Epic Europe Adventure

It's hard to believe that we have been in Ireland now for 9 days they seemed to have blurred by with the consumption of Guinness and hearty Irish food. The culture is very similar to that of London but in actual fact Dublin is a lot more expensive than London especially in Temple Bar where we hung out. On our second day in Dublin we decided to take a guided tour of the countryside that was very rewarding. The first thing we noticed as we bumped along the country roads was the hills, as you imagine the Irish countryside you expect green rolling hills spotted with sheep and acres of willowy trees. But to our surprise the country was different, rather than green hills we enjoyed burnished gold grass scattered with pine forests. One element of the country landscape which lived up to my imagination thou was the thick fog which covered the hills. We visited and passed the film locations for Braveheart and P.S I Love You. One stop we made in the middle of nowhere and our guide jumper out of the bus and returned with a small black lump of dirt. In Ireland they call this "Boag" and the lands we were in is famous for it. This is simply a long lost forest that consists of roots and leaves, it's then cut away by the locals and used to burn in fires - it burns without creating flames and is used in pubs all throughout Ireland due to its aromatic smell and the heat it can provide. It reminded us of the smell of an outdoor campfire. Continuing to bump our way through the hills we visited the town of Glendalough and stopped off at the old monastery and from there was able to take a walk through to the upper lake in the Wicklow National Park. The walk was spectacular, it was so green and mystical you expected men to ride past you all dressed for Celtic battle and ladies in long gowns with flowers in their hair to be frolicking in between the trees. The lake was beautiful, tucked between the mountains it was like a small secret haven. After our walk we jumped aboard the bus and was taken to the small Town of Lara, and stopped for a stew and a lager. From there we drove along the coast past "Bono and Enya's" houses on our way back to Dublin. So far Ireland has been a beautiful and relaxing place, the people are so friendly and well worth a chat too. We are so close to finishing our trip now with London being our last stop, it will feel like coming home again and definitely will be sad to go. Anyway till my next post! :)