Dublin Day 4- A Rainy Tour

Today we did a free tour through the Wicklow Mountains to Glendalough and Kilkenny. It was free because the hostel we're staying at also does tours, and you get this one for free if you book at least 2 nights with them. Unfortunately the weather today was the complete opposite of yesterday. It was rainy and cold and gray, but it was still a good tour.

It started off at 8 this morning, and pick up was right in front of the hostel so we got to sleep in til 7 which was nice. The bus headed south, and only about half an hour outside of Dublin are the Wicklow Mountains. Really beautiful, but I'm sure more beautiful in sunny weather. The tour guide said they're more brown than usual because Ireland has had uncharacteristically terrible weather this year, like with snow which they never get.

We went through a lot of tiny villages where a lot of movie stars live, like Daniel Day-Lewis and some others, but that was the only one I remember.

The first stop was at Glendalough. This is where many scenes from Braveheart, and that one scene from PS I Love You, and scenes from a lot of other movies were filmed. It was beautiful, but pouring rain. We were stopped there for an hour and a half and had the option to either go hiking or sit in a cafe, so of course Emily and I went hiking. We got soaked, but it was totally worth it. We hiked through the woods a bit, then came upon a lake, then went through some more woods, then came to a beautiful lake with mountains. So cool.

Hiking in Glendalough:

One of several waterfalls:

Awesome lake:

When we got back to the visitor's center after hiking we dried our socks and shoes a little in the hand dryers in the bathroom. It helped a little, but we were soggy for the rest of the trip.

As we continued driving through the Wicklow Mountains (on the Braveheart Trail), it started snowing. Yeah, it was that cold and gross outside.

The next stop was at another portal tomb, like the ones we saw yesterday. This one was younger than the others (1000 BC I think?) but bigger. We had to tromp across a field to it in the rain, but whatever. It was weird because that one hasn't been excavated, so they don't know what's under it.

Portal tomb:

Our next and final stop was in the village of Kilkenny. We stopped there for 2 and a half hours. First Emily and I got a great lunch at the National Craft Center, or something like that. Then we walked to the cathedral, but we didn't want to pay to go in, so we just ducked our heads in to see it then left. It was beautiful, a typical European cathedral. Then we walked to the castle, which was pretty cool. We did pay to go in there. We still had about 45 minutes after that, so we got coffee and hot chocolate at a little cafe until it was time to go.

Kilkenny Castle:

Kilkenny Cathedral:

I slept most of the bus ride back, so that was enjoyable. Emily tried to go to the evensong at St. Patrick's when we got back (I had already gone so I decided to change into dry clothes instead- we didn't have time to do both), but turns out it was just a prayer service because it's Holy Week. She said it was still really nice though.

Now we're just uploading pictures and stuff in our trusty ol' internet cafe. I don't think we're going to go out tonight. We did find a pub with good music and a good athmosphere last night so that was fun, but it's too expensive and we're too tired to go out for a third night tonight.

Brussels tomorrow!