So I’ve been slacking on my blogging as of late, but I wanted to fill ya in on some of the adventures I’ve been having around Dublin over the past couple weekends!
Coming from a place where I’m never more than an hour from the Blue Ridge Mountains, I’ve been itching to go on a hike. Luckily me and Lizzy found a hike (that was accessible by bus) and it was absolutely lovely. The hike was through the Ticknock Forest, which is a part of the Dublin Mountains. We met an older gentlemen wandering on the trail who let us know that the Dublin Mountains aren’t technically tall enough to be mountains, but the name sounded better than the Dublin Hills. From the peak of the mountain, you can see across 3 counties – Kildaire, Dublin, and Wicklow. We could pick out where our college was along the city skyline. Hiking Ticknock was a well-needed and very refreshing adventure.
Our next outdoor adventure was the Poolbeg Lighthouse walk. This one was quite a ‘hike’ – we had to walk about 2 miles from city center to get to the beginning on the Great Sea Wall that leads to the lighthouse. It was well worth it though. We wandered through an industrial park for a while before unexpectedly emerging on a beautiful beach. We took our time strolling along, singing a bit of Les Mis and snapping photos all the way. Once we made it to the walk itself, we made our way down a stone barrier that juts out into the Irish Sea. It was sunny abeit a bit windy, and the walk was absolutely lovely.
Finally, I’ve made my way back to Phoenix Park twice in the past few weeks, and I was finally able to find the majestic fallows deer that live there. The deer have been there for years – they were put there originally so that the King who lived in the park could hunt, and they stay now because a wall was constructed around the park. They hang out in a big pack, usually in backfields off the main roads of the park. They’re not afraid of humans at all, and they’ll often approach you since they’re so used to people feeding them. The whole thing is pretty whimsical but a lot of fun.
That’s what I’ve been up to the past few weekends! The fact that my time here is dwindling away is so bittersweet- I feel like there’s still so much to explore. I must say though, I’m quite excited to see my family and friends across the pond. (: