We caught a shuttle this morning in Dublin at the port and
headed south for the Wicklow Mountains. The scenery was gorgeous with rolling
green hills of increasing size as we travelled south. The forest was beautiful
as well. Our first stop was Glendalough – amazing. The monastery ruins were
spectacular. I love to stand inside of ancient places and just ponder over how
old the structures are, think about how they might have been constructed, try to
imagine people that occupied them and their daily activities, etc. I entered
the priest’s house…really a tiny dwelling…but a dwelling with strong walls…really
puts things into perspective...life has really changed for us in the last few
centuries. The cemetery was great (Carmie and I could spend months in old
cemeteries, and the kids are really starting to enjoy them as well). We took a
hike on the trails to the lakes. The forest was amazing – many shades of bright
greens that we are not used to seeing at home. The smells of flowering plants
and trees were very powerful. We moved on from Glendalough to Lough Tay (a.k.a.
Guinness Lake as it’s on the 6000 acre Guinness property). It was foggy and
cool, but climbing to the top of a rocky slope and seeing a sprawling glacial
lake below – pictures and words cannot do it justice…one must just see it. We
got a chance to stop in Dublin for lunch and a pint (we ate at Oneill’s pub
near Trinity College). We also explored some shops and made a stop at St.
Patrick’s Cathedral (beautiful). All-in-all, we had a great day in Ireland. We
must come back for several days someday in the future.
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