 toward our current homebase of Ennis.

I drive like a native of this beautiful land.

On the way through, we stopped Bunratty Castle for some touring.

Since we don’t have buildings nearly this old in the United States, I have to admit that I was quite intrigued by the castle and it’s grounds. I was very impressed with some of the rooms, including this one with it’s lavish furnishings.

This evening went to a local pub for some dinner and drinks and did some touring around the town center of Ennis. It has been a great start to our vacation.