We woke up early saturday morning, hungover, to catch a 8:45 shuttle to Newgrange, located in the Boyne Valley. After an hour long bus ride, we could see the magnificent structure atop a large hill in the distance. It took some walking and another shuttle but we finally reached the site. It was worth the wait, ten times over.
Newgrange is a passage tomb constructed over 5000 years ago, making it older than England's stonehenge and Egypt's pyramids. It is a large mound covering over an acre of land. The base is lined with large, decorated kerbstones and it is faced with beautiful white quarry rock. There is a 19 meter long tunnel entrance that leads to a chamber within, where cremated remains were stored. This was all very interesting, but its not what made Newgrange my favorite site thus far.
What makes this tomb most interesting is its astrological, spiritual and ceremonial significance. Located just above the entrance is another opening known as a roof box. Once a year, during winter solstice, a narrow beam of sunlight penetrates the roof box and reaches the chamber, dramatically lighting the whole room. The lighting only lasts for 17 minutes, once a year. It is believed that during this time, the tombs spirits are ascended into heaven.
I was absolutely struck by the science and architecture used to create such a structure, at such an early point in human history.
After our bus ride back from Newgrange, we immediately voyaged back into the busy city. Our first stop was the National Art Museum. Normally, I would appreciate the beauty of the art but it would stop there. This time, I had the pleasure of viewing the gallery with Keiko Miller, my cross- cultural symbology instructor. Listening to her thoughts on the work allowed me to see and appreciate it in an entirely different light. I studied each painting and discussed them with Keiko. She gave insight that made the experience extremely rewarding. The gallery was absolutely humongous, so after 2 hours we had only seen about half of it. I guess this is just prep for next weeks trip to the Louvre!
After a long day of walking, it was about that time again. Dinner! 1 meal and 3 breathes later, i was even closer to broke. Cheers to my parents. How do they feed me? But this place was worth it. We found a nice little italian bistro. Our table ate family style- prompted by me of course. It was nice tasting everyone's dish, and for the first time since i'd been in Dublin I was fool ( and i hadn't even drank yet).
After a brief period of digestion, I was out to the bars again. This time the drinking in the room lasted a bit longer, due to expense. Walking down towards Temple, we braced ourselves for unexpected attacks from the insane clown posy or jumps from the twelve year old girls dressed as hookers. Strength in numbers right? We made it safely, thank God! We actually ended up finding a bar with a great band. The guy sang every song imaginable. So we hung out there for the night, with another adventure to look forward to in the morning.
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