Ireland Wednesday August 1st - Blarney

Leaving our B&B was heartbreaking! Nialls was such a polite host and a real great introduction to the B&B scene. But we had more adventures to chase!

Waterford Crystal - ***

 Waterford Crystal was one of our stops that we weren’t really sure about. We aren’t at the point where we want crystal, but it seemed like a big touristy thing we should do so we went after it.
I can say with confidence that it was a great experience. It was the only active factory that we visited and we got to watch pieces actually being blown, scoured and etched. We were handed the ‘backup’ trophies for different world events such as the NFL trophy, and we got a look at the London 2012 Crystal Cup.

Kilkenney Castle - **

We were clued into Kilkenney and the castle by our host and decided to detour to it for the shops and whatnot.
The castle is in the midst of a major restoration project so only parts of it were open to the public but these parts have been painstakingly fixed back to their original ‘as new’ look through finding swatches of wallpaper/carpet and enlisting the help of the original manufacturers by way of found records. There’s also plaques of historic information that give you an idea of castle life.
The grounds were quite pretty and the tour was fun. It was even free for that day! They didn’t allow pictures inside of the castle though it was still a good experience.

We next had to find Blarney which is a quaint little town a little ways away from Tramore. We asked another gas station attendant and pretty soon we were at Westwood

Westwood - ***

Westwood was a picturesque B&B located out a little ways down a single lane road in the sticks. It’s perched on top of a hill in the Irish countryside. The breakfasts were absolutely delicious and here I learned about the magic that is crepes.
The host was having a number of family members over for a wedding but still doted over us when we needed help. The breakfast here was amazing and if you’re into the B&B scene I say track this place down! Very close to Blarney Castle and Kilkenney so a good place to set down for the inbetween.
We spent a good hour just wandering the street taking pictures of cows, vistas and general skullduggery of our own. The town proper includes Blarney Castle and a Woolen Mills megastore that's worth exploring for something warm to wear in those cold nights.