I went to Ireland originally to see the Giant's Causeway and visit with Rob in Dublin. The rest was really of no consequence to me. I found once I got there that I was totally unwilling to find out about the struggle between North and South Ireland. I had enough of struggles, of people hating each other, of violence etc... of old quarrels rooted in stuff that happen when people alive today weren't even born...I didn't want to hear a thing about it.I was ranting and raving about how people could go and kill each other, just don't expect me to admire them and pay my respects or even acknowledge that they existed. Poor Rob was trapped in the car with me having to listen to that!!!!
The road trip to Northern Ireland to see the Giant's Causeway was totally unplanned.Along the way though we did see a sign for some Irish possibly -standing-rock-type-of-thing...this is how much I knew about it!!! The first one was Knowth. We got there late and there one one more tour going that we could catch and would allow us to see both Knowth and Newgrange. As in Ghardaia, you have to have a guide..first I though, bummer there is going to be a group, we won't be able to see anything, but there was only one other guy so the three of us pretty much had a private tour of Knowth.
I'll admit there is something about the all Celtic thing that I don't like. It is so fashionable, the music, the this, the that...makes me gag..Everybody is a Celt, etc etc.I'm a Gypsy by blood..I am just not Celtic!!! And I was totally unprepared, but it was nice to have a break from driving and I knew that I had liked Stone Henge. I was so "yeah, yeah, let's go for a walk" that I didn't even have my camera with me!!
After all this bad attitude, it turned out that I was really impressed with Knowth. Mostly I was really impressed by the old carving on the stones around the main tomb. Would you believe it but those were carved at about the same time than the rock carvings/paintings I want to go and see in Djanet (Algeria)!!!
I guess reproductions of Celtic art do nothing for me, but the original stuff...the actual stuff, on the rocks, right there, THAT I really like.
The second tour was to see Newgrange, there there was a group, but by then I was ready to ignore them to see the next megalithic tomb...and the art!!
I didn't like the outside as much probably because they had "restored" the front to look like what it MIGHT have been. But the inside was great. We couldn't go into Knowth, so it was great to go inside Newgrange.
Nice places both! Well worth the trip even for a seriously grumpy freak like me.
Just don't ask me how to get there!
Rent a car in Dublin, aim towards the Giant's Causeway in a way that allows you to avoid Belfast, when you see a sign for old celtic stuff, turn off.....That's pretty much the way it went for me!
