Ouch!!!!!!

It would seem that to go out to dinner in Dublin means visiting at least 3 venues as part of the evening. This was definitely the case last Friday night when David and I enjoyed an evening with Dermot. First stop- drinks at The  Stags Head. This bar dates back to the 1780's and as the name suggests has a huge stags head over the bar. Next  stop was dinner at a lovely Italian restaurant and finally to an old pub, Hugh's, we had previously been to, to listen to Dermots daughter play the fiddle. It was a great evening! I love listening to Dermots amusing stories about the Irish people. He told a story about an old drunk from the village out of Donegal, where he owns a holiday house. This guy sees your light on and just walks on inside for a sandwhich and then expects a lift home. This can happen at three in the morning!


On Saturday we went to an area south  east of Dublin called Glendalough, in the Wicklow Mountains. Dolores and Paul had use of a car for the weekend and invited us to join them for the day. The misty rain added to the mystic of this area which is in a valley and renowned for its early medieval  monastic settlement founded by St Kevin in the 6th century. A boardwalk takes you past ruins of an old cathedral,  a cemetery, a tall round tower which was used as a bell tower but also served as a landmark for visitors, (it could also be used as a place of refuge in times of attack), past two lakes and unfortunately lots of Italian and Spanish students. 
After leaving  Glendalough, in  pouring rain, we had a very late lunch at a pub which is at the "Meeting of the Waters". There was an art class here painting at this very picturesque spot. Then  we drove on to Avoca, known for its woollen mill.
Our final leg, took us along a winding road, where the purple heather coloured the mountains. It was here that we stopped for a photo. The view was down to a deep valley that had a couple of houses beside a meandering river. Unfortunately  I lost my footing and very nearly saw the view from the valley floor.  A couple of sharp rocks prevented me falling far, but it appears that I have torn the muscles between my ribs as a result. Apparently I can look forward to 6 weeks of discomfort!
This week will be a quiet one. Let's hope I have something to report next week.
Anne