St. Anne’s Park was the perfect way to start my adventure in Dublin. Despite the entrance being grand, it is almost as if it is hidden away, as there is no prominent sign. After ensuring that we were in the right place, we continued down the large main walkway that seemed to stretch on forever. As I went further back into the park, I passed by soccer field after soccer field. Old men passed me with their dogs running around freely beside them. I passed families and fields stretching on and on until I found what I was looking for: the woods.

Hidden within the woods of this beautiful piece of nature were old architectural treasures. As I went through the path to the duck pond, I found an old bridge with castle-like windows that used to serve as a tower stuck down on the path.

As I progressed deeper still, there were hidden stone caverns, old wells, a Roman-style tower on a hill, and a beautiful arched Herculanean temple. Coming through the clearing of the trees, there was a mystical Temple of Isis at the duck pond. It was magical. There was a circular grouping of trees placed almost perfectly in a circle around a fire pit, leaving the imagination to believe it was a place where rituals were performed. The treasures were vast, and who would have thought they would be right there on the edge of the busy park?

The mystery and mysticism of this amazing place made me feel like I was on a giant adventure. And all of these magical, ancient buildings and ruins were hidden just in the depths of the forest right in the middle of Dublin at one of their main parks. It was a great way to start my trip back in time while exploring Dublin.