Photos I love: Ireland

This is a view through one of the arrow slits in a tower of Blarney Castle. The castle is located in Co. Cork, and is home to the famous "Stone of Eloquence," otherwise known as the Blarney Stone. I had expected the castle to be a tacky tourist trap, but it's really gorgeous. Blarney is a tiny town with a tremendous amount of lush, green open space. The Blarney Stone, on the other hand, is an underwhelming, dingy grey brick that's set low in a wall on one of the battlements. You have to be held upside down to kiss it, which isn't a good idea - one of the locals informed me that sometimes the boys from town sneak into the castle at night to pee on the famous stone. Maybe "blarney" is Gaelic for "teenage boy piss?" Tasty!