Glendalough and Kilkenny

As you know, I went on a tour of Gledalough and Kilkenny yesterday. I have no words...it was spectacular. I have been staying fairly close to the city the last few weeks and this trip has solidified just how much I was indeed missing out on. I do have to intern during the week, so my full free days are limited, but from here on out I will be trying to schedule a tour one day of each weekend. I  have two more scheduled so far.

Glendalough was so beautiful. It is a medieval monastic settlement found in the 6th century by St. Kevin. St. Kevin was a hermit priest that spent his life in a process of self-exploration, reflection and prayer. After spending time in that place, I could see why one would commit to a life of solitude there. The picture I posted yesterday was a one of me standing by the Upper Lake of Glendalough, there is also a Lower Lake. Part of the hike, I got to visit with a nice Colombian girl and a nice French girl; both of whom were traveling alone as well. They were really curious about American culture and we asked each other a lot of questions. I did note that Texas's reputation precedes me--on our way back to the bus a pick-up truck passed (literally, only the third I have seen thus far), and the French girl said--ahh, like Texas! I could not dispute to reference.

After hiking through the area, we headed to Kilkenny by way of the Wicklow Mountains. Gorgeous. Again. Our tour guide mentioned that Mel Gibson ran around in a kilt with no underwear on in those mountains. Remember the movie? Hilary Swank and Gerard Butler also did some work in the area we passed.

We made a quick stopped before we got to Kilkenny to a place that our tour guide called, "the middle arse of nowhere". We, in the US, know it as BFE. Actually, it was the place were an ancient portal tomb stood. It was a quick twenty minute jaunt there and back and we were back on the big green bus to our destination.

We arrived in Kilkenny for lunch. Kilkenny was the medieval Capitol of Ireland until Elizabeth I moved the capitol to Dublin in the 16th century. I had a quick bite to eat and headed over to Kilkenny Castle. The castle that has existed since the 12th century. It is believed that Strongbow married the King of Leinster's daughter there. The current castle has been remodeled to replicate how the it looked in the Victorian era. Naturally, no pictures were allowed inside, so you will just have to go visit it yourself one day! It was really neat, I can't understand why the family abandoned it in the 1930s. After leaving the castle, I did a little shopping and scored myself some Kilkenny crystal. Three pieces to be exact. One that will go quite nicely in a little hutch in Fredericksburg, the other two will reside in my house. Let's hope they survive a trans-Atlantic flight.

I could have spent more time in Kilkenny, but it was eventually time to go. My first solo tour was a wonderful and I will do it again soon.

Today, I was feeling a little nostalgic for the good 'ol US of A and decided to treat myself to a lunch at Eddie Rockets for a hamburger and fries (where British Rock was blaring from the speakers) and then on to the cinema to see an American movie--Letters to Juliet, which ironically took place in Italy most of the time. It was a beautiful day and while I contemplated packing my rain jacket and putting on my tennis shoes, I opted to leave those things at the apartment and donned my cute little purse and sparkly sandals. I entered the movie theatre feeling a little guilty to be spending the afternoon inside, but Dublin did not let me forget where I was--I left the theatre in the middle of a downpour and a temperature drop of twenty degrees. Needless to say, I made a beeline to the first department store for a warm scarf and an umbrella. I should have purchased shoes too, because my toes were holding on to those cute, wet sandals for dear life. After some warm soup, I decided it would be a perfect time to catch you up on my activities.

I have a lot more pictures, so if you want to see more there on some on my FB or I can post more.

Tomorrow it is back to work. I need to locate a hair salon for a desperately needed hair cut. Enjoy your Sunday. Later......