Return To Ireland

This morning our ship returned to Ireland, and we docked in Dublin. After breakfast we took an excursion to Powerscourt House, in Enniskerry, County Wicklow. The mountains nearby, including Sugar Loaf, are beautiful and green like the rest of the Irish countryside. The gardens are of different varieties, including Italian, a fine Japanese garden, a Rose Garden and the very British-style Walled Gardens, full of flowers. Sad to write, the house itself in the Palladian style, was largely destroyed in a fire in 1974. Only a shell of the building remains, full of shops and a room where tourists may see a video of the house’s past grandeur. There is also a nice garden terrace restaurant, and we enjoyed a delightful lunch at Powerscourt. When the bus returned to Dublin we walked to the National Gallery. Even though it’s being restored, the best of its treasures are on display and we greatly enjoyed masterpieces by Caravaggio, Vermeer, Metsu and many other great artists. Returning via shuttle to the ship, we relaxed in the afternoon. -Dan