We went to Ireland for our 5th anniversary, and came back for our 10th!!!  We fell in love our 1st trip and hoped our 2nd would live up to it.  It only reinforced why we went again.  We flew out of Philly to Dublin and arrived on Sept. 1 early.  The flight was uneventful.  Upon arriving, we found the airport easy to navigate, customs, baggage, and found Dan Dooley's.  Quick drive to the car lot, and upon inspection of the car, found a hubcap missing, imagine that!, and made sure it was noted.  On our way to Powerscourt!  The drive was easy and DH adjusted well to driving on the left.  The weather was a bit cool, but sunny.  When we were near, DH saw the sign for the Ritz Hotel and I knew I was in trouble!  He did ask why I had not booked us there, and I told him I had thought about it, but opted for a b&b in Glendalough instead.  We did go in and looked around.  It is a beautiful hotel and maybe we'll stay there our next trip!

We left the hotel and went to tour the gardens.  Fresh air, and a wonderful walk was what we needed after the flight.  The gardens were gorgeous!  Then we made our way to the waterfall.  It was wonderful as well.  There was a group of handicapped children there who were enjoying themselves and it was beautiful to watch them!

On to Roundwood, where we stopped at The Coach House for a bite to eat.  We asked the gentleman behind the bar what the soup was and it was Minestrone.  DH asked him if he would order that or the seafood chowder, and he immediately responded "chowder."  So that's what we ordered.  It was the best chowder of our trip!  It was more of a broth base and incredible seafood!  The brown bread was great!

Stopped in Laragh and went to a petrol to pay the toll for the M50 and ended up paying for both ways.  Good decision.  On to Glendalough Visitor Centre to purchase our Heritage cards.  The centre was very crowded, so we decided to visit in the morning before the crowds. 

Found our b&b for the night, The Riversdale House.  What a wonderful spot!  Liam was wonderful, our room was spotless, comfortable bed, good shower.  The grounds are gorgeous!  After we settled in and freshened up, Liam called for a car to pick us up to take us to dinner at the Wicklow Heather.  Michele, thank you!  Great recommendation.

While we were waiting for the car, the neighbors dog came over and wanted us to  throw rocks, so we did.  This dog was amazing!  Liam came out and spoke to us while we were playing with the dog and told us about the path across the rocks to Glendalough.  Nice. Our taxi came, and  John , the driver, is also one of the owners and was so friendly.  We had a wonderful meal!  DH had Pil Pil and Sea Bass and I had the House Chicken.  Everything was great.  Our Server was Niamh and she was so lovely.  We were introduced to "Hot Whiskey's", which we enjoyed as the evening was beginning to cool off.  We let Niamb know we were ready to go so she could let the car know, she came back and said it would be about 10 minutes as they were picking other people up, no problem.  She came back with 2 Baileys on the house!  How amazing! 

John picked us up, apologized for the wait, are you kidding?  Got us back to Riversdale safe and sound.  We both cleaned up and went to bed.  A long, but very full day!

Sorry so long, but so much to tell!  More later, if anyone wants to hear!