Wicklow Area (in brown)

After a great breakfast, we headed off to Glendalough, nestled in a deep valley in the beautiful Wicklow Mountains. We were looking forward to this location, and weren't disappointed!

Glendalough was the most lush natural beauty we saw in our trip; it's only rival was the Dingle peninsula with it's rugged beauty.

Glendalough flourished as a monastic center from the 6th century until 1398. It's founder was St. Kevin, a descendant of the royal house of Leinster, who renounced the world and came here to live as a hermit before opening the monastery in 550 A.D.

Pictured below is the only surviving entrance to an ancient monasic site anywhere in Ireland. An extensive graveyard lies within, with hundreds of elaborately decorated crosses, as well as a perfectly preserved six-story round tower. Build in the 11th or 12th century, it stands 100 feet high, with an entrance 25 feet above ground level.

Quite a few French tourists here today.

The sun finally broke through the clouds, so I couldn't resist another shot of the tower!

The picture below is five photos brought together to bring you a beautiful view of the Glendalough countryside.

One of two lakes on the site.

Poulanass Waterfall (this is much bigger than it looks in this photo).

Approaching Reefert Church, a nave-and-channel church dating from around 1100 A.D.

Click on the photo above to see an "artsy" shot!

Georgous!

When we left Glendalough, we drove north through the Wicklow Mountains to Enniskerry, where we were yesterday. Here we took these two pictures of Powerscourt Waterfall, the highest waterfall in the British Isles. The water here drops 400 feet!

Killruddery House, shown below, was on our agenda for Day 1, but we decided not to stop due to severe jetlag! Happily, we got a chance to stop here today.

The estate, which still belongs to the Earl of Meath, has a conservatory, formal 17th-century gardens and Victorian statuary. We were given a tour and found that the family was out that morning! They acutally still live here! The guide told us that they only give tours 60 days a year, so we were fortunate to arrive at the right time.

So ends Day 2. Back to Tinakilly House for a lovely dinner.