Making Wishes and Walking On Dead People

Last night was extremely cold, (there's no heat in my room yet). So, shout out to Cullen for being able to pack the fuzzy ND pants he got me for Christmas in to my backpack. Cullen- you da real MVP. The cold night, plus not sleeping for so long, made me incredibly drowsy, and I almost missed my bus today. But, with banana in hand, I was ready to take on the sights.
First, we headed to the Hills of Tara. I'm sure you can guess that it was a very hilly place, and it was also incredibly green. There was a beautiful castle there, though we did not get to go inside.

We did, however, read some of the interesting folklore about the place. Apparently, the land was designed so that the royalty, as they walked around the place, would feel as if they were walking right into the sky, straight into Heaven to see God. Cool, right?

Though my hair was a mess, the view was beautiful

There were many stones there that were believed to have special energies about them. One of which, if you walked around it three times with your hand on top of it, granted you a wish, a wish that apparently always comes true (so, fingers crossed!). 

Making my wish

Fairy trees were also wishing spots, and many leave items like clothing, pictures, pieces of paper, or even just grass woven together on the trees to signify their wish. I only meant to leave a piece of grass, but somehow ended up losing my glove, so double wish? Yeah, yeah, I know: typical Mara doing something stupid within minutes of her first adventure. 

Next, we traveled to Slane Abbey, which was my favorite place of the day. There was the coolest disheveled castle that we climbed in, and I was incredibly grateful that the sun decided to make an appearance for the short time we were up there. There was a beautiful cemetery right next to the castle with a beautiful path.

We were so excited

My beautiful view from the castle

Blurry, but still cute, right?

Cemetery to the left. Castle to the right.

We made a short visit to Mellifont Abbey, where I walked on top of graves and saw where monks used to wash themselves and where they worshiped. 

Friends!

The Abbey

Where the worship happened

Before lunch of fish and chips, we made a quick stop at Monasterboice. Dad and Patrick: you would both be in awe of the crosses that I saw today. I tried to capture pictures for you both so I could share it with you. This huge cross, one of the most beloved and famous crosses in Ireland, was used to explain Bible stories. Adam and Eve, Kane and Abel, all the apostles, so many stories were included. It was simply wonderful.

Who knew I'd actually like cemeteries?

Such a beautiful way to explain the Bible

Dad: aren't you loving this?

Patrick: You'd love this design work

Our last trip was to Boyne Valley, (Yes, family. I said Boyne. I got excited, too.) There was a beautiful tomb there, called Newgrange, where, for seventeen minutes on the winter solstice, a beam of light would shine in. Five thousand years ago, this is how the people celebrated the death of a year and the birth of a new one. Truly amazing. (Grandma: it totally reminded me of the Aztecs in Mexico from spring break!)

The only way in and out. The swirls were made
by people 5,000 years ago to symbolize earth
and fertility

The whole grand tomb. Like a hobbit home, right?

Nothing is really planned for tomorrow. The girls and I plan on getting our Irish phones and maybe buying some more food, but it'll kind of be a chill day. I really hope to go exploring and discover my new home. I miss my family and friends so much, but I love that I'm able to talk to them so easily. Until tomorrow, ya'll!