Do you know the way to Kells?

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Today was another travel day. We left Ballycastle to head back into the Republic. We passed through Armagh, the religious center of Ireland. St. Patrick established the first Christian church in Ireland in Armagh in 455 AD. There are two St. Patrick's Cathedrals on opposing hills in Armagh, one catholic and the other protestant. We stopped for lunch in Armagh, but did not tour the cathedrals.

Our final destination was Trim in County Meath, Ireland's Heritage Capital. We booked a B&B across from Trim Castle which was used in filming parts of the movie Braveheart. There are numerous sites in Meath dating back to 4000 BC, as well as castles, abbeys and historical sites. The Book of Kells, an illuminated manuscript containing the four Gospels of the New Testament in Latin, was transcribed by Celtic monks in Kells in ~800 AD. On our way into Trim, we decided to detour through Kells (another side trip requested by Jessica) to see the high cross and St. Columba's Church. We apparently missed a key turn on our way out of Slane and spent the next hour on every pig trail between Slane and Kells. The detour was well worth it...the high cross and church were amazing. We finally get into Trim about 7:30pm and check into The Highfield House. The inn was originally a maternity hospital and later a convalescent home. The building and grounds have been refurbished and has been operating as a B&B for ~9 years. The gardens were beautiful, and the rooms were luxurious with 15 ft ceilings and comfortable beds. Jessica got the best sleep since she arrived in Ireland. We walked around Trim Castle and stopped for dinner at a new Italian restaurant, La Scala. We started with an antipasti tray, Jessie got a spinach and ricotta raviole while Pam and I shared a pizza (it was late and we wanted something lighter). We finished up with a piece of tiramisu and double espresso. A nice end to a long day! We strolled back to the B&B and I got the tripod out to shoot Trim Castle at night. They light the castle with colored lights...somewhat touristy, but it makes a striking photo.

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