Newgrange Visit

[rflong]

Well, after all that excitement and partially due to the fact that I am now in official holiday countdown mode and want to loll about (5 days to go!!!) we went to Newgrange yesterday. And this time I have photos.

Not many, I grant you. Not for me. And none inside for 'tis forbidden. And there was no sign of Nuada or Etain so they must have been off somewhere else (probably messing with someone else's head instead of being there to help me write Moy Tura Echoes).

There are photos of me and my new glasses (which are fab) but I am hoarding them. Ha ha!

And this I hasten to add is AFTER I tried to make them smaller!!! Er? I'm having issues with Photobucket. Bear with me....

We had a wonderful trip. I forget how impressive it is until you walk inside, look up and think wow! 5,000 years old. Still intact. Lost until the 1600s (yes UNTIL the 1600s). It has grafitti that is over 200 years old inside. In the 18th and 19th century it was a place to visit and carve your initials into the inner chamber.

The carvings on the entrance stone and the various curbstones are still as enchanting as ever. Even my son was fascinated. It's the first time I think we've take him somwhere that has impacted so strongly on him. He's the right age to impress when it comes to this sort of history.

Favorite moment however was when they turned off the lights, plunging us into total darkness so that they could recreate the effect of sunrise on the shortest day of the year. A thin line of golden light crept up the inner chamber. And the light up butterflies on my 4yo daughters' shoes started flashing. :D

Comments

Lucky You!

[(Anonymous)]

I couldn't manage to get all the way inside. I got part way down the corridor and someone behind me made a comment to effect that we'd never all get out if something happened. Instant claustrophobia.

Re: Lucky You!

[rflong.livejournal.com]

Poor you.

It's a tight squeeze alright.

Re: Lucky You!

[e-w-h.livejournal.com]

one thing that struck me was that have a reconstruction of only one side of the entire entrance passage/burial chamber in the visitor's centre because a full reconstruction would violate the modern fire safety building regs!

[(Anonymous)]

Oh, that was one of my favorite places we visited in Ireland. And the fact that my birthday is December 21st made it more special, somehow. Very cool!!

[(Anonymous)]

BTW, that was Feisty. :)

[(Anonymous)]

Love that. Looks really cool, my kids would love it.

[nwhyte]

Gosh, we were there yesterday too - passed through the exhibition centre about lunchtime. Didn't do the actual tombs, but I may take Number One Son back tomorrow morning for another go...

[rflong.livejournal.com]

That's mad Ted!

We were back in the centre at lunchtime having lunch. And trying to stop the kids dismantling the exhibitions of course.

[nwhyte]

Yep, we were there too! Though our daughter preferred to run around outside, so Number One Son and I had a snack indoors - bread and jam for him, chicken fajita for me - while my long suffering wife fielded the smaller person outside.

[rflong.livejournal.com]

We had the paninis - Ham & Brie for me, Spicy chicken for ewh and vegetarian for the friend visiting with us - and sandwiches for the children. And we disected some donuts too. The jam ones have to be done properly or there's warfare.

The food there is good.

[e-w-h.livejournal.com]

of course it does, cut them along the wrong axis and one person gets no jam!!!!

[david-de-beer.livejournal.com]

oh, so that's what you look like:)

you like photobucket then? I've been thinking of creating a photo account somewhere, but am a little torn between photobucket and flickr.

[rflong.livejournal.com]

I love photobucket usually. Yesterday though I could not make it work. I had a Flickr account but it went totally insane on me so I gave up (being just wonderful at seeing things through and actually solving problems... *ahem*)

And photobucket does slideshows and I loves me a slideshow...