Wicklow Mountains, Sally Gap, 2 lakes and Glendalough tour
With Ann
13th Feb 05 - Sunday
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I went on another tour around Wikclow Mountains and Glendalough but this was different than the first so i didnt mind paying the €25 for it and it was really worth it, only thing that annoyed me a bit was the weather, it was just too cold!

Our tour guide Damien was very good at his job,and he seemed to be having a good time! i liked how he was always talking and telling us about the sites and things that we would pass and about everyday life and things...for example how the pubs operate with the tide, so if the tide is down, the pub is closed, this is tradition and comes from many centuries ago from when the boats used to bring their cargo in and the sailors would then go to all the pubs and drink after a hard days work...

I made sure i got good seats on the bus and boy did I! right at the front like a good little girl! haha but the whole trip we saw everything and heard Damien on his mic pretty clearly...

We drove through Dun Loghaire and Dalkey and these 2 places are amazing! they are so beautiful, now i understand why a lot of irishes live outside of Dublin city, cos its a hole! and all the nicer suburbs are just outside it, about 30mins away...i cant wait to get my camera and go floricking around taking pictures!

We went to Glendalough, so ive been, doesnt matter cos i learnt a few more interesting facts about St Kevin and what he got about doing in those days...also took some more great pics and this time with me in them! [cos the other tour i had gone on by myself] we went for a 25min walk to the 2 lakes (this i didnt do last time as well) the weather was FREEZING and i remember my fingers being so cold i was careful not to snap them off! sheesh!

I had the BEST Guiness and beef stew at the lunch stopover that we had, man it was such an awesome feed! €11.50 but welll worth the stew, yummy beef and huge protions...had a nice chat with an australian lady who has moved over to england with her disabled son and her daughter, she has it tough but she loves what she is doing she says...we were telling her how we cant wait to go home and shes like well, i dont have a home anymore in aus, and it got us thinking how hard it must be for her trying to make a home at her age, she is divorced and i think thats what made her start all this travelling around...we swapped some interesting stories and had a good craic...

We drove around to the Sally gap and was it amazing! it was such a great view into the valley and we were looking down onto a natural gorgeous lake (apparently took 15000 years to get the exact colour that the water is and there is a little property located right near it...its gorgeous! we got out (me and Ann ran on first) slipped and slid all over the place trying to get a good pic op, and man was it windy! i got knocked around quite a bit and there was no fence as a 'just incase' so it was pretty scary...took some photos and ran back to the bus just cos it was too cold..

The view we had of dublin was amazing, we drove along a road high up and saw a lot of dublin from up there, really nice view, passed many local pubs which apparently is a must see, they pull out violins and start playing traditional music for you! that would be grand to see...

All in all, everyone kept to themselves (we talked to a nice american girl but thats all) and wasnt very interesting crowd but hey, we werent there for the people...for the scenery!

Got back to Dublin around 5pm and went around looking at some shops on Grafton st...was a pretty cool day and im glad i went...