Probably twice a day we praise the organization of ES for being perfectly planned. From the order of our city visits and the amount of time allotted in each to the types of activities planned and meals served, everything is well-thoughtout and helps make this program such a dreamy one. Friday was a whirlwind in Dublin, Saturday was filled with relaxed tourist activity in the city, and Sunday concluded the trip with time spent in the gorgeous countryside. Sounds pretty perfect, right?
After leaving Trinity College, we drove to the countryside. We hiked over the Wicklow Hills and checked out the small monastic site + tall guard tower that remains until we reached the Glendalough Upper Lake. The hike was serene and stunningly green. We were surrounded by hundreds of skinny but strong trees, lush, forest moss, and the sound of flowing water. I felt like Katniss Everdeen! (Well, kind of.) In fact, a good bit of our trek we saw no one else. However, we did pass many dogs getting their afternoon walks and a tourist group or two. The walk culminated with a stellar view that started at the pebbles along the lake's edge and spanned up the mountainside and into the clear, blue sky. I could have sat there all day.
From Glendalough we bused to Glenview Hotel, where we had a traditional three-course Sunday lunch (lamb...again + a variety of the chef's favorite desserts). We rounded out our time in Ireland at the Powerscourt House and Gardens. Once a castle, the house was remodeled in the eighteenth century but the interior burned in the 1970s. It remained unchanged for about twenty years, when it became a shopping center of sorts, featuring a golf course, hotel, and restaurant. It is also, of course, a tourist attraction. (And the filming location of The Count of Monte Cristo). Let me tell you, I felt like the red-head in Brave + Duchess Kate + Cinderella all at the same time whilst perusing the estate. The gardens boasted well-manicured rows of perfectly pruned rose bushes and fantastical sculptures of mermaids and horses, as well has natural groupings of pine trees and grazing, chocolate brown horses.
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