Featured Blogger: Rowan Cary-Clark

Greetings, all! Today's featured post comes from Rowan Cary-Clark, a student from the Bay Area in California. Rowan shares her experiences on the day trip we took today.

July 24th, 2021

Today we had a packed day. We left our dorms at about 9:00 a.m. and got on a bus to head to Glendalough Valley and the Wicklow Mountains. The bus ride was about an hour and 15 minutes, and it was wonderful to be able to look out the window and see the Irish countryside all around. We passed tons of sheep, cows and horses on the way to the valley. Once we arrived, we got to see and explore the area. There was a beautiful lake called “Upper Lake” and it was some of the most stunning scenery I have ever seen. My friends and I even saw some ducklings swimming around the lake and it was such a surreal experience. 

After looking around the lake, we headed back towards the bus and stopped by the ruins of this little village that was over 800 years old. There was an old church, tower, and a graveyard all in this area. It was incredible to walk around and see what was left of this town that was centuries old. We explored the area, then walked back to the bus. 

We rode another hour or two to Kilkenny City, and old and wonderful town. All the buildings looked like mini castles, and there were cafe’s, restaurants, and shops all around. We explored the area, and we stopped by this little shop that had pieces of 8,000 year old wood from bogs. It was incredible to see bog wood from 2,000-8,000 years ago. Not only was the city beautiful, but the castle that was there was stunning as well. It was not quite as big as the the Trim Castle we all went to the previous week, but it was gorgeous nonetheless. It was crazy to see families having picnics right outside a castle, imagine that being the norm. 

All in all, a fun and packed day of exploring the green Irish countryside and a wonderful castle and city!

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Thank you, Rowan, for sharing your experience and thank you, all, for following our journies!