Excuse My Language, but HOLY S*@%.

Okay, sorry Mom and Dad. But now that I've apologized, climbing Blarney Castle is one of the scariest things I've ever done. END. OF. STORY.

Now from where I left off last time.

Wait, WHAT!?!? Why is it FINALLY sunny in Cork as soon as I get inside?!?! This is ridiculous.

Anyway, I took a walking tour in Dublin on Wednesday. It was with the same company who did the three tours I took in Edinburgh, so my expectations were pretty high. My tour guide was a tall, skinny, pale guy named Garvan (whose name in Irish, Garbhan, means "Little Rough One". Heh.) Anyway, he spent a lot of time jokingly flicking his curly shoulder-length red hair and being really awkward. He talked way too much and had a really strange rhythm to his speech. It got old. Everytime we stopped I could here one of the other tour guides booming away in a bold, obnoxiously hilarious fashion that was much more my style. So, rude as it was, as soon as I saw an opportunity to run without Garvan seeing me, I bolted. GREAT IDEA. Mick was amazing, and I wish I'd had the guts to jump ship earlier. We went through Trinity College, Dublin Castle, Temple Bar, City Hall, St. Stephen's Green, the National Library, the Ha'Penny Bridge. Basically all over the area south of the Liffy. Mick gave a tip off for an amazing present for Andy, but unfortunately, it was a bit of a fail on my part. Sorry, I tried. :(

After the tour, I hopped onto a hop-on, hop-off tour bus to hitch a ride to the Guinness Storehouse. It's HUGE. I thought Sierra Nevada in Chico was cool, but this by far takes the cake. It covers acres and acres, and takes you all the way through the process of making beer, the history of the company, advertising, everything. The four components of Guinness are barley (roasted, malted AND flaked), hops, yeast, and water. Oh, and what they claimed was the fifth ingredient: Arthur Guinness. Ha, clever guys. So anyway, as you walk through all 7 stories of the building, you get to stick your hands in a giant sandbox of barley, actually eat roasted barley, see hops growing (they're kind of like a kelp forest but on land - people used to stand on stilts to harvest them), and walk under a waterfall (inside!). There's a Guinness taste along the way, but once you get to the end of the tour, the last floor is the Gravity Bar. It's seven stories up and the walls are all glass so you get pretty much a 360 degree view of Dublin. That, and a free pint of Guinness.

To be honest, the Guinness factory was a bit lonely. I'm not much of a beer drinker, and I know a bunch of people I really would have enjoyed walking through it with. Oh, and you could have finished my pint.

After the brewery, I had only a two hours to get home and get ready to meet Amy and Dan (the Irish couple I ate haggis with in Edinburgh). Well, I was DIRTY. And the bus was a stupid hot tour bus that made me sick and took forever. By the time I got back, I had less than an hour to shower, but let me tell you I needed one. I'm talking badly. And now's the point where you insert the last post I wrote. Great.

Amy and Dan met me at my hostel and they brought their friend Shane with them, who turned out to be really cool. They took me a traditional Irish pub on the north side of the Liffy. Apparently in Dublin, an Irish pub is one where less than 50% of the people there are tourists. And thanks guys for all the tourist jokes you made at my expense all night. :) I could not have asked for three better new friends. We listened to the band playing all night, while they sang and I clapped like a silly American. They told me all about Dublin (all three of their families have lived there for multiple generations), and I told them all about California. Dan and Shane knew quite a bit already because a few months ago they flew to the U.S., bought a cheap Winnebago and drove from Boston to San Diego. I'm going to go on a little tangent about Shane right now.

Apparently, at the end of their trip in San Diego, Shane was talking to Mexican guys. He's 24 but balding so he keeps his hair really short. So some skinheads see him talking to these guys, and decide that he's making them look bad, so they stab him in the back nine times casuing one of his lungs to collapse. No joke. And he's one of the nicest people I've ever met.

End of tangent.

Amy is such a sweetheart too. When I first saw her, she handed me bag and told me it was a Welcome-to-Ireland present. She works in graphic design (but wants to illustrate children's books) and she gave me an Ireland shirt that she designed herself. It's adorable, just like her. The night ended with getting a lamb donner at a delicious Persian restaurant. Amy, Dan, and Shane MADE Dublin. I just have to remember, it's not goodbye. It's see you soon.

Yesterday morning I spent a few hours at the National Library. Sooooo cool. Then it was onto the train station to catch a ride to Cork. The Irish countryside is BEAUTIFUL. I'm pretty sure the teenager next to me thought I was crazy, the way I had my face plastered to the window for four hours.

Well, Cork is actually a little of a disappointment. It's got some cool stuff, but it's drab and dirty and not quite what I expected. What is amazing though is my bed and breakfast. I have a big bed all to myself, and it's not five feet off the ground! I have my own shower that is so big I can spread my elbows out to the side! I have a TV, which I forgot existed, and a nightstand with a lamp, and a vanity, and a full-lenth mirror, and FIVE PILLOWS, AND A SHELF IN THE BATHROOM, AND SOAP - OMIGOD SOAP. I forgot what comfortable felt like. I took the longest shower in the world, and it was amazing. I watched tv as I was falling asleep. Like. A. Baby.

And they have a free breakfast that they actually cook for you when you get there! I thought it was just cereal and the like, so that's what I grabbed along with coffee and tea. But then, while I was thoroughly enjoying what I was eating, the breakfast lady brought me a basket of warm toast. Okay, but then while I was eating THAT, all of a sudden a full Irish breakfast materializes in front of me! Ham! Two sausages! An egg! Beans! a quarter of a tomato! I got on a train to leave Dublin, and ended up in heaven disguised as a guesthouse.

After breakfast I ran across the street to catch a tour bus that takes you around the city and out to Blarney. Pretty much the whole reason I came to Cork was to kiss the Blarney Stone (I'm an actor! I need it.), and today was the day! Cork itself got a little more interesting with someone telling you the history, but for some reason, this city just seems a little, well, sad. Hardly anyone is out and it's not kept up very well. Even the supposedly happenin' streets are lonely it feels like. So out to Blarney, which was really small. The castle was REALLY cool. I can't even do it justice, so I'll just have to show you pictures. But let me tell you, climbing it was not the most fun/safe thing I've ever done. Mom, you saw me on Notre Dame and Sacre Couer. Multiple that by a gazillion. I was all by myself!!!!!! (I HATE STAIRS)You get to explore some of the old rooms on the way up and the view from the top was amazing, but the Blarney Stone itself is pretty much what got me to the top of the six stories of NARROW, SPIRAL stairs that were, at some points literally FOUR INCHES WIDE, with only a crumbly old wall and rope hanging in the middle to hold onto. However, kissing the Blarey Stone itself is not exactly the least frightening thing I've ever done. For some reason unbeknownst to me, its on the underside of the battlements at the top of the castle, and you have to lay down and lean upside down over nothing but few metal bars, while some impersonal man working for tips holds you as you hang over the edge. It just had to be done though, and yes, Dustin, I actually kissed it. Now you'll never want to touch me again. I feel a little silly, but I ended up buying a picture at the end for 10 euros, because even though a nice man from the Netherlands took some for me, they weren't amazing. He saw me after I climbed down and seemed a little offended. Then he implied it was a waste of money. Maybe, but it will look good in my scrapbook.

I came back to Cork and basically went on a hunt for MORE presets for everyone. It's getting a little out of control, you guys. I can't help it! As I was shopping on St. Patrick's Street and Paul Street, I came across Cork's famous English Market. It didn't quite compare to London's Borough Market, but I did have an amazing sausage sandwich from a place that was actually making the sausages right in front of me. Delicious.

Lastly, and this is perhaps one of the biggest revelations of the trip (get ready to roll those eyes, Andy), APPARENTLY Topshop gives students a 10% discount if you show your student ID! Are ou kidding?!? Dear Topshop employees of London, Edinburgh, and Dublin, YOU ALL FAIL. Love, Ashleigh.

Alright, now for reals the last thing. I spent way to much money today, but I have in my possession a ticket to see a touring production of Sweeney Todd in the third row of the Everyman Palace Theatre tonight. It was only 20 euros because the girl knocked off a couple bucks. Jealous? I would be.

Okay, that was a novel. I hope my writing doesn't bore you! This is also a bit of a journal for me too so forgive me. Cheers!