Day 8: Cork -> Blarney -> Waterford -> Kilkenny -> Carlow

Cork had been an amazing time, but it was time to move along the south east to the south west. Just outside downtown Cork was the Blarney Castle, where the Blarney Stone was located. The grounds were awesome and the castle itself was well laid out with lots of historical references to read along the way. The wait to kiss the Blarney stone (which is thought to bring the gift of gab and flattery, both of which I found a lot of Irish to have!) Along the narrow steps and footpaths (as well as signs of enter at your own risk we take no responsibility type things) the lady behind me was from Quebec City. She had noticed the Canadian flags on my jacket and we struck up conversation. Sadly her husband had passed away before their aniversary and she had been to Belgium and other parts of Europe, as well as here, to take in the sights and was supposed to have done the trip with him. It was nice to spend the hour walking up with her, talking about life and her perspective on it, really made me happy I was doing my trip and trying to get the most out of everything and not to worry about the small things but also not to take anything for granted. We had taken each others photos with the stone and then headed our separate ways.

I drove to Waterford and had planned on seeing their famous crystal but forewent it due to being a little soggy (didn't get the rain gear on quick enough) and smelly (being in full gear climbing stairs for an hour doesn't help. I stopped into Kilkenny for a coffee before setting my sights outside Dublin to Carlow, I knew here I could relax for the night and drive around some of the backroads before heading back to Kildare to drop off the motorcycle the next day. 

Today I took a lot of the major motorways (even encountered my first toll) but was necessary to make up some time and complete the "around the country" feel. I kept thinking to myself how eager I am to come back and see the places, like Wexford and Bray, that I unfortunately missed on this tour. Carlow for the night and one last bit of Irish driving before heading back to Celtic Rider tomorrow!

Total km: 210km