Blarney to Dublin

Day 4 - May 14

Woke up to a good old fashioned rainy day in Ireland. Still very pretty though. Drove clear across the country today from County Cork in the southwest, to Dublin on the other side. Lots of riding, but pretty country. Lots of sheep and green. Stopped at a convenience store along the way for sandwiches and snacks. The checkout lady was confused as to where we were from, with all the different accents - New York, New Zealand, The Netherlands, Texas, California, Vermont, and of course Georgia. Guess we were a melting pot!

On to an old monastery / graveyard called Glendalough (valley of the two lakes). Still kinda misty - perfect graveyard tromping weather. More ruins here dating back to the 6th century. And there's still open spots in the cemetery if you want to reserve a spot, but hurry, they're going fast. Really neat 110' round tower where the monks would hide during Viking raids. Great misty view of the lake. Lots of neat old grave markers with Celtic circles. This was a popular tourist stop though. School groups and foreigners everywhere (and we fell into neither group, right!)

Last stop at Powerscourt. Huge Victorian garden and estate. Lots of fountains, topiaries, statues, hedges. Don't really dig the Victorian thing myself. But it was nice to visit. Lots of huge old trees and humongous rhododendrons again. Amazing how much bigger things grow there! I believe some movies have been filmed here too.

Drove into Dublin to the hotel - right downtown in the middle of all the action-the action of all the traffic, drunks, foot traffic, noise. Kinda uneasy walking around town - had to be on the lookout for pickpockets, drunks, freaks, punks called "neds" in track suits. Saw a fist fight on the sidewalk. Had another try to get on our bus and steal a bag. I am sooo not a a city girl! I prefer the sheep and cows. Went to several pubs to hear the Irish music. Didn't get good until after midnight - but then, they were really good! Two smokin' fiddles! I was in my element! If I only drank Guinness, I'd really fit in. All I can handle is a coke...with two cubes of ice.