Today, we departed the lovely city of Killarney in a blistering Irish rain storm. While the rain may have dampened our rain coats, it could not dampen our spirits. Our jaunt to the city of Blarney was a relatively quiet one with Chris giving us a chance to catch up on some much needed sleep. I had the opportunity to sit with the kids for a bit and discuss the benefits of travel. My central message is always that you make your own adventures in life and that the littlest things can form the greatest memories...I really feel that is true and it guides me while I travel.
Blarney Castle, actually the whole area, is really cool. We walked along the path and up the stone spiral staircase. It was still raining and the steps were a little slick. The kids handled it fine, but I was more than just a little unnerved. It is worth noting at this point that I am more than a little afraid of heights. After climbing the stairs for near an eternity, we made it to the top of the parapet and began our approach to the stone. The process is as follows:
- You approach the stone and sit on a mat that is soaked because it is pouring. From this vantage point you can see straight down the side of the castle.
- Two Irish gentlemen explain that you need to take off your hat and glasses because the drop is so steep. Then they say to lean back and grab two iron bars, which are soaked because it is raining.
- You then shimmy yourself towards the iron bars knowing full well that a 200 ft drop awaits you...it doesn't matter that there are iron bars preventing a fall, because it is raining and I am sure you could slip through them
- After shimmying the correct distance, or more accurately slipping the correct distance on the rain soaked mat, you then have to bend backwards (Yes, he said bend backwards) and lean towards the ground (which is 250 ft away) and pucker up.
- This is where is it most confusing. Every stone looks special. You start to make your move and you hear the Irish guys yelling colors at you..."It's the White one!!!" or "It's the grey one!!!" Now, remember that it is a stone and pretty much every stone looks the same, plus you are upside down leaning over a 300 ft drop and it is raining out!!!
- They finally tell you it is the last stone...which means it is time to lean over even further and kiss the final stone.
After barely escaping the 500 ft drop, I made it safely up from kissing the stone...and so did all of us. It was quite apparent that the magical stone still has some power in it as the students quickly entered into a Shakespearean quote-a-thon. I was very impressed. [Some portions of the preceding blog post may have been a bit exaggerated]
Kissing the stone was not the only thing worthwhile in Blarney. A small group of us made our way to the wishing stairs. Here, you walk down a stone staircase backwards and with your eyes closed. If you concentrate on one wish it is said that that wish will come true. It actually worked. I went first and as the kids helped me navigate the treacherous steps I kept on saying to myself, "Please don't fall...please don't fall." I made it down safely and did not fall. I am not sure what the kids wished for, but it was a great team building exercise and everyone had a blast.
The bottom of the stairs took you behind a waterfall. It was an excellent bit of touring and helped me get past my harrowing experience atop the castle.
There is a really nice restaurant and shop near the Blarney Castle where we had lunch and relaxed before taking off for Dublin. We made a brief stop at Cashel to see St. Patrick's Castle and drove the rest of the way to Dublin. Dinner was held just outside of the city and included some vegetable soup, some chicken and veggies, and jello with pineapple. The food was some of the more flavorful food we've had, but the whipped topping on the Jello was not that good.
Finally, we reached Dublin. I forgot my camera in the hotel room (a rookie mistake, I know) but Chris took us on an orientation tour of the city. It reminded me a lot of Boston. It is full of history, has tons of cool looking buildings, and is totally walk-able. I was wearing my Red Sox pullover and a Sox cap...and I couldn't help but think of how things are at home. I thought it really cool that the Yankees held a moment of silence and played Sweet Caroline. We've run into a few people who seemed genuinely concerned for us and our city...It is the humanity in this world that resonates most strongly with me, not the violence or terror. I truly hope that is something the kids get out of touring too.
We also ran into another EF tour group at our hotel. They are from Ft. Kent, Maine. For those who don't know, that is really far up north...basically, the end of Route 1 kind of north. We had a teacher in Saugus from that area years ago. I dropped his name and they knew him. I also asked if they knew Joe Terrio from Fort Kent. This fellow is a legend in my household. He is supposed to be the most famous man from Maine. My mother is from Hodgdon, Maine (not quite as far as Ft. Kent, but pretty close) and she, and my Dad, always told me about this guy. At one point, they told me that he was on a balcony with the Pope and someone below said, "Hey, whose that guy up there?" Someone else responded, "You mean the guy with the funny hat standing with Joe Terrio." I thought he was made up...so I had to test it out. Sure enough, one of their teachers knew Joe Terrio. The legend lives on for me.
This isn't really me rambling on. In fact, there is a lesson in the Joe Terrio story. The world is much smaller than we think. Facebook, Twitter, and "Where in the World is Mr. Lavoie" all make is smaller, but long before social media there was something called being social. I remember walking through the Louvre and seeing a guy wearing a "DeMolay" shirt. (It's a youth group that I belonged to) I asked him about it and found out we knew a lot of the same people. A similar event happened in Eastern France, when my brother Phil began a conversation with a random couple from Ohio. They knew the same people too. You have to talk to people, be friendly, and hope that they do the same. It makes your adventure more meaningful.
Well, I've recently found out that some of our students wait up each night for these blogs to be posted before turning in...So, I am going to wrap this one up. It's bed time guys!!!
Mr. Lavoie currently in Dublin, Ireland: Tired and sleepy but excited for what tomorrow may bring...
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