Last Day in the Country

On our last day in Ireland we started again with an amazing breakfast at our hotel. Seriously, this breakfast was so good Ruben snapped a photo! I will miss the large yogurt bar and delicious pastries (chocolate croissant? yes please!) They also had traditional Irish breakfast items including eggs, Irish bacon, potatoes, grilled tomatoes, mushrooms, black and white pudding (gross and smelly sausages, one made with blood!), cold smoked salmon, other cold meats and cheeses, cereal, yogurt parfaits and a large fresh honey comb that you broke off part of to use if you wanted some special honey on your toast! But I digress...

We headed out into the countryside to see the area south of Dublin. First we visited Powerscourt, which is a historic manor house with enormous grounds created into a spectacular garden! It is probably the last of the opulent home gardens built in Europe. It features an Italian garden, Japanese garden, walled gardens, a pond with fountain, pet cemetery, sunken grotto and tower. Each area is very large and has its own unique trees and plants that accompany it. But the view from the pond up towards the house with terraces, statues and great green lawns is the most impressive! This home and gardens has been filmed for several movies including "The Count of Monte Cristo."

After that we headed down towards Glendalough, which is a famous monastery from years and years ago, but we had such a good time along the way we never made it! We loved driving through the Wicklow mountains along the winding roads that took us beside sheep pastures, forests and farmhouses that have been there for generations. (Although ironically you see lots of satellite dishes!)

My favorite sight was a few horses clustered near the road. There were several pairs of mamas and babies, and they were one of those beautiful breeds with long, shaggy manes and tails, and some with feathers (hair) on their feet! 

We stopped for a late lunch in a little pub and restaurant in a nice country village. Another tourist told us they were filming scenes for the TV show "Vikings" nearby, so we followed his directions but never found it. It was ok, we loved the lakes, stone-walled pastures and the many shades of green on our drive. We headed back to Dublin for one last night, we ate at a Spanish tapas place. 

The next day we had a smooty (but long) flight home. It was great to see the kids and get back to real life. 

Thanks again to my awesome dad! He did so great with the kids this week and they had so much fun with Papa!

A Coastal Cliff Walk

Today was interesting because I headed out of town on the DART train to the Howth peninsula just outside of Dublin. It was another beautiful day and I was looking forward to a hike along the coast with high cliff views of the Irish Sea. It started great enough, with a gentle upward trail and rugged, gorgeous views of the ocean waves, a sail boat and seals playing in the water. But as my walk started to run parallel to the ocean the winds picked up and my hair and earrings were blowing against my face so hard! Then the weather changed for the worse. By the time I reached the halfway point at the top of the island (and near an old lighthouse that perches on the south end of the island), cloudy skies were bringing even more fierce winds inland and there was a visible mist rolling onto the island. I thought I was about to get poured on! As much as I love looking at stormy seas I don't like to be caught in the crossfire, so I hopped a bus back to the village trailhead, rather than hiking back down in the weather! It was an adventure for sure. A local later told me I had experienced true Irish weather-all four seasons in one day, and that I was lucky not to be snowed upon! But after a lemon-butter-sugar crepe and a latte I was refreshed and headed back to town to rest at the hotel and go to dinner with Ruben. I had spotted a French restaurant in town and we wanted to remember the joys of dining in Paris. Sadly, his beouf bourgeinon was not up to par but my salmon with some kind of buttery sauce was delish! And so was the strawberry tart and creme brûlée. Viva la France! He finished work today so we'll explore the countryside tomorrow!

A Perfect Day

I had the perfect day today filled with art, history and...shopping! We started the day with some rain and clouds, which was interesting to see after all our sunny blue skies this week. The real Ireland! Apparently we've just been lucky to visit during week(s) of summer. I curled up by the hotel window with my Irish wool throw and watched the storm for awhile. When it slowed in late morning I grabbed a cab and headed to the National Gallery. There I was lucky to see Irelands most famous painting, "The Meeting on the Turret Stairs." It's a vibrant watercolor of a scene from an old Irish ballad. A princess falls in love with her knight bodyguard, but her father the King is so upset when he discovers their love that he orders him to be killed. The painting is their last moment together and it is heartbreaking and powerful. For some reason the painting is very sensitive to light so it is only on display for 3 hours a week. If you're here try not to miss it!

After that I walked down Henry Street and enjoyed a little shopping. There are many stores that we know from the U.S. but plenty of local shops as well. I found a stylish and fun light jacket in Arnotts, which is a large and sophisticated Irish department store. Another interesting thing that I saw there was those funny little hats female Britush royalty (and others?) wear on special occasions. The ones that are a little 4 inch circle worn near the forehead with feathers or something crazy sticking up high. I passed those up, although I'm sure Maya would have loved one!

Outside it had started to lightly rain again but I enjoyed a walk over the Ha'Penny bridge (called that because it used to cost a half of a penny to cross it) to the Charles Beatty Library. The library is really a collection of rare sacred texts from the worlds major religions. I was fascinated by the earliest copies of Paul's letters in existence! They were in Greek on papyrus and they were falling apart but you could still read almost all of the text.  I also saw the earliest copies of the gospels and several other books such as Genesis and Esther. Most were from 200-250 AD. Amazing! You can't help but get choked up a little to see such precious ancient documents in front of you!

Later that night went to visit some Intel friends of ours at their home outside of Dublin. We had a wonderful time visiting with them and had the most delicious Indian food! I've also included some photos from around the city again. So many beautiful sights!

Went to Jail and Loved It!

Today Ruben had to start work, so he took the car and headed out of the city to the Intel factory. We realized late last night that we were staying in the same hotel as one of his co-workers and his wife and son. I hadn't gotten any info about her name or cell but I wasnt surprised when I was approached by an outgoing American lady with a Texas A&M backpack at breakfast. In an international dining room it's usually not hard to pick out your own kind, especially if they use the word ya'll. :)

So Carey, her 8 yr old son Owen and I hung around for most of the day. We took a cab across town to Kilmainham Gaol, a famous prison that now gives historical tours. It's interesting because, as scary and arcaic as Kilmainham seems, it was built with several very forward-thinking principles such as separating the prisoners into individual cells and using lots of natural light to help the mental state of people inside. It was about then that capital punishment became less common (like public hangings) and people were spending longer time in prisons, so prisons needed to be more humane. But it was still very difficult: very little food (and horrible quality) was given and it was extremely cold in the winter.  Our tour included a lot about politics as the prison held political prisoners after each of Irelands uprisings against the British. Until the last prisoner held was their future president! 

After our tour we split up and I had a quick bite to eat in a pub while I Facetimed the kids back home. 

Then after Ruben came home we went to an Irish Music kind of education/performance. It was fantastic! We heard about the unique instruments Ireland uses in their traditional (trad) music, and how musicians are taught their craft, learn new pieces and "have a conversation" with other musicians. We loved their singing too, many songs were sad and haunting but a few cracked you up! We finished our night with some delicious Thai food. I've included some photos of Dublin in general as I walked back from the prison to the hotel.