Glendalough

One of my favorite trips was our day trip to Glendalough (pronounced Glenda-lock). It was originally a sanctuary, and you could really feel the peace of the place. Everything was so lush and calm. And as someone who loves old cemeteries with so much history, this was the perfect place to be.

There were two arches that now serve as the entryway. Originally these had large doors, which you were allowed through once you had given acceptable answers to several questions. Since this was a place of sanctuary, only select people were allowed to enter. Immediately after entry, there is a cross carved into the stone. Visitors would touch the cross as a sign that you made it, that you were safe. It's very faded away now, but you can see the general outline of it beneath Sara's hand.

A few pictures below that you can see me hugging a large stone cross. This cross served as the bible because they couldn't afford to create many copies. So they'd carve a simplified version into the stone, central to the sanctuary, where it would be read to everyone. Now, the legend is that if you can wrap your arms around it and touch your fingers together, you will get one year of good luck. Trick is, it's actually pretty dang large, so not many people have long enough arms to wrap around! I just barely touched the tips of my fingers together, but I must say this whole year of luck thing seems to be working pretty well so far!

Past the sanctuary, there was a short "hike" to the two lakes. It was the most beautiful walk. The forest reminded me of something from Lord of the Rings. We even happened across some sheep, and a deer.