I slept on the plane over to Dublin. Getting up at 3:30AM is rough! I awoke just in time to see us flying up the coast of Ireland. I was instantly wide awake with excitement. We landed, although it wasn’t the best landing ever, and I collected my things and headed to customs. I received the greatest stamp ever in my passport, IRELAND. I was finally here after years of dreaming of Ireland. I rented my car, complete with GPS. Now I just needed to remember that the steering wheel was on the right side of the car. It doesn’t do me any good to get in the left side. I also need to drive on the left. Let the fun begin!
My first stop of the day was a random slam the breaks and pull over type of stop. I saw a very cool old church called Balrothery. I drove down what I thought was the church road. I ended up in someone’s driveway. A guy was there and told me where I could park. He was very friendly and laughed at me. I’m sure this was due to the whole crazy-tourist-that-can’t-drive-and-is-getting-lost thought that crossed his mind. Drogheda was my next stop. I found a car park and then a bite to eat. A local ask me if he had heard a Scottish accent. What? That was a terrible pick-up line. I walked around briefly but didn’t like the feel of the town so I left.
Monasterboice is an old ruin of church and tower. Simply breathtaking. I walked through the old cemetery to the church ruins. As I looked around, I heard crows cawing. It reminded me of an eerie movie. I could also smell that sweet, sweet scent of cow manure. Ahhh…the countryside. My GPS did not help me find the next stop. I reviewed my printed directions and headed in what I hoped was the right direction. While driving down the road I spotted a sign and had to take a second look, then turn around and drive past again to take a picture. The sign read “Welcome to Meath, Twinned with Cary, NC, USA. Huh? And here I thought I was escaping from North Carolina.
I had to take a few detours for road work but eventually found my way to Hill of Tara. To get there I had to drive through more cow areas. The smell was everywhere. Hill of Tara is a wide open field with some bumps and hills on it. These are old buried ruins of houses and shops and a fort. A church also sits at Hill of Tara. I strolled through the fields enjoying the day and the sunshine.
I drove on and happened through the town of Trim quite by accident. There was a great castle there and I snapped a few pictures.
I followed signs for Fore Abbey. This would be the highlight of day 1. Fore Abbey consisted of 3 buildings, 2 of which are in ruins. I walked in and around the two churches and took lots of pictures before crossing the road to get to the monastery. The walk to the monastery was lined with a stone wall. It crossed a little creek and I stopped to make a wish. I threw 10 Euro-cents in and made my wish. It looked like the thing to do considering the stream was filled with coins. I could have bought myself dinner if I would have gone fishing in that stream. The monastery was spectacular. I crawled and climbed all over the place, ran threw the fields acting silly, and giggling with the joy of experiencing the greatest adventure ever.
I set off for Westport where I was staying for the night. I dropped by the Tullynally Castle, which was closed, and saw the peat moss bogs on my way. The GPS got me lost and took me to Newport not Westport. I do much better reading a map and finding my own way than using the GPS. I followed signs for Westport and then drove around town for an hour trying to find my B&B. I checked in to the Adare House and was told to go eat at The Helm. I walked to the pub and had some french onion soup and an apple crumble. Back to the room and to bed.
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