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Published: October 28th 2008
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Laurie was in charge of travel arrangements. Axel was in charge of lodging, food and proposing a touring itinerary. You’d think we’ve done this before…
The Emerald Isle came into view in the early dawn of the 16th in that last 20 minutes of grogginess before touchdown. The flight was completely uneventful and the landing smooth as silk in the still morning air. While we had prepared ourselves mentally for the fact that the weather this time of year would be less than ideal we have thus far been pleasantly surprised by the lack of precipitation and the amount of sunshine…famous last words.
The plan is to spend two nights in five separate locations around the southern rim of the island, western shore and Dublin. On this our first day, the basic intention was to get to Waterford and stay awake as long as possible to shed the jet lag. We are driving ourselves on this trip, which turned out to be a bit of an adventure in and of itself. Laurie had never driven on the left side of the road or a right-hand drive car. This fact had not really occurred to Axel who lived several years in countries
Magnificent scenery
Vale of Glendalough with right-hand drive cars. Nevertheless, we decided that she will be the driver and Axel will be the navigator for this trip. Experience has shown that this arrangement minimizes any…testiness.
In any case, we decided we felt so good that we wanted do a little bit of tourism while heading down towards County Waterford. Half way between Dublin and Waterford, we left the main highway and ventured onto the narrow Irish country roads headed for a place called Glendalough located in a spectacular valley in the Wicklow Mountains. The narrow roads were a bit challenging at first, especially for Laurie who was learning to drive all over again on a different side of the road. More than once, Axel thought the side view mirror would meet an untimely end embedded in a thick Irish hedge (or the stone hedge wall hidden underneath!). At Glendalough, two lakes, or loughs, lie in the bottom of a valley whose tree-lined sides rise steeply from the edge of the water. The chief attraction here is the remains of a monastery founded by St. Kevin in the 6th century. Although the simple, unadorned stone ruins were neat in their own right, the locale was the
real crowd pleaser. In the cool, crisp air and low autumnal sunlight the valley was beautiful. As we explored the woods above one of the lakes where it is said that St. Kevin meditated in solitude for months on end, it was easy to imagine him doing so with the sound of crystal clear burbling streams in his ears and the peaceful valley to contemplate. We met two residents here of the four legged kind, two billy goats to be exact. Their names? You guessed it: George and Henry. Laurie wouldn’t have it any other way. They didn’t seem at all disturbed by our presence standing over St. Kevin’s “Cell.” Perhaps their ancestors knew the Saint?
A word on Irish history:
1.) It didn’t take us long to come to the conclusion that Ireland has a lot of ruined monasteries. Many of the “must see” locations in our trusty Green guide are ecclesiastical. Ruined churches dot the bright green countryside in a number which seems far disproportionate to the population. Although Ireland had lay leaders in the centuries following the fall of Rome, these leaders seemed to be equal parts lay and religious.
2.) Ireland has faced many calamities; from
the depredations of various armed invaders such as the Vikings or Normans, to catastrophic epidemics such as the plague (33% of the population) and the Great Famine. In fact, facing calamities seems to be a bit of an Irish trait.
We eventually got to Waterford, tired but determined to hold out until bedtime. We had a wonderful dinner at a restaurant in the little fishing port of Dunmore East. The highlight of the meal was a potato gnocchi with gorgonzola, walnuts and cabbage. Yummm. As it turns, the owner/chef was lingering around the dining room chatting amongst the guests. Eating good food is a huge part of our trip so we are committed to sticking to Michelin’s recommendations and so far they are 1 for 1!
Where We Stayed: Arlington Lodge
Where We Ate: The Ship (well, that was its name, it has since changed… will have to get back to you on that)
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