The next morning we were up bright and early for our Wild Wicklow Tour!
The Wicklow Mountains, as I'm sure you are aware, are the wild rolling mountains just south of Dublin. They are what you think of, honestly, when you think of Ireland. They are the hills where so many of the scenes of Braveheart were filmed. Oh, were you not aware that Braveheart was largely filmed in Ireland? Don't you fret, little friend, someone will mention it to you at least every other sentence if you are anywhere near where actual filming occurred.
The tour was on a large tour bus (which, being Irish, they all referred to as a "coach"). It was quite comfy, and I didn't feel cramped at all, which is important, because being cramped while on vacation is just stupid. We first stopped off at the docks of Dublin, and I ran out onto the rocks, and K took a picture of me out there, holding my sketchbook as always:
The Wicklow Mountains, as I'm sure you are aware, are the wild rolling mountains just south of Dublin. They are what you think of, honestly, when you think of Ireland. They are the hills where so many of the scenes of Braveheart were filmed. Oh, were you not aware that Braveheart was largely filmed in Ireland? Don't you fret, little friend, someone will mention it to you at least every other sentence if you are anywhere near where actual filming occurred.
The tour was on a large tour bus (which, being Irish, they all referred to as a "coach"). It was quite comfy, and I didn't feel cramped at all, which is important, because being cramped while on vacation is just stupid. We first stopped off at the docks of Dublin, and I ran out onto the rocks, and K took a picture of me out there, holding my sketchbook as always:
We all boarded the coach again, and then--
"HANG ON A TICK!" I hear you shouting. "Why is every picture you're posting a picture of YOU? Where are all the pictures you took of Kris??"
Well, the fact is, I took a LOT of pictures, and, indeed, a lot of pictures of Kris, as she is stunningly beautiful. However, my phone took it upon itself to purge quite a lot of the pictures I took, so my photos won't show up until we get to the Ring of Kerry, which is still some days away. Until then, you're stuck with pictures of me, so suck it up, soldier.
Right, so up we went to into the hills. First, though, we passed Bono's house. It had a great huge gate inscribed with lyrics from U2 songs. We couldn't see inside, as he had also built great huge walls.
Our tour guide was very nice, and very knowledgeable about the area, which is what you want in a tour guide, honestly. The roads in Ireland, by the way, are usually one lane in each direction, and roughly 1.5 cars wide in total. When passing a car going the other way, then, both drivers will slam their car to the left (they drive on the wrong side) so that no one is brutally killed in a high-speed head-on collision. Helpfully, just next to the roads throughout Ireland there are large stone walls or thick, heavy trees, so one is constantly scraping up the side of one's rental car. In this case, the coach was getting all scraped up, so I cared a lot less, but it was nonetheless unnerving being on roads that tiny in something that big.
Eventually, though, we were actually up in the Wicklow mountains proper.
It was unbelievable. You could step to the edge of the thick heather covering the ground, and look out over rolling hills and mountains stretching for as far as the eye could see.
"HANG ON A TICK!" I hear you shouting. "Why is every picture you're posting a picture of YOU? Where are all the pictures you took of Kris??"
Well, the fact is, I took a LOT of pictures, and, indeed, a lot of pictures of Kris, as she is stunningly beautiful. However, my phone took it upon itself to purge quite a lot of the pictures I took, so my photos won't show up until we get to the Ring of Kerry, which is still some days away. Until then, you're stuck with pictures of me, so suck it up, soldier.
Right, so up we went to into the hills. First, though, we passed Bono's house. It had a great huge gate inscribed with lyrics from U2 songs. We couldn't see inside, as he had also built great huge walls.
Our tour guide was very nice, and very knowledgeable about the area, which is what you want in a tour guide, honestly. The roads in Ireland, by the way, are usually one lane in each direction, and roughly 1.5 cars wide in total. When passing a car going the other way, then, both drivers will slam their car to the left (they drive on the wrong side) so that no one is brutally killed in a high-speed head-on collision. Helpfully, just next to the roads throughout Ireland there are large stone walls or thick, heavy trees, so one is constantly scraping up the side of one's rental car. In this case, the coach was getting all scraped up, so I cared a lot less, but it was nonetheless unnerving being on roads that tiny in something that big.
Eventually, though, we were actually up in the Wicklow mountains proper.
It was unbelievable. You could step to the edge of the thick heather covering the ground, and look out over rolling hills and mountains stretching for as far as the eye could see.
Truly, some of the most beautiful country I have ever beheld personally. It was an amazing day.
Oh, hey, look, there's a picture of us!
Oh, hey, look, there's a picture of us!
After lunch, we went up to Glendelough (pronounced GLENdylock), which is not only beautiful, but also is the site of an ancient town center, filled with buildings made of both mortared and unmortared stone. Pretty amazing stuff.
To cap off our long trek, we each enjoyed a shot of Scotch, which was the best, smoothest, most...
...no, it tasted the way gasoline smells, as all Scotch does. I just don't get it, I guess. I'm okay with that, though!
We retired to our hotel, and enjoyed a low-key dinner, tea, and slept like dead things. It was a really long day, but tremendously beautiful throughout.
This is a good vacation.
Tomorrow, ADVENTURE!! :)
...no, it tasted the way gasoline smells, as all Scotch does. I just don't get it, I guess. I'm okay with that, though!
We retired to our hotel, and enjoyed a low-key dinner, tea, and slept like dead things. It was a really long day, but tremendously beautiful throughout.
This is a good vacation.
Tomorrow, ADVENTURE!! :)
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