The Gift of Gab--Blarney Castle, Ireland

I have joined the ranks of those like Winston Churchill and Mick Jagger. I have kissed the stone--the Blarney Stone, that is--and have been bestowed with the gift of eloquence. The ritual of kissing this famous stone is achieved by laying on one's back, and with the assistance of another, leaning backward over the ledge of the castle's roof to kiss the bottom stone of an overhang. The stone itself has no particular distinguishing appearance other than the fact that it looks and feels much smoother than all of the others--a shockingly real indication of exactly how many lips have touched its surface.