We woke up this morning to the sound of seabirds and the sight of fog. Not a big deal – we were right on the ocean, and I knew the day was supposed to be fine. We got ready, went out for a quick breakfast, and then headed thirty minutes south to Powerscourt House and Gardens.

We got to the gardens about 9:45, and things were still fairly fogged in. We went in to buy our tickets to the gardens, and the women selling them apologized for the weather. We all agreed the fog might burn off later. What was the fuss for fog in a garden?

Powerscourt was voted (by National Geographic) as the third “best” (whatever that definition is) garden in the world, after Versailles and Kew Gardens in London. The garden is pretty fabulous, but what sets it apart is the formal nature of the garden set against the background of the Wicklow Mountains, and especially Great Sugarloaf Mountain. Or so we were told. We couldn’t see the mountains at all – we could barely see across the full length of the gardens. But we could see the section of garden we were in, so off we went.

As an aside, Powerscourt does have a villa, but a fire gutted it in the 1970s just as it was about to open to the public. It has been partially restored for use for weddings, but otherwise is not open to the public.

We spent a happy couple of hours wandering the gardens. There is a formal garden with flower borders (the longest double border in Ireland), and a rhododendron garden, a pet cemetery (that was a new sight for me), a gorgeous Japanese garden, a castle tower (complete with small canons), and a fine main area with grounds that stepped down to a lake with a large fountain. All the while, the fog slowly started to lift. We had lunch, and by the time we were done (toward 1:00), we could see the mountains. They were hazy, but there. That was a happy sight.

Since the fog had largely burned off, the ticket ladies strongly suggested we drive over the Sally Gap in the Wicklow Mountains. I had planned on doing so anyway, but had started wavering, thinking it might be foggy up there. With the encouragement of the native women, I decided to try it. I’m glad I did.

The roads in Ireland range from modern mega highways to (usually) paved cow paths. One of the women asked if I was a nervous driver. Narrow roads winding into mountains with possible sheep and cyclists while I’m driving on the left side of the road? Why would I be nervous? It turned out to be okay – the Wicklow Mountains are largely bare of trees and hedges, so the narrow roads have pretty good sight lines. That allowed me to make sure I could find a pull-off area before oncoming cars, which were rare, got too close.

And the mountains are beautiful. They are bare of trees and so look a lot like heather-covered mountains in Scotland. There are no people about (with the exception of the Guinness family estate, which is fairly distant from the public road). There are lakes up in the hills that are picturesque, and all of this was mostly in the sun. It was a worthwhile forty minute drive to….

Glendalough. Glendalough is the home to a monastic settlement with buildings from the tenth to twelfth centuries, although the monastery was founded in the sixth century. There is a complete hundred-foot round tower, a complete small church, and the ruins of a large (for the time) cathedral. It also has a large Celtic cross, and is all pleasantly situated next to a stream and surrounded by mountains. We strolled through the settlement area, but then also hiked a path up past Lower Lake and on to Upper Lake. Upper Lake was serene, and we just sat on a bench there for some time before heading back to the car.

We drove to our B and B on the outskirts of Kilkenny in the south of Ireland. Our hostess recommended the Kings Mill Restaurant, an Italian place that was in an old mill, complete with waterwheel. That sounded fine to us, and while the food was good, the setting was outstanding – next to a small, beautiful river and downstream from a very pretty bridge. We had a very friendly young waiter who chatted with us a bunch (it was near closing, and so slower). He told us about things to see in the area, which we will probably do if time and the weather cooperate.

And so to help lift my own personal fog, I’m off to bed. For those keeping count, we are now at one castle and seven abbeys in three days.