I GIVE UP TRYING TO LOAD PHOTOS IN HERE!!!!!!! Sheeeeesh frustrating! Mary's drawing room window was looking a tad unsafe there for a wee while! Bloody pics & blogs... Inspite of my current frustration with technology I will attempt to fill in yesterday's adventure that started at 5am....WTF gets up at 5am on vacation??? Seemingly moi, me tinks my inner clock is just getting into practice for sheep herding......Mary was not amused as later advised by a wee 7 year old...kids are a wonderful source of info! We headed north yesterday into County Cavan to Ballyjamesduff....& no I did not make that name up! We found the Holy Trinity Abbey which was my intention, very beautiful old Abbey that was largely hidden during the Druid days due to prohibition of catholicism, it is currently home to Ann the Lay Apostle. We travelled through some stunning countryside that depicted the 40 shades of green the Irish land is famous for. I guess it is easy to take for granted the scenery as it unfolds before you but one needs to really stop & smell the roses so to speak to truly appreciate what we have been blessed with. Today was one of those truly grateful days. We hunted local antiques today, getting much of our info from....you guessed it locals in the pubs...another great lunch session was had with a wealth of info forthcoming. It is wise to take heed local info! During the course of beer swilling info gathering we were told of a place called Loughcrew which, along with Newgrange is the happening place for winter & summer solstice, we are a tad early as summer solstice does not appear until June. Loughcrew is home to megalithic burial grounds going back to 3500 BC, there is over 20 tombs at this site which is one of four main sites in Ireland, these cruciform chambers are hidden under huge mounds, one of which can be accessed & with clear vision during solstice. The energy here was very strong! Oldcastle was a nearby village that offered an array of quirky stores & people, there was even a fruit & veg vendor selling his produce from the back of a 1930's truck, of course I just had to go talk to this bloke! Steve said he wanted a mango.....yeah righto smart ass.....mangos in Ireland hmmmmmm well buggar me this bloke had mango...from Mexico! They were only 1 Euro each so of course I came back to the car & produced this mango....stunned mullet look followed :0) By the time we got back to Navan the children were here & spending the early evening with them was a real treat....they had us take them to the golden arches....they sell fish fingers at Maccas here????? Guessing that's safer than the hormone pumped chook??? Mary had arranged for a local historian to meet us last night, now when I say last night I mean NIGHT! This is Ireland, people make house calls at 10pm....OK this required a slosh of Red, fine or otherwise...I passed on the cooking vintage....although I greatly appreciated Vincent's visit as he had much knowledge of my family history here in County Meath he did my head in....trying to absorb historical facts at midnight was proving a challenge & of course Moth did the disappearing act by 10.30pm....thanks! I think I retained some of Vincent's facts....I was amazed at his knowledge of my family. Vincent has given me his email access for further contact. Vincent is Ireland's leading historian employed by the National archives....seems I have hit the jackpot in the bank of knowledge! So it's now 7am Sunday & today we head west to Galway & the Aran Islands....yet another adventure of mega proportions coming up....we have a few locals to meet up with & of course I'll be seeing my cousin Val again, I have missed her. Val is a Franciscan Nun, Steve refers to her as the rouge Nun....so she has spirit! Ok time to buggar off.....Hoo Roo