January 21, 2004



Today we made the last leg of the trip from Wexford back to Dublin, stopping at Glendalough and Powerscourt. Glendalough was another monastic site and was founded by St. Kevin. There was a neat natural spring there and a rock basin that's always full of water. The legend has it that if you dip your hands in the water you will one day return to Glendalough. I dipped my hands, so we'll see if the legend holds true.

Now that I've seen a good bit of Ireland, I realize what a tremendous effect the monks had. There are remnants of the monastic tradition such as writings and towers all over the countryside.

Powerscourt House was absolutely amazing. I loved the gardens, and the fountains and the statues around the ground were very nice. I can't imagine living in a place like that. There is no way you could use that much space. And I can't imagine trying to keep a place like that clean. But, I guess, if you can afford to live there, you can hire a cleaning crew.