Birr at Dooly's Hotel

                                                Driving in a green tunnel

Time to leave Dublin so after having breakfast at our favorite place next door, Queen of Tarts - we loaded the car and off we went. Driving in downtown Dublin is always an adventure, especially on the wrong side of the road but we made it out successfully. 

The roads in Ireland are typical of many in Europe, very narrow and occasionally, you have to pull over to make enough room for a tour bus or truck to pass. There are sections of the road where the trees are so thick they form a tunnel for the car, strange to be traveling along and suddenly find yourself in a green tunnel!

   The bell tower could be seen for miles - probably a sign post leading pilgrims to the village

Our first stop was at Glendalough, a monastic village dating to 1050. It was home to monks who spread Christianity throughout Ireland from here and other villages like it all over Ireland. The showpiece was a 110 ft bell tower and was surrounded by several churches. It was interesting to listen to the speaker on how life was back then. Many of the headstones showed age at death in the 30's for the most part. It was a tough life. 

         Whole fields were in bloom, very stunning against the ever present green of Ireland

Driving onward through the countryside, one saw many fields of a yellow blooming flower. We certainly understand why Ireland is so green - it rains everyday, usually not a lot but there are typically a dozen times a day when rain will descend from the heavens, briefly, not long but always there. 

                  This is the real Hollywood, at least that's what the locals say

We stopped for lunch at Hollywood. Yes, that's right, it's spelled the same was as the Hollywood in California. They claim that they are the real Hollywood and have been for over 1000 years! In fact, one of their former residents moved to Los Angles and named a suburb after his home town - and so that's where Hollywood got its name (at least that's what they say). I must admit that the food in Ireland has been much better than I had expected. So far we've sampled their fish and chips, beef stew, goat cheese salad, scone - and they've all been excellent. In fact, we're probably gaining weight, especially after this morning's helping of Irish oatmeal, talk about hearty. 

We're headed for our boat on Saturday morning and then we'll provision for the next week. We're more than a little concerned about the weather. It's been cold and rainy so far with temps only in the lower 60's with lots of rain showers with very little sun. On top of that, high winds are predicted for the next few days, up to 40 mph gusts! Hope it calms down.