Started today with a run to Marley Park, a local sports and nature park that has some really nice running trails and some nice hills to work a little harder on as well. I wound up getting 7 miles in and felt better than I had on any run in London so far this trip!
After my run, Dorren and I headed to UCD so that I could meet up with Kevin and head out into the Irish countryside. We went south of Dublin to the Wicklow area and walked among the mountains and lakes of Glendalough. This is an incredible country with gigantic hills (mountains), clear lakes, and miles of trails that thousands of Irish and tourists hike through every year.
After visiting both the Upper and Lower lakes, as well as the ruins of a monastery, Kevin and I took the scenic route back into London along the military road. This road was originally built by the British to keep down Irish uprisings and is now a winding track through the hills that enclose Dublin with the sea. Along the way we stopped at a couple of places to take pictures of waterfalls (involved a little bit of Hill Walking) and the city of Dublin as we came down onto it, out of the Hills.
We capped off the evening with a trip to the National Concert Hall to see the musical group Anuna in concert. This is the group that performs the opening music to the Irish dance show, Riverdance, and have acquired a cult-like following throughout Ireland and around the World. They have a very unique style of singing and focus on performing a mix of ancient hymns and poems as well as a few contemporary adaptions.
After my run, Dorren and I headed to UCD so that I could meet up with Kevin and head out into the Irish countryside. We went south of Dublin to the Wicklow area and walked among the mountains and lakes of Glendalough. This is an incredible country with gigantic hills (mountains), clear lakes, and miles of trails that thousands of Irish and tourists hike through every year.
After visiting both the Upper and Lower lakes, as well as the ruins of a monastery, Kevin and I took the scenic route back into London along the military road. This road was originally built by the British to keep down Irish uprisings and is now a winding track through the hills that enclose Dublin with the sea. Along the way we stopped at a couple of places to take pictures of waterfalls (involved a little bit of Hill Walking) and the city of Dublin as we came down onto it, out of the Hills.
We capped off the evening with a trip to the National Concert Hall to see the musical group Anuna in concert. This is the group that performs the opening music to the Irish dance show, Riverdance, and have acquired a cult-like following throughout Ireland and around the World. They have a very unique style of singing and focus on performing a mix of ancient hymns and poems as well as a few contemporary adaptions.