Well today was a great day. We got an early start to the day and made our way to the airport to get a GPS, which has been a life saver. With that being said, our issues with driving continue. First, to the great sites.
First we drove to the Hill of Tara - this was considered the seat of the Celtic Kings. It was amazing, sitting right behind a small church was large rings as if a spacecraft had made them. As we walked, a statue of St. Patrick was there to welcome us into the Hill of Tara. Sheep were grazing throughout the pasture. Everything was green and beautiful. The Mound of Hostages was literally a mound that appeared to hold prisoners. We made our way to the Stone of Destiny (Liath Fail) and through the old church grave. Locals were very nice and stopped to talk to us. They told us this past weekend a wedding was held at the Hill of Tara. This required the couple to go through a ritual called "holding of hands," meaning the couple took a year and one day to decide if they wanted to get married. They will return to the Hill of Tara in one year. If the wife is pregnant, the man must provide her with sheep and cattle.
Next we drove to Newgrange and Knowth, these were ancient structures that were used for burial rituals. Absolutely amazing. But there is a story here....on the way to Newgrange, the GPS took us the wrong direction. Leading down narrow roads that instead of a white line to separate the lanes of traffic, it was simply a narrow strip of green grass. Once reaching the site, we attempted to park, this required me to back up....WELL issue number one....NEVER back up on a small road....one rock ancient wall almost taken to the ground (car unharmed).....while pulling into the parking space at the site- one pole taken out. I mean we have a car of steal that can not be broken.....WELL we thought. We continued down the road to find the visitor center....just so happens there is another site in Ireland of which all the locals know and all visitors should make a point of avoiding - the locals call it THE HOLE....yes that is right...the city council refuses to fix bad feeder roads....so THE HOLE is a rather large pot hole on the road leading to the visitor center.....ONE back tire- GONE- the rim was bent and immediate flat. Please know Steven and I have never changed a tire....we looked for the On Star button, but one did not exist in our rental.....so we are proud to say....WE changed a tire. Yes, yes...Steven and I change a tire. A local saw us and walked up and simply stated "are you guys okay, do you need some help" and then proceeded to say "ahhhh THE HOLE." As if we should have know about this tourist trap.
You would think this was our first time traveling, when in fact...Between Steven and I we have traveled most of Europe, Russia, South America, the West Indies, etc...it just seems to be our trip of follies.
After seeing the above sites, we made our way 2 hours north to Northern Ireland where we are now relaxing in a beautiful ocean view suite.
Tomorrow we will take the car on a ferry to the north coast (lord knows with our luck, the ferry shall sink).
First we drove to the Hill of Tara - this was considered the seat of the Celtic Kings. It was amazing, sitting right behind a small church was large rings as if a spacecraft had made them. As we walked, a statue of St. Patrick was there to welcome us into the Hill of Tara. Sheep were grazing throughout the pasture. Everything was green and beautiful. The Mound of Hostages was literally a mound that appeared to hold prisoners. We made our way to the Stone of Destiny (Liath Fail) and through the old church grave. Locals were very nice and stopped to talk to us. They told us this past weekend a wedding was held at the Hill of Tara. This required the couple to go through a ritual called "holding of hands," meaning the couple took a year and one day to decide if they wanted to get married. They will return to the Hill of Tara in one year. If the wife is pregnant, the man must provide her with sheep and cattle.
Next we drove to Newgrange and Knowth, these were ancient structures that were used for burial rituals. Absolutely amazing. But there is a story here....on the way to Newgrange, the GPS took us the wrong direction. Leading down narrow roads that instead of a white line to separate the lanes of traffic, it was simply a narrow strip of green grass. Once reaching the site, we attempted to park, this required me to back up....WELL issue number one....NEVER back up on a small road....one rock ancient wall almost taken to the ground (car unharmed).....while pulling into the parking space at the site- one pole taken out. I mean we have a car of steal that can not be broken.....WELL we thought. We continued down the road to find the visitor center....just so happens there is another site in Ireland of which all the locals know and all visitors should make a point of avoiding - the locals call it THE HOLE....yes that is right...the city council refuses to fix bad feeder roads....so THE HOLE is a rather large pot hole on the road leading to the visitor center.....ONE back tire- GONE- the rim was bent and immediate flat. Please know Steven and I have never changed a tire....we looked for the On Star button, but one did not exist in our rental.....so we are proud to say....WE changed a tire. Yes, yes...Steven and I change a tire. A local saw us and walked up and simply stated "are you guys okay, do you need some help" and then proceeded to say "ahhhh THE HOLE." As if we should have know about this tourist trap.
You would think this was our first time traveling, when in fact...Between Steven and I we have traveled most of Europe, Russia, South America, the West Indies, etc...it just seems to be our trip of follies.
After seeing the above sites, we made our way 2 hours north to Northern Ireland where we are now relaxing in a beautiful ocean view suite.
Tomorrow we will take the car on a ferry to the north coast (lord knows with our luck, the ferry shall sink).
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