Day 11, July 9, 2011

Today, we'll be leaving Dublin for a few weeks and touring around Ireland in a clockwise direction. We started the morning with another delicious breakfast buffet at the Clontarf Castle Hotel then headed into downtown Dublin to visit the National Library. My mother-in-law is doing genealogical research on her ancestry so this was a good place to start her search. While she and Nancy were in the library, my father-in-law George and I went to the National Gallery. We had planned to go in the national museum but it is closed on Mondays. Nevertheless, we had a good visit in the gallery and saw a lot of great artwork.

In the afternoon, we drove to Powerscourt Gardens south of Dublin. They are spectacular gardens that we were very impressed with. From there, we went to Glendalough, which was an early Christian settlement founded by St. Kevin in the sixth century. It's amazing to realize that there are artifacts and ruins that are that old.

Following a drive through the Wicklow Mountains, we arrived at our B&B in Stoneyford, near Kilkenny. The B&B is on a farm is a beautiful pastoral setting. We'll be staying here for two days and touring in the area. I'll be posting some picture on my Facebook page in case you'd like to see them.