Last Day in Dublin!

I feel like I have been talking about Dublin for weeks. I guess I have been, but it is so worth it.

Our best day in Dublin was the last and I have to admit, it was all John's idea. We knew we wanted to get outside of Dublin and see the Irish country side but we weren't sure how. One day in Nice we met some people from Ireland and they had told us to take a bus tour. Let me just say, I was not at all excited about this. Bus tours, to me, are what my grandparents did for their vacations- not what mid-20's couples did on vacation. Well, turns out, it was great. Not expensive at all, we didn't have to look at a map, didn't get lost, John didn't have to drive on the wrong side of the road, and the majority of the bus population was under the age of 30. (Other than the inconsiderate Frenchman who decided he needed to recline his seat onto my knees. Argh.)

The first stop on the tour was in Glendalough, which was my favorite part of the day and probably John's too. We wandered around a 6th century monastery established by Saint Kevin and had a short hike around the lake just behind it. There was a heavy fog on the mountains that just added to the atmosphere of the area- so dreamlike and green.


Then we went on to a couple other tourist stops and ended the day in Kilkenny. Kilkenny is one of the larger cities in Ireland and the former capital, but it felt so quaint. The main street was decorated with antique-looking light-posts complete with HUGE hanging baskets of flowers. We ate lunch here at a fantastic coffee house that was crowded with young, loud, irish teenagers eating lunch. If you ignored them, it was a GREAT place. Fantastic soups and sandwiches complete with a wonderful Chai tea. (Oh specialty coffee.. how I miss thee.) After lunch, we spent the afternoon rushing around trying to find all of the landmarks in Kilkenny. We did pretty well- 3 churches, 1 irish brewery, and 1 castle. Not to shabby.

By the time we left Kilkenny, I was dead on my feet and ready for a nap. Alas- the Irish country side is just too fantastic and I couldn't keep my eyes off of it. Fields of green farmland and sheep for miles and miles. I could have stayed for at least a week. When we finally made it back to Dublin, John and I headed back to the Guesthouse to get some rest. The 6:20am departure time for our flight was coming up really fast. Now, we just wait for our next trip to the Emerald Isle. Who wants to come with?