KISS THAT STONE

  A LOT OF BLARNEY

Blarney Castle

            When in Cork County, Ireland who could resist the famous Blarney Stone located in Blarney Castle.  Its tall tower overlooks the River Lee and the surrounding wooded countryside. There are several legends regarding the stone; the most popular being that Elizabeth the First demanded the take over of the 15^th century fortress/castle and the Lord of Blarney kept putting her off. Eventually she said he was full of blarney---his word meant nothing. Another legend says the prophet Jeremiah brought the stone from the Holy Land.

            It is said that if one kisses the stone he will receive the gift of gab and eloquence. Many of us climbed the 127 narrow twisting stone steps to the top. The slow moving crowd made for an easy climb and the view at the top was magnificent on the clear sunny day. Blarney House is a Scottish baronial mansion that has been the residence of the Colthurst family since the 18^th century and was easily visible from the top of the castle.

PR release of  kissing the stone

            To kiss the stone is not all that easy for us older folk. You are warned before hand to empty your pockets and remove your glasses. I tried desperately to block out all images of people spiting on the stone,coughing or leaving gum. I wasn't too successful in this effort.One has to lie on his back, grab hand rails and bend over backwards. A fellow is present to assist and a photographer never misses an opportunity to snap a picture. This little exercise is pretty commercial and one doesn’t have a chance to tarry around the stone. However, one can linger as long as desired to enjoy the view---as long as you move away from the stone and not hamper the progress of the line waiting to kiss the stone.

            The descent back to ground level is quicker than the walk up. Walking paths wove through the lovely grounds of the castle. The paths were uncrowded and it was quiet and peaceful in the wooded areas.  I took the time to leisurely walk several paths and to admire the landscaping.  I was not looking for but came across the  Rock Close, a fantastic section of land filled with an array of trees, plants, and rocks in unusual shapes. Stones shaped like witches and rings of druidic inspired circles are surrounded with huge trees and fairy gardens. 

A friend joined me before I made my wish and walked backwards up on the 26 stone wishing steps. I even managed to do that without stumbling! The fairies did grant me my wish.

POPULAR CUBAN DRINKS

A Meal Surprise

At lunch my first day in Cuba we were served our first mojito, a well-known local drink. At that point little did we know that we would be drinking a lot of mojitos, as one was served with every meal.

We were instructed,  "A mojito starts out with the juice of a half lime, an ounce of rum, and the rest of the glass is filled with lemon-lime soda.Fresh mint is a must for making mojitos The four-prong stirrer is to crush the mint leaves/sprig to release the essence of the mint.” 

Hemingway enjoyed Mojitos. Now I know why!

One day we had lunch in Old Havana at the lovely Floridita Restaurant. The ambiance was wonderful with the gorgeous wooden walls which were real wood, not paneling. The bar at Floridita was a special haunt of Hemingway.

This day we were served a daiquiri, another drink made famous by Hemingway, but that was originally concocted way south, just a few miles east of Santiago. In 1898, shortly after the Spanish-American War, a mining engineer arrived in town to find mine workers apprehensive about drinking the water because of malaria.

Being a creative man he added a bit of rum to boiled water and then topped it off with lime juice and sugar. The concoction was soon duplicated. It didn’t take long for  the drink we know as the daiquiri to move to the ‘refined society’ in the city. The rest as they say is history, but this is where  and how the daiquiri originated.

The Floridita restaurant has been serving food at the present location since 1819. In the recently refurbished restaurant waiters hovered in tux jackets and bow ties. It all was quite delightful. It is said that Hemingway’s ghost haunts the dark mahogany bar. The novelist’s seat is preserved as a shrine while his bronze bust watches over things from where Constante Ribailgua once served frozen daiquiris to the writer.

After the tour of a sugar mill we walked across the street to another building containing the lab. There we were given guarapo de cana (sugar cane juice). The gal added a good dose of rum to each glass of the tan colored liquid. I expected it to be sticky and very sweet, but it was not. Actually it was quite good. Maybe it was the rum!