The Frank Delaney book, Ireland, A Novelopens with a traditional Irish storyteller’s tale of “The Architect of Newgrange” inspired us to want to start our journey through Ireland with a visit to this 5,200 year old Neolithic monument to the ancestors. What we didn’t realize was the need to start at the Visitor’s Center to get tickets for the bus ride and guided tour. We got to see this ancient passage tomb from a distance before making the trip to the Brú na Bóinne Visitor Centre to learn there were no more tickets available for today. We did get to see a brief documentary and to walk through the museum. And we gratefully availed ourselves of the opportunity to get some pick me up beverages and a slice of orange cake to share four ways. Although we would have loved to take the tour we definitely appreciated the chance to ponder the deep human history of this island.
Aboard the Norwegian Jewel we’ve made stops in Cozumel, Mexico and Georgetown, Grand Cayman to explore beyond our previous experiences here. Soon we’ll be making our way to ports we’ve not yet explored in the Southern Caribbean.
What a treat to pause for a BBQ lunch with the locals at Pearl Country Store and Barbecue on US-441 in Micanopy, Florida. It’s a taste of the Florida we remeber from our youth.
By deliberate choice we were in Medina for all the winter holiday festivities from Candlelight Walk in the days before Thanksgiving through A Christmas Carol and A Celtic Christmas as well as an Alex Bevan Concert and a historic house tour all the way through Medina’s 31st Ice Festival but perhaps the highlight was the town hosting hundreds of folks whose homes and lives were devasted by Hurricane Helene at the A Promise of Christmas Event the middle of January. It’s an honor to be a part of this amazing community!
Lou just found an article about new discoveries at Newgrange as a result of this year’s drought: https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/heritage/newgrange-more-unparalleled-prehistoric-sites-discovered-1.3565502?mode=amp