DAY 13: Back to the City

Observation of the day: The Irish cows produce the most delicious dairy products. We have enjoyed supporting the local economy sampling Irish butter, cream, cheeses, yogurts and of course, ice cream. After being so spoiled, we will probably now pay more for Kerry Gold at home!

Irish cows kick butt! We loved our local yogurt in cute glass containers which are becoming part of my small vase collection!

The king sadly says farewell to his castle.

Our ‘cation is winding down with our last couple of days in Dublin. Thursday, we sadly said good-bye to our castle and headed north to Glendalough upon the recommendation of an Irish friend of a friend. It was a lovely stop.

Glendalough is monastic settlement founded by St. Kevin around 500 A.D. Although this country is hugely Christian and primarily Catholic, there have been many trials and tribulations regarding religion over the centuries. In the 1300s, the Anglican English destroyed St. Kevin’s monastery, but some holy men still held out. It was finally abandoned during the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1539. It was restored in the 1870s, but most of the buildings here now date from the 10^th to 12^th century.

Although a very small percentage of the Irish population speaks Gaelic, all signs must be in English and Gaelic.

Glendalough means "Valley of the Two Lakes." After visiting, we totally understood why St. Kevin chose this spot to worship. We were reminded of Assisi in Italy.

Beautiful spot for a dad & daughter walk.

Although the pictures don't do it justice, the Upper Lake was very pretty.

Today, the site has a peaceful feeling to it. The settlement sits between two beautiful lakes and the entire site is protected as a national park. The beautiful woods reminded all of us of Yosemite National Park which we visited a few years ago. It provides hiking trails and beautiful paths.

We've been sooooo lucky with the weather. Although overcast today, we had no rain. 

Enjoying the natural beauty.

The ruins at Glendalough.

In the settlement area, we walked through the cemetery and marveled at the ancient crosses marking graves. Many of these are still well tended, I’m assuming by relatives of those who have long passed. We also sought out St. Kevin’s Cross which is carved from a single block of granite. According to legend, if you hug this cross and can reach your fingers around to touch the fingers on the other side, you’ll have your wish granted. Of course, we all had to have a go at this!

We clearly can't get enough of them!

Aside from the serene landscape, we were happy to have more sheep and their lamb to enjoy. They surrounded the cemetery, baaaing every once in awhile, but basically, minding their own business.

JM and his girls: Glendalough edition.

HM first attempt at the St. Kevin's cross hug.

She figures out how to make it happen! Whew!

EM was hoping to outdo her sister...

But settled for the same solution!

Although barely, as the cross is that thick, JM was the only one who could really hug it.

At around 2pm, we headed to Dublin to find our next home away from home – a city apartment in the heart of the Temple Bar district (https://www.homeaway.com/vacation-rental/p6473944?utm_campaign=HAUS_TRV_RES_HASC_reservationaccept_PPS&utm_content=propid_text_o_lprop&utm_term=20161216&utm_source=SYS&utm_medium=email).

By now, JM and I have become pros on the road, with him navigating and me driving, we made it to our flat by 3:30PM. As our landlord couldn’t meet us until 5pm, we found a close parking spot (a miracle!) and had lunch at a local microbrewery nearby.

Afterwards, we divided and conquered. JM and EM met our landlord & HM & I headed to return our car rental at their city location. While not as diligent as JM with her warnings & knowing the difference between right & left, HM got the hang of navigating fast and by 5:40PM we were done with our Ireland driving experience. We are proud to say we put lots of kilometers on our car but no new dents!

EM points out our Dublin "home", a cute apartment
facing the river/canal.

After getting settled, HM passed out as she had a headache. JM, EM and I set out to purchase an extra suitcase as we are all overstuffed. We found the local mall & had fun finding one at an old-style “catalog” shopping store where you find the item online or in a old-fashioned paper catalog (remember the Sears catalog!?) they have, give them the SKU # and then they send it down to you on a conveyor belt to check it out. JM and I recall these stores from when we were kids, but this was a first for EM. As it was getting late and we were all tired, we went to M&S Foods which is short for Mark & Spencers Food from London and bought some supper items to enjoy in our apartment. 

Steps for today: 15,011!

Friday is slated for touring Guinness and seeing Trinity College & the Book of Kells.

Random pic of the day

The Irish love their dogs, but they love their sheep more!