Happy St Patrick's Day!

Twelve years ago I had the incredible luck to visit Ireland.

I still believe that the Ring of Kerry is one of the most beautiful places in the world, and I yearn to see it again some day. I want to go back just to see this view again.

That, and the pub crawls.... I won't lie, it was the best part of Dublin (the city itself). Of course the locals rolled their eyes when we asked to hear Danny Boy after our 3rd pint of Guinness, but they humored us anyway.

God bless 'em.

I also got to visit Blarney Castle,

and I kissed the Blarney Stone.

Like the jacket I stole off a leprechaun? Anyway, if you've ever met me, you already know it didn't work. I was most definitely not endowed with the gift of gab.

In all likelihood it probably only gave me an extra boost to my immune system, considering how many people have put their lips there. Ewwwww.....

That, and it's on TOP of the castle, which means you're hanging over the edge, upside down. So, I was also endowed with a shot of adrenaline. Once upright, the views from the top of the castle were spectacular.

Everything was so beautiful, so green, and so historic.

'Tis there's the stone that whoever kisses
He never misses to grow eloquent;
'Tis he may clamber to a lady's chamber,
Or become a member of Parliament.
"A noble spouter he'll sure turn out, or
An out and outer to be let alone;
Don't try to hinder him, or to bewilder him,
For he is a pilgrim from the Blarney stone."
~Francis Sylvester Mahony