We're Handing You No Blarney

Well, we've made it to and from Ireland safe and sound and we loved the Irish so much, we're thinking of dying our hair red and changing our last names to something with an 'O' in front of it. Maybe not...

There's lots to report about this trip, so bear with us. Hopefully it will be entertaining? Interesting? Anything?

Anyway, we arrived in Cork, Ireland on Thursday night where we met up with 3 guys from our group that had arrived earlier that day. We stayed at a really cool hostel that was close to the bus stop and close to city centre, so we were ready to dive right in to Cork. We have just one word for Thursday night: Karaoke. Don't worry. With the help of Bailey and Jen, we're sure we did you all proud with our rendition of Britney Spears' "Piece of Me."

Friday morning, we woke up and took a train to Cobh (pronounced 'Cove.' I don't really get it either) which was right on the coast. It was so beautiful. AND it was the last port of the Titanic. Naturally, we were eager to imitate Jack and Rose on the bow of the boat. Also in Cobh, we tried to perfect our heel clicking (duh). This is us getting really close.

      v Emily

Next was Blarney, a quaint little town near Cork. We kissed the Blarney stone at the castle, which was near death-defying. It was

 WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY high up and we had to turn upside down to kiss it. That along with Ashley's fear of heights did not make a great combination, but she's so brave that it was not even a problem. 

It is said that when you kiss the Blarney stone, you receive the "gift of gab," and eloquence. We kind of wish it was something we didn't already have, but you can never have too much of a good thing, we think. 

Ashley>

                                                                 

Our last day in Cork was spent exploring and taking pictures. There is a tower in Cork that you can climb and ring bells heard throughout the city, but we had bought quite a few souvenirs by this point, so 5 euros wasn't very tempting. Instead, we met three Irish rap stars. Ok, not stars, but they thought so. They proposed a rap battle with a guy in our group and proceeded to school him. They were great, but we're a little concerned about the content of their songs. Let's just say, the FBI is out to get them apparently.

So there is Ireland in a somewhat large nutshell. We had to wake up incredibly early on Sunday morning, and our plane had a few technical difficulties causing us to nearly miss our bus from London to Oxford. We seriously ran through the airport. Just like Sam in Love Actually, but with worse music, no film crew, and no Hugh Grant or Liam Neeson. But apart from those few things, it was EXACTLY like it.

Until more cool stuff happens...