Here we are, our last day in Dublin before heading home tomorrow. It has been a whirlwind vacation, from Scotland to Ireland. We have seen so much in the past 18 days, our heads are spinning. Time for a little vacation!
The past few days in Dublin have been incredible. The weather was on our side each day each except Monday, the day we visited The Cliffs of Moher and Galway, on the Southwest coast of Ireland, about three hours from Dublin. What an incredible place to visit and the Irish mist made it all much more mystical. It was a full day and our driver made it so informative and fun.
Tuesday, we explored Dublin in a more cultural way. We visited the amazing Trinity College and the Book of Kells. Beautiful and so much history! We then made our way to EPIC, the Irish Emigration Museum...where Every Person Is Connected. Wow, so well done and again, so much history to take in. We were very impressed and touched at the same time. A must for anyone visiting Dublin.
Yesterday, we had a change of plans. We originally planned to visit Kilkenny but we decided to spend less time in a car and more time exploring the country side so our driver took us to the South coast of Dublin, through Dalkey Village and up to Powerscourt, recently voted the 3rd best gardens in the world by National Geographic. We drove through the scenic Wicklow Mountains to Glendalough and discovered a 1,000 year old monastery and National Park, where we took in a beautiful hike through the forest. It was truly a magical day, most of it spent outdoors while taking in the majestic beauty of the country side.
Today, our last day, we decided to just take it easy and wander aimlessly through Dublin. We spent some quiet time in St Stephen Greens, a lovely park close to our hotel, just watching the world go by while reminiscing about the past 18 days or so.
It's been an incredible vacation and we enjoyed every moment of it. This trip was in honour of Russell's upcoming 65th birthday (in February) ... a way for him to go back to his Scottish and Irish roots. We go home with a wealth of memories, to be cherished always.
Tomorrow we fly to Toronto and Saturday morning we pick up Cooper and Spicy. Needless to say we look forward to seeing them. We're ready to go home.
I leave you with some photos of the past few days. I hope you enjoy them. Until next blog, have a great rest of the week!
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| The ivy is turning a brilliant red on most buildings..stunning! |
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| Trinity College, home to the Book of Kells. |
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| The Cliffs of Moher...a magical place. |
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| The Long Room at Trinity College... over 200,000 books. |
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| The Samuel Beckett bridge and the Jeanie Johnston on the Dublin water front...a replica of a three masted barque originally built in Quebec in 1847 by the Scottish born shipbuilder John Munn. |
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| Rolling hills of green pasture land. |
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| The ancestral family home of the Guinness brewing family in a valley, in the Wicklow mountains. |
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| Hillside sheep..free to roam the Wicklow hillside. |
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| Howth in the distance across a bay from Sandycove. |
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| Sandycove...a lovely spot on the coast of the Irish Sea. |
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| Powerscourt House and Gardens....stunning spot. |
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| The perennial gardens at Powerscourt. |
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| The pet cemetery at Powerscourt..dogs, ponies and cows... all pets have a place of honor. |
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| A lovely brook on the grounds of Glendalough in County Wicklow. |
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| A deer taking a break in Glendalough. |
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