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Published: April 18th 2011
Newgrange Kerbstone
Just amazing to see this and know that they had stone tools After leaving Buncrana we head south to Dundalk. We had decided to get up and leave, it was a long day of driving around 3 hours total, but completely do able. We decided that since we got into Dundalk early we would not go to the B&B but go to Newgrange instead. We had called in advance to see how crowded it was…you’re not allowed to reserve a spot or anything but it is nice to know what you’re getting into. We arrived and had to wait about an hour for the next tour to begin. We wandered around and got some lunch at the center, which was great. Then we caught our bus which takes you to Newgrange. It’s a neat tour because you go into the passage tomb – which is super tight. In fact you have to wear a camera on your neck in the front it is so tight. I had no idea. We had planned to take Zoe in the tomb in her backpack, however, that didn’t work. So she walked it, she was not really a fan so unfortunately Chris missed the presentation that happens. It is great, you go into the tomb and are
told all about it and how much the rocks weigh on the ceiling and what it looks like on the Winter Solstice – which is really wild.
After Newgrange we went back to Dundalk which is near the ocean, so once we checked in with our amazing host at the Fairlawn’s B&B. The hostess was so nice, she directed us to the little beach called Blackrock Beach so off we went. Did I mention it was sunny and moderately warm…love this weather. It reminded us of Alki beach in the summer, everyone was out and kids were in the water (which wasn’t that warm) and people were eating ice cream, it was just so much fun. We walked the beach looking for shells and glass pieces, so great. Zoe loved it.
It was funny because along the way we saw signs for Monasterboice which houses some of the finest examples of high crosses in all of Ireland. So we popped in and saw them, they were indeed as fine as all of the books had promised. It is really interesting to see these ornate crosses compared to the tombstones that we use nowadays. The effort and skill that
must have gone into them is quite remarkable. The most of these is the Muireadach’s Cross. It is a 10th century cross that has scenes of the bible and is 18 feet high, just amazing! I was so glad we decided to stop and see Monasterboice.
We then went to get dinner; little did we know it would be the longest dinner of our entire trip. Not long because it was divine, not long because it was many courses, just really slow service. They had a prefix menu and the food was pretty good, it just took an insane amount of time. However, the kids outside playing in the water offered some great distraction for Zoe.
Back at the B&B they were completing their census forms and we as guests filled out the forms. I was really excited to do it because the census had helped me so much in tracing my family in Ireland, so I was super excited when I filled it out. I had to laugh because the B&B host was surprised I wanted to fill it out and was eager to do it. So we definitely made some history on our stay.
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