the Ireland Trip: days 1-2

Our trip began when we left the neighborhood aorund 4, after several delays, of course. Traffic was bumper to bumper the opposide direction, but we had smooth driving to the airport for the most part. Quick check our small bags - less than 50 pounds between the two of us! - then waiting at the gate for take-off. Just enough time to try to figure out our new and borrowed cameras! The plane left on time, and we were in the air and on our way around 7pm, June 15th. Airplane dinner not as bad as it could've been, Tomi watched some TV, I read a little of Brisingr, and then we both tried to sleep some before our 7 hour flight landed us in Dublin at 9am (Irish time)...2am (Chicago time).
Out through customs, which was quick, despite the 20+ elementary school students in line with us, found our bags, exchanged our dollar-forty for single Euros (ouch), and then on to our Thrifty, nifty Fiat. With drivers on the right, which meant gear shift on the left. Oh dear. The rental clerk started to ask if I was really 25...and then blushed when he saw I was actually 3. lol.
The expressway was, of course, under construction. That just meant reduced speeds, though, and time to get use to the whole right/left road swap.
We realized about half an hour out from the airport that we needed the N7, not the N4 - thanks Thrifty clerk who was rushing us out the door! Oh, well. Lost is a state of mind, and according to the (sparse) road signs and our handy map, we just needed to take the next exit for R402. So, we meandered our way to Kildare, instead. It was pretty, adn we only had to turn around twice. The roads were lovely, if twisty and slow. Fine with me, beacuse of the whole wrong-side-of-the-road bit.
We hit Kildare adn parked in the city square right about the time Sol would wake up hungry. Me too!! It was sunny and breezy, and perfect for wandering around Brigid's Cathedral and the little town. Headstones dated back to the 1700s, and the round tower (2nd tallest in Ireland at 100 feet) dated back to the 8-900s. Mary adn Paddy, who let us into the tower for 8E were a chatty couple and gave us names of friends to see at Glendalough in Wickow on Tuesday. They also pointed us in the direction of a grocery and gave us directions to Brigid's Well.
http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k195/abelmom2000/Ireland/Ireland002.jpg
http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k195/abelmom2000/Ireland/Ireland004.jpg
After Tomi had a snack of green pepper, cheese dn bagetter, we set off through the warm afternoon to Brigid's Well. A mile outside of town, we came across the overgrown Black Abbey (or maybe the Grey Abbey), with headstones ranging from the 1700s-2008. The grass was mostly waist high, but a path was tramped clear to the inside of the old ruin, where people had recently built bonfires. A few more minutes down the country lave, we arrived at the neatly kept Brigid's Well and wishing pool. Happily visited by many, the trees and shrines were adorned with numerous trinkeys and prayers and wishes. Tomi and I both stretched out afer wandering around a bit, and napped in the warm sun. Ahhh, vacation!
http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k195/abelmom2000/Ireland/Ireland042.jpg
http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k195/abelmom2000/Ireland/Ireland044.jpg
http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k195/abelmom2000/Ireland/Ireland043.jpg
Our day ended with a tired walk back to Kildare, good-byes and thanks to Mary and Paddy, and our arrival the farm of Cherryvills House Bed adn Breakfast. The house/rooms wer immaculate, though we couldn't get the TV to work - a theme we repeated for the first several days of the trip - and the grounds looked a bit like a well-worn and used working farm. Tomi prompty took a shower adn fell asleep. I ate a snack and took up the 3rd in Paolini's Inheritance series and read until after 10, when I realized that the dusky light coming through the bay window was no indication of how late it was.
I forgot to look up the US country code, so was hopeful that Ramah wouldn't worry, or else would call if he was...

Wednesday, 17-6
We rose a bit late because of the overcast rain. We ate a hearty breakfast, though we skipped the traditional sausages of native Irelanders - fried eggs, fresh bacon for me, toast, fruit, juice and tea, some cocoa pebbles for Tomi. Then, we set off through the drizzle for Glendalough in the Wicklow Mountains. After turning around once, and only a few detours, we found Wicklow County, whose roads were much better marked than those in County Kildare. The gently rolling countryside of cows gave way to hills and mountains with sheep. Then we were on the Wicklow Way, winding our way up and up past old mining equipment and barren hillsides, the sun coming out over the tops of the ancient hills and pearly mist.
We got to Glendalough at lunchtime, and at granola bars and fruit while we walked the Green Road adn then up the mountain trail to the head of Poulanass Falls. The countryside was lush and green, ferns and deciduous trees native, interspersed with the Norwegian Pine planted by the reforestation efforts after the mining. The lakes were beautifully clear, as mountain lakes are, in spite of the red river adn foaming yellow falls. Poulanass rushed so hard down its steep-sided bed that it has created its own alluvial plain, which in turn has divided the mountain lake in Glen da lough (the Glen of Two Lakes). Interesting geology of the place.
http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k195/abelmom2000/Ireland/Ireland050.jpg
http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k195/abelmom2000/Ireland/Ireland052.jpg
http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k195/abelmom2000/Ireland/Ireland059.jpg
http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k195/abelmom2000/Ireland/Ireland055.jpg
http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k195/abelmom2000/Ireland/Ireland058.jpg
We stopped to talk ith the slightly batty, but knowledgeable and informative information center caretaker, where we spoke about the wild animals of Ireland -- bears and wolves were nateve, but the last were killed a century ago. Foxes, stoats, martins, otters, badgers, asquirrels, ferral goats, deer...no moles or voles, strangely enough...it was an intriguing conversation.
Then, on to Kevin's Way, where we wandered in the ruins of the fort or monastery, the catherday, saw another round tower, and a tangle of headstones stretched out and about from those eroded down to foot-sized stones to new ones only a few years old.
http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k195/abelmom2000/Ireland/Ireland064.jpg
http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k195/abelmom2000/Ireland/Ireland070.jpg
http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k195/abelmom2000/Ireland/Ireland067.jpg
We wound our way out of the mountains down to Wicklow City late in teh afternoon. The sun was out and the clouds gone by the time we found our way tot he seaside to sit for a spell before climbing up the hills again to find our night's lodging. Drom Ard, our B&B, was perched neatly, if precariously, on the hillside overlooking the city, the sea, adn the hills. It contrasted to the overgrown farmyard of Cherryville House, though the interior was not as fastidiously kept. We went back to the square for a deliciously expensive dinner at teh local steakhouse, where we got a 3-course meal and wine. Tasty.
http://i88.photobucket.com/albums/k195/abelmom2000/Ireland/Ireland073.jpg
Both days we saw signs of the failing economy. Wicklow was busy and bustling, but empty shops spoke for themselves. On the way to Kildare, one town would be building new houses while the next was shuttered and "for let."