Glendalough is an early Medieval monastic settlement founded in the 6th century. So it's super old. We went into a small exhibit at the visitor's center and then watched a short movie telling how monks settled in remote areas of Ireland and built monasteries, like Glendalough, where they prayed and wrote out scripture. I also learned that Ireland was once pagan, which I did not know, and that the early monks weaved their Christian beliefs and traditions into that of the pagans, allowing for a much smoother conversion over time.
The two arches leading into the monastic city of Glendalough.
Glendalough also features a round tower, one of the most iconic examples of Irish architecture. The round tower at Glendalough is one of the best surviving examples. The door, on the left side of the tower in the picture below is raised 3.5 meters to make the structure more stable as it has a shallow foundation for its height of 30 meters. The door is off center in relation to the windows because it was tradition to have the door point to the most important building in the city- in Glendalough's case, the cathedral.
The round tower at Glendalough.
The whole group took a picture inside the cathedral.
St. Kevin's Church, aka St. Kevin's kitchen. In the background is the mountain we hiked up.
Me at the top of the Wicklow Mountains!
The view of the upper lake from the top.
The monastic city of Glendalough from the top.
On Saturday, a few friends and I went on a day tour that went across the country to the west of Ireland. We passed through 11 counties during the day. It still amazes me that it only took 3 hours to cross the whole country! We had to wake up at 5 am to get to the bus on time, so we dozed off a little on the ride there. We stopped at a rest stop in the small town of Moneygall in Co. Offaly, where Obama is from. He actually traveled there and talked to the 600 residents. Because of his visit, when Moneygall got its own rest stop, they named it the Barack Obama Plaza. I thought this was the funniest thing ever.
I kid you not.
We then traveled to Limerick City in Co. Limerick, where we saw King John's Castle on the River Shannon.
King John's Castle.
The River Shannon. I love how they say River Shannon instead of Shannon River (same with the River Liffey).
We then traveled to our main destination- the Cliffs of Moher in Co. Clare. They were beautiful. And huge. It was very windy there because we were right on the Atlantic Ocean.
Just awe-inspiring.
Some of us at the cliffs.
We then stopped for lunch and I had Irish food for the first time! I had seafood chowder and a "meat bap" which ended up being two slices of pork with gravy on a bun. I also split a Bailey's cheesecake with a friend. It was pretty good.
After that we went to the Burren, which is a national park in Ireland. It had really cool rock formations on the ground.
The Burren.
After that, we stopped at Corcomroe Abbey, which is a 13th century abbey, and lastly went to the town of Kinvara in Co. Galway, which reminded me a little of Cape Cod.
Corcomroe Abbey.
Ignoring the castle in the background, Kinvara could easily be the Cape.
After that we headed back to Dublin. It was a long day but full of amazing sights and I'm so happy that I got to see such beautiful places, especially the Cliffs of Moher.
I can't wait to travel and see more of Ireland!
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