Ireland is Wonderful

I'm still somewhat jetlagged.  We went to New Grange yesterday which is a 4,500 year old tomb/ceremonial something or other.  It is under a huge hill of soil and vegetation but it is made of huge slabs of granite stacked so that there is a tunnel and 3 kind of side rooms.  The granite makes a dome above your head and it is stacked so that the granite all tips out so that rain doesn't run into the rooms and tunnel.  Once a year on the winter solstice as the sun rises over the horizon the sun penetrates the tunnel and rooms clear to the back of the room.  I know it doesn't sound like much but it is pretty amazing to think of those people building such a place.  It is called New Grange.

Loy and Wil's home is a Mews Home which means they were originally carriage houses.  It is a very quaint little street with stone or brick walls separating all of their little garden areas.  I wake up and look out to a row of very sweet little brick homes and hear seagulls and people talking in the beautiful Irish lilt.  Yesterday morning I was struck by a man having a conversation with a woman and instead of saying that he was mad at someone he said, "I was very angry with him".  It almost made the anger more the receiving person's problem than the one who was angry.  

Many bartenders (we have only experienced two personally) will say Cheers when they place your drink in front of you which I think is charming.  Christopher had friends from London who flew into Dublin this weekend and he met them at the equivalent of the Power and Light District last night.  I don't know what time he got back but he only had 3 drinks because it was so expensive and then he walked home.  We had gone out to dinner before that at a lovely local restaurant.  Contrary to what we expected the food so far has been fantastic.

Today we are taking the train down the coast to some seaside villages and then exploring Dublin some more.  Tomorrow, Monday and Tuesday we are driving somewhere (we haven't decided yet) for a small trip.  The weather goes from rainy to sunny to cloudy to rainy to cloudy to sunny to rainy to... you get the picture.  However, the rain starts and stops so gently that it just kind of works into your consciousness without any drama like we would have in KC.