I was up, up and away over the English countryside by 10am.
Strangely it doesn't look to different from the Irish countryside:
Okay maybe the English have more trees and sun, but Ireland is 100% full of green. The color is so everywhere and seemingly unifrom by natural design I'd think those planet makers from Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy spilled a bucket of paint.
I love green, by the way.
From Dublin I picked up a car and headed north on the M1 motorway. Driving on the left is disconcerting for me, but I managed. It was far easier doing so in Ireland than in India, where I had to contend with camel carts and cows wandering about. At least in Ireland they fence their cows in.
Yeah I took this while driving, but I didn't turn my head. It was simply point and shoot. Check out the greenness of the blur.
I'm starting to see a trend with this kind of bridge. Eye catching set against it's surroundings, but similar, somehow, to ones I've seen in Redding, Kolkata, and other places. I guess this is the thing to aim for with suspension bridges.
Barely 40minutes passed when I made my exit for New Grange. Little did I know my directions (as well as my general sense of direction) were faulty. Well maybe it was more that I thought I knew what I was doing. Ultimately I had to go with my gut instinct that I was leading myself down roads I'd end up hopelessly lost on.
After consenting to possible defeat, I made it into the village of Slane. I parked and low-and-behold found this:
The triple swirl sign told me I was CLOSE!
My stomach told me I was hungry. So I ran like a dumb American across crosswalks, hoping not to look in the wrong direction as a truck came along.
Everything in the village looked as if it were closed. Naturally I went to the one restaurant that said "Food Served All Day". I decided I need to go all Irish. I order beef and cabbage. It was o-kay...no really, it was gross. Mostly because everything was overcooked and tasteless. I kept thinking of the scene in Alice in Wonderland wherein she comes upon the cook screaming "Pepper, pepper, pepper!" By golly, that's what I needed.
Everything in the village looked as if it were closed. Naturally I went to the one restaurant that said "Food Served All Day". I decided I need to go all Irish. I order beef and cabbage. It was o-kay...no really, it was gross. Mostly because everything was overcooked and tasteless. I kept thinking of the scene in Alice in Wonderland wherein she comes upon the cook screaming "Pepper, pepper, pepper!" By golly, that's what I needed.
I noted the "vote NO" Sinn Fein campaign. Something about the EU and Lisbon something. I saw the opposition "vote YES" campaign lining the roads to the airport. I find the placement of each groups' campaigning signs interesting.
After my hardy lunch, I followed the now obvious road signs to the New Grange visitor's center (why don't I trust road signs more?). Along the way, the car's alignment totally pulled me to the side of the road where I hit a curb and nearly bounced on it. Thank goodness that hub cap was already crunched when I got the car...phew.
At the center, I missed all the signs saying "Buy a ticket and get the bus sticker" because I thought I'd just, you know, walk. I did some preemptive gift shopping then made the leisurely stroll to the shuttle bus stand.
I even stopped to snap a photo of me and the River Boyne:
Apparently The Battle of the Boyne has a pretty significant legacy impact on Irish-British relations. I'll have to read more on that.
At the bus 'q' I saw the little stickers on EVERYONE. Still, in my mind, I thought "Oh, these people are going on a special tour." Nope. I had to walk back for my ticket.
Now I'm glad that so many tiny things threw off my schedule because I saw the most interesting group come up the shuttle bus area:
There was something evident about the mix of people and their overall vibe, that theirs was a higher calling or mission to have come to New Grange. Most went to the Knowth site when the buses left, but five road my bus to the main New Grange site.
Finally, FINALLY, I reached New Grange. It isn't a wondrous sight to behold if you're into bells and whistles, but up close and personal it's very impressive to consider the how's and when's this monument was built.
The reality is, there are many theories about New Grange, but no one knows the truth about this bit of 5,000 year old construction.
There are many interesting details about this structure, but none more so than these two...
The swirl (and wave) carvings:
The trinity? But of what? This far pre-dates monotheism of any kind...of course that's as far as we know.
After my hardy lunch, I followed the now obvious road signs to the New Grange visitor's center (why don't I trust road signs more?). Along the way, the car's alignment totally pulled me to the side of the road where I hit a curb and nearly bounced on it. Thank goodness that hub cap was already crunched when I got the car...phew.
At the center, I missed all the signs saying "Buy a ticket and get the bus sticker" because I thought I'd just, you know, walk. I did some preemptive gift shopping then made the leisurely stroll to the shuttle bus stand.
I even stopped to snap a photo of me and the River Boyne:
Apparently The Battle of the Boyne has a pretty significant legacy impact on Irish-British relations. I'll have to read more on that.
At the bus 'q' I saw the little stickers on EVERYONE. Still, in my mind, I thought "Oh, these people are going on a special tour." Nope. I had to walk back for my ticket.
Now I'm glad that so many tiny things threw off my schedule because I saw the most interesting group come up the shuttle bus area:
There was something evident about the mix of people and their overall vibe, that theirs was a higher calling or mission to have come to New Grange. Most went to the Knowth site when the buses left, but five road my bus to the main New Grange site.
Finally, FINALLY, I reached New Grange. It isn't a wondrous sight to behold if you're into bells and whistles, but up close and personal it's very impressive to consider the how's and when's this monument was built.
The reality is, there are many theories about New Grange, but no one knows the truth about this bit of 5,000 year old construction.
There are many interesting details about this structure, but none more so than these two...
The swirl (and wave) carvings:
The trinity? But of what? This far pre-dates monotheism of any kind...of course that's as far as we know.
And the roof box.
Besides making a good perch for the swallows...
Besides making a good perch for the swallows...
It allows an amazing thing happen...on the winter solstice sun light shines directly into the inner chamber. There are plenty of speculations about why the builders did this, and if you're interested I recommend you read more about it.
Also...
The New Grange Roof
Also...
The New Grange Roof
A backside building
And the mound the tree is growing on is what New Grange would probably look like today if it hadn't been excavated:
I had the chance to speak with a couple of people from the earlier group I mentioned. A fascinating collective. I know some folks would refer to these people as New Age, but I find it strange that anyone would make such a reference to people who are clearly practicing local and regional rights of nature that have passed down for hundreds if not thousands of years. I completely honor and respect all people who endeavor as selflessly as possible to ensure not only our natural world is a healthier place, but our spiritual world as well. Spirit is an element of nature, in my humble opinion.
Once my wonderful visit was over, I made a seamless return to Dublin airport. How, you ask. I got directions from a local :)
The walkway down to the 'D' gates has several large panels depicting famous Irish authors. Each has a picture and a quote, mega-sized. But if you go up close, you can see that thousands on lines of the author's texts make up the background.
I have a special affinity for Oscar Wilde, so snapped his panel:
I had a safe flight back to London and walk to Martina and Marco's (as is evidenced by this entry).
I'm happy to report that while the house was a disaster from packing efforts, the soon-to-be newlyweds were still alive and showed no signs of abuse or injury. I think they may just make it to the altar on Saturday.
Tomorrow I'm off to Naples. I'm not clear what the computer scene is, but rest assured I'll post as soon as it is humanly possible for me to.
Ciao!
A Pink American
And the mound the tree is growing on is what New Grange would probably look like today if it hadn't been excavated:
I had the chance to speak with a couple of people from the earlier group I mentioned. A fascinating collective. I know some folks would refer to these people as New Age, but I find it strange that anyone would make such a reference to people who are clearly practicing local and regional rights of nature that have passed down for hundreds if not thousands of years. I completely honor and respect all people who endeavor as selflessly as possible to ensure not only our natural world is a healthier place, but our spiritual world as well. Spirit is an element of nature, in my humble opinion.
Once my wonderful visit was over, I made a seamless return to Dublin airport. How, you ask. I got directions from a local :)
The walkway down to the 'D' gates has several large panels depicting famous Irish authors. Each has a picture and a quote, mega-sized. But if you go up close, you can see that thousands on lines of the author's texts make up the background.
I have a special affinity for Oscar Wilde, so snapped his panel:
You all knew he was Irish, right?
By the way, if you've never seen 'Wilde' starring Stephen Fry, I recommend it.I had a safe flight back to London and walk to Martina and Marco's (as is evidenced by this entry).
I'm happy to report that while the house was a disaster from packing efforts, the soon-to-be newlyweds were still alive and showed no signs of abuse or injury. I think they may just make it to the altar on Saturday.
Tomorrow I'm off to Naples. I'm not clear what the computer scene is, but rest assured I'll post as soon as it is humanly possible for me to.
Ciao!
A Pink American
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