Naps, Monks, Beer, and Banana Cake

Hello! I leave Dublin (and Ireland) today and head off to Wales. But for now let’s recap yesterday in Glendalough and Dublin.

I started off the morning feeling super exhausted and with the same scratchy throat I went to bed with. Lame. I don’t want to get any sicker, but when I’m on a bus with people and constantly exposed to new germs and hotels without air conditioning, I imagine it would be hard to not get sick.

The exhaustion took over by about 8:15 and I napped through the bus tour of Dublin. I felt bad, but some friends told me I didn’t miss much. The tour ended at the Guinness brewery, where we got off to look around and have beer. Well, most of us had beer. I didn’t. I did get handed the one “under 18” ticket, but I explained that I’m 21, pointed out the 15-year old guy on the trip, and the tour guide apologized and told me it was a compliment. That’s the third time on this trip that I have almost not been served alcohol, despite the legal drinking age being 18. 

After that, I headed to Glendalough, about an hour away, where there are ancient monastic ruins and rich people and some of the area where Braveheart was filmed. We mostly saw the ruins and a lot of stunning landscape. I could’ve walked around forever, but I had an hour. Still, it was amazing.

When we got back to Dublin, I planned to walk to a few different places and then walk back to the hotel in decent time. And, well, I sort of did. First, I went to a bakery and got a killer, huge slice of chocolate banana cake. One of the issues I’d like to point out with tours like this (and there will be a full recap later) is that they do not prioritize regular meals and don’t make it clear when you will have access to food. I had a KIND bar in my bag, and while it was enough to hold me over for a few hours, I needed more. I also didn’t want a meal at 3:00 because then dinner would be late. Hence, giant banana cake that I enjoyed while people watching.

From there, I walked over near Ha’Penny Bridge to take some pictures. It started to rain then, which made me reconsider my further plans. I headed back toward Trinity College to take some pictures of the beautiful campus, but then opted to take the bus back to the hotel a little before 5:00 to rest up. I took a walk later to get dinner and some grocery store snacks, but I mostly chilled in bed and worked on packing up for departure. While all my stuff has stayed in the proper packing containers, I now have no idea where each container is. It’s kind of a mess. You try living out of a suitcase in 8 different hotels for 10 days and tell me you don’t feel like a mess.

Anyway, I loved Glendalough but it’s the kind of super-rural place I adore visiting but cannot imagine living. I also really like Dublin. It’s not as everywhere-you-turn picturesque as Edinburgh, but it has a fun, young vibe that’s pretty casual and navigable.

{Bottles at the Guinness factory}

{“Beer” comes from “baere”, which means “barley”}

{Entrance to the monastery grounds}

{Old church that got its roof ripped off when the Vikings sacked everything}

{I think if you hug this cross and your fingers touch and make a wish, it comes true – but you’d need long arms}

{Church that kept its roof because ain’t nobody – not English army, not Vikings – getting that stone roof off}

{Roofless church}

{Monastery that doesn’t have a ground floor door because then invaders could get in}

{If there’s water in that hole – and it sprinkled while we were there – and you put it on your cheek, you never age}

{It’s a little blurry because the bus was moving, but double/triple rainbow}

{Kick-ass chocolate chunk banana cake from KC Peaches}

{Ha’Penny Bridge}

{Some building at Trinity College – I like the slight reflection in the puddle}

{A door at the college}

{And another door. I like doors.}

Your turn:

Do you prefer rural or city environments? Suburbs?

What’s your go-to bakery order? I totally don’t have one because I’m picky. Whatever looks good.