Driving into Dublin

Well, my friends and I finished up our time in the countryside by spending one last night in the medival city of Kilkenny.  We arrived in Kilkenny just in time to tour the castle which is right in the middle of town, before it closed.  We then were off to find our hostel and head out in search of food.  We had a great dinner in an Irish Pub and enjoyed the atmosphere.  Once done, we wandered around, taking in the city and enjoying the ambiance.  It was a beautiful city, built long ago with old buildings set next to a river with a few major bridges crossing over.  We also found this great old fashioned candy shop that looks like the candy shop in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.

The following day, it was onto some small towns for another coastal and scenic drive.  We have seen more rolling hills just covered in green grass and trees here than I think I ever have.  I was driving us down several small back country roads, so we have also enjoyed many small towns and cities that we would not have had the opportunity to see if we were taking public transportation.  We first stopped in this little tiny town called Glendalough, where there is an old monastery that was once a city in ruins.  Monastic priests lived there fore several hundred years before it was destroyed and conquered.  Unfortunately, we arrived there about the same time as a tour bus so it was not as quiet and sureal as we would have hoped, but it was breath taking.  The old city ruins are set back against a back drop of green hills and trees and it is very secluded.  There are some old buildings, churches, and several gravestones in the city. 

After that, we were on our way to Powerscourt, a huge estate with these beautiful gardens.  The house is not open other than the shops, but the gardens are really what make it worth it.  We had lunch in the cafe with a gorgeous view of the Wiklow Mountains, greenery, and trees.  It was amazing!  We then walked around the gardens enjoying the birds singing and the quiet setting before grabbing dessert and heading off to Dublin. 

I drove us into Dublin safely and am happy to say that my driving days are over here.  We are walking around by foot.  Driving was an adventure as usual.  We did it all by maps, the old fashioned way.  Tina was navigator using the maps and we were able to get around.  We kept having a slight mix up though as she would say Right when she really meant Left or the other way around.  Driving on the opposite side of the road really screwed with her Left and Right, so Jessica would interpret for us.  We ended up on the wrong roads at times, sometimes these little one lane roads where I was having to back up or the other car was to be able to pass, but it ended up well and there were no major problems.  More than once, I ended up circling a traffic circle several times while my navigators figured out which way to go.  Other cars were looking at us like we were crazy, but it worked and we were on our way!

Yesterday, we arrived in Dublin, which has been in stark contrast to anything else we have seen in Ireland.  It is a big bustling city with tons of people, traffic and cars.  There is no where else here that we have seen that even compares to what it is like here.  As it is summer, the sun shines until 10pm at night and people are out walking around at all hours.  We headed out and walked around to get a feel for the city and enjoyed some time relaxing in one of the beautiful parks. 

Today, we have been on the go all day.  First stop was Trinity College where we did a walking tour to get some history of the city before going to see the Book of Kells, which is housed there.  This is one of the oldest manuscripts in Ireland related to Christianity as it is the 4 gospels.  Next stop was St. Patricks Cathedral, which is a very impressive church.  There has been a church on this site since sometime in the 12th or 13th century.  The church itself if beautiful, a very old building and still used to this day for services.  Our final stop of the day was the Guiness Storehouse where we did a tour of how they make the beer and brew it.  It has been at this sit for going on 250 years and supposedly when it was originally started, a 9,000 year leased was signed which is on display.  After the tour, we headed to the very top (7th) floor of the building where you can see our over all of Dublin as far as the eye can see all around.  It is a circle room encased in glass so you can see everything.  There is a bar up there and everyone who does the tour gets a free pint, so we all did our best to finish ours.  Let me just say, I have no idea why people like this stuff as it was aweful!  I have tried and am just not a fan of beer. 

Tonight, we are heading out to enjoy our last night together before I head off for the next two weeks and my friends head home on Friday.  I leave tomorrow at 5pm and need to leave for the airport around 2pm.  So tomorrow morning we are going to head over to see one of the old jails here that tells a lot of the history of the city.  It sounded interesting and was recommended to us by this family we met today.  It has been tons of fun so far and we all realize how blessed we are to have the opportunity to travel as we do.  Many other people our age do not have nor do they take these opportunities.  We have been truly blessed. 

I realized the other day that by the end of this trip, I will have visited a total of 29 countries in my short little life.  I am currently 29 years old.  I told my friends that I think my goal is going to try and continue to have visited as many countries as my age. My friend pointed out to me that as I am turning 30 in a few months, I will need to visit another country before my next birthday.  I realize that and am working on planning my next trip already!  I gotta have something to look forward to, right?