I keep getting asked, "What did you do in Ireland?" or some version of that question. I did so much while I was abroad that I can't simply answer with just one or two sentences of things I did or things I saw. My go to response is usually centered around my internship or when I went to kiss the Blarney Stone. Most people understand my internship but I'm shocked by how many people don't know what the Blarney Stone is. All I heard from my mother the past few months was that I needed to go kiss the Blarney Stone or else I would have wasted my time there. So, for those of you who don't know what the Blarney Stone is, here is a short run-down of why I kissed a stone.

The Blarney Stone is a block of carboniferous limestone in the battlements of the Blarney Castle which is located approximately 5 miles outside of the city of Cork. Like most legends and rituals, there are a number of origins and explanations of the stone. The most commonly accepted explanation of the origin dates back to the 15th century and a man named Cormac Laidir McCarthy, the creator or Blarney Castle. In the 15th century, McCarthy was involved in a lawsuit and begged Clíodhna, the queen of the Banshees in Ireland, for help with a speech he was to give in court. Clíodhna assured him he would win his case if he kissed the first stone he saw on his way to court in the morning. McCarthy did as he was told and won his case with excellent eloquence. Since McCarthy was creating the Blarney Castle, he incorporated the stone into the balcony of the castle.

It is said that by kissing the Blarney Stone one is given the gift of deceiving without offending. The are great differences between 'baloney' and 'blarney'. Blarney is the varnished truth and baloney is the unvarnished lie. Kissing the stone ensures the "gift of the gab" otherwise known as eloquence. Due to this, people from all over the world travel to Ireland every year to kiss the Blarney Stone However, in order to kiss the stone. Some of the more familiar names to kiss the stone are Winston Churchill, Oliver Hardy, and Mick Jagger.

Here's the catch though. It's not as simple as you might think to kiss. The Blarney Stone is a part of the Blarney Castle and the breath-taking grounds that surround it. you first have to make your way up the top of the castle through extremely narrow staircases. Once you finally get through the castle, which I suggest looking through before kissing the stone, you must approach the balcony where the stone is. There is a very friendly elderly gentleman who instructs you to sit down, lie back, grab onto the bars above your head, and slide down to kiss the stone. If you have acrophobia, the extreme fear of heights, this may not be for you.

The Blarney Stone isn't the only thing to see in the castle grounds. In addition to the stone, there is a poison garden, fern garden, Himalayan walk, the Seven Sisters, Wishing Steps, waterfalls, and much more. I could've spent hours walking around the grounds. I hope this helped to clear up what I mean when I say I kissed the Blarney Stone. I know for some of you, you'll never understand why I willingly kissed a stone that thousands of other people have kissed, but I really do suggest kissing the stone for the gift of the gab when/if you're in Ireland.