Wicklow Mountains - Glendalough

The next stop on our trip was Glendalough.  It is a glacial valley with 2 beautiful lakes and a monastic settlement founded by St. Kevin, a hermit priest, in the 6th Century.  It became an educational and spiritual center like Clonmacnois and includes a round tower and cathedral.  On our trip, it was raining and chilly, but still worth seeing!

This is our bus driver - he was great craic!

Steve sporting the latest in Irish tourist umbrellas!

Shivering pilgrims!

This was actually Haley's idea...

Okay, supposedly, if you can't touch your fingers, you are a sinner.  Haley was the only female in the group who got even within range!
So close...

So far...

Connor must have cheated...

Steve looking smug, and Zach takes a pass...

Usually the bus tour allows everyone time to walk down to the lake, but given the rain and cold, the driver just took us there instead.

There are lovely hiking paths and below is a shot of a waterfall.

Wicklow Mountains and Luggala

This stop in the Wicklow Mountains is on the bridge used for a scene in the film PS I Love You.  The mountains are just gorgeous!

At this stop in the Mountains, we were overlooking a lovely valley that has a large estate home.  This was land that was bought by Ernest Guinness for his daughter.   The sand was brought in to make the beach.  The home is still privately owned and many stars and famous people have apparently used it as their get-away because it is extremely well-hidden, private, and secure.  There is a helipad so they can get in and out without issue.  I couldn't recall much about it, and then, when we stayed in Dublin, there was a whole book about it in our room! 

Apparently the home was built in 1787 by a Dublin Banking family, and it was purchased by Ernest Guinness in 1937 and given to his daughter, Oonagh, as a wedding present upon her marriage to Lord Oranmore and Browne.  The marriage didn't last, but they had two children, Garech and Tara.  Tara Browne died in a car crash at the age of 21, leaving behind two sons.  Oonagh threw lavish parties and invited authors, playwrights, musicians and artists to the home, making it a cultural center for the ages.  Garech Browne, like his mother, is a patron of the arts and of traditional Irish music especially, creating the Claddagh Records label and helping to form and launch the Irish band, The Chieftains. 

Anyway, it was interesting and quite a coincidence to find the coffee table book all about the family and the history of the home!

This is our shot on the PS I Love You bridge.
I have seen the movie, but I don't fully recall the bridge kiss. 

Anyway, the bus driver was hell bent on getting us to take a proper photo on the bridge...

Enniskerry

On Monday, January 5th, we booked a tour bus to take us up into the Wicklow Mountains to see some lovely views and wonderful towns.  This is the town of Enniskerry.  It was the first stop on the bus tour.  Basically, where you could buy some coffee, tea or cocoa and make a pit stop as necessary.

The sign in the town square tells us that Enniskerry is an estate village that began as a cluster of cottages beside a ford over the Cookstown River.  The prosperity of the town depended upon the landlords, the Viscounts Powerscourt.  When the great house of Powerscourt was rebuilt in the 1730's, the town grew to accommodate the people employed by the estate.  Two churches were built in 1859 - St. Patrick's Protestant Church near the great house, and St. Mary's Catholic Church near the bridge at Knocksink.

It is a quaint, hilly town and we took advantage of the family photo opp!

Haley is a dork!

O'Donoghue's Pub in Dublin

This Pub dates back to 1789!  Located on Merrion Row they have live music sessions 7 nights a week!  On this particular Sunday (January 4) they had a large group of musicians who came to play, sing, and entertain.  People would come in with their instruments and sit down and just join the group.  It was great craic!

This is actually outside - essentially an alley alongside the pub that is fitted out with a roof and heaters and lots of great people! That is the back of my blonde head and I believe I am swilling my Guinness...

Family Holiday in Dublin

Here we are on Grafton Street.  Hitting some pubs with the kids!

At the Dublin Airport Again...

So on Friday, January 2nd, Haley, Felicia, Connor and Zach took the train to Dublin and spent the day touring and then spent the night at the Westbury, which is just off Grafton Street.  Since they are all 18 or older, they were able to go out to the Temple Bar area and listen to music and dance and enjoy all that makes the world so much fun at that age! 

On Saturday, Steve and I drove to Dublin and met up with them at The Four Season's  Hotel.  We went out for dinner and the kids were tired from the night before, so they went back to the hotel and Steve and I stayed out for a bit enjoying music and beverages and just relaxing together.

On Sunday we had to say goodbye to our fabulous guest.  That was sad.  But, there is always Skype, FaceTime, SnapChat, and all those other ways to stay in touch!  Felicia got back to Chicago safe and sound and we stayed on in Dublin to do some more touring.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!

So we rang in the New Year with Mimosa's and chili and no  football because they don't really show the bowl games over here.  It was a nice, relaxing New Year's Day, but it was bittersweet as Connor's girlfriend, Kayla, lost her grandfather on January 1st.  He had been battling cancer for over a year.  In the summer, they determined he was in remission and things were looking good, but cancer sucks and he lost his battle in the new year. 

As a result of her grandfather going into hospice care at the end of December, Kay had to postpone her trip to Ireland.  She was supposed to fly in on January 4th for a week,  but we were able to re-set her itinerary so she could be home with her family during that time.  Connor was sad on many levels, as were we, but we are thankful that we knew well enough in advance to keep Kay in Illinois so  she could be with her family and now we can look forward to her visit in June when she will better be able to enjoy her trip.

Things like this make me thankful for facebook, email, and facetime, as we were able to be in contact and send out condolences and be there, at least virtually, for those we care about.  Kay has a strong, close family and they seem to be doing well under the circumstances.  Connor was a bit lost at not being there for her, but we kept him busy and they were in touch and so they both managed to get by and stay connected even though they were physically an ocean apart.

May the New Year be full of wonder, joy, and love for all.  Cheers.