we had beautiful weather yesterday, our only sunny day through the rainy week. so feeling adventurous, we decided to enjoy the outdoors with what probably will be the last summer-y weather. kj grabbed his backpack, his hiking shoes, and had on him his sweater and jacket. i packed bread, ferrero rochers (the only energy food i can find at that moment at the refrigerator), cucumbers and lettuce, oranges, 2 liters of water, and camera...to kj's backpack! :)while at the bus stop, he noticed i only had a hat and my pink jacket and a cotton t-shirt inside. he was very worried that i'll be very cold on the mountain and get sick and some worse things he imagined i'll suffer should it rain later in the day. we almost cancelled the trip just because i wasn't dressed warmly. so i promised him i won't be cold, ever. regardless. (because i was too lazy to run home and get another jacket!)
turned out, the weather was very nice until the end of the day. in fact, he had to take off his sweater soon as we arrived at the city centre! i felt so triumphant. my weather forecast was much better than his. :)
so off we went to the wicklow mountains! here is the first part of our one-day trek, and some pictures to boot!
we walked through the marlay park, out to the opposite side of the road, to get to the foot of the wicklow mountains. on saturdays, there's a farmer's market inside, arts and crafts exhibits, and book sale! (i was so busy looking around i forgot to take pictures!) since we don't need further weight to carry, we didn't buy anything. *sigh* but i'll be back there. promise.
the park was beautiful, and a destination by itself for relaxation and to get away from the noise of the city. you also have a grand view of the wicklow mountains just by sitting at the park. there are tennis courts, football fields, some scheduled shows, and paved pathways for joggers which are convenient even for old people with rollators.
you can bring your favorite book and read under a tree. you can jog with your dog running behind you. you can walk with your toddlers, or push your baby's prams along a vast green field. the air is cool and fresh, because no cars can go around inside. it was so beautiful i wished we live close to it.
and here's the husband, communing with nature. caught unaware by my camera.
interesting moss growing around the fallen tree
and this is our destination!
to give you an idea where we went : top of the wicklow mountain, overlooking dublin. last month, we were in howth, on the north-east part of dublin. it was very interesting to see howth and the bailey lighthouse from the mountain top! (i have zoomed-in pictures which i will post later.)
to be more specific (and scientific!), i opened google maps, and plotted where we've been. this is much easier to understand, and makes me see how far we have walked.and speaking of how far we have walked...let's just say when we were almost back at the marlay park at the end of the day, a bug flew in my eye which my husband could not locate where, and my left knee hurting so badly i am limping until this very moment - all in the name of adventure. nine hours after we started out, we were home again, and while i cried in front of the mirror trying to take the bug out, kj run a hot bath for me. i soaked my tired body and my husband fell asleep on the couch while the bbc news ranted on. we capped the day with two family-sized american style hawaii pizza and red wine. we didn't even remember to drink the usual children's bedtime hot milk+honey.
more pictures to follow soon!
---------------------------------------
how to get to marlay park:
from o'connell street at the city centre, take the 16 dublin bus. you can step off in front of the park. more detailed route here: http://www.dublintourist.com/details/marlay_park.shtml
how to get to the wicklow mountains:
there are many routes you can take to get there. but kj and i trekked the killmashogue route, by going through marlay park and out on its opposite side, going further down to the right, till we got to a junction and a sign pointing to st. columbu's college. we crossed to our left, further through a viaduct and following the steep narrow road until we saw the killmashogue sign. no mistaking about it. that's the foot of the climb, and you should get to the aerials on top, that's where you can have a good view of dublin.
there are guided tours you can avail online, but going on an adventure on your own is also nice. next summer, we're taking our mountain bikes from our town up to the top of wicklow. that is, if my left knee ever recovers. hehe. kj has always cycled there before i arrived here, so maybe i can do it too. he has a big job to get me in good physical condition until then. for now, i have to nurse my red right eye and bad left knee.
hope you had a grand weekend too!
upcoming wicklow post soon!
Posts
|