HONEYmoon

Saturday, November 15....
On our last day on the Dingle Peninsula, we decided to hit some of the sights that we couldn't cover yesterday. We went to the Kilmalkedar Church, a 12th century church that was built around an ogham stone, that was there 900 years before the church was built. There is a hole in the top where people have come to "seal the deal" or even just renew wedding vows. The idea was that you were standing on the graves of your ancestors in the front of the house of God to pledge to one another your love and devotion.

We stopped at yet another set of ruins - this one is known as the Reasc Monastery. There is a Celtic stone piller (500 B.C.) that is on the property - and when the Christians arrived in the 5th Century they didn't throw out the Celtic society, they just carved a cross directly over the Celtic scrollwork on the stone. hmm....

On our drive toward the Shannon area, we drove through the Connor Pass - what normally is a spectacular view in the valley below - but not only could we not see the valley below, we could barely see the road in front of us! It was extremely windy and narrow and portions of this road are only wide enough for one car. whew! I was glad when that drive was over.

We also went to the Crag Cave - yet again going on a tour where we were the only 2 people! However, the parking lot was packed as it also has an high end indoor play area for kids and a pretty stocked gift shop full of Christmas lights and toys. It was quite an operation!
The cave itself was discovered in the 80's when they were searching for a source of water pollution in the area - and an underground limestone cave stretching over 4km and covered in stalactites was discovered.

We finished off the evening by attending the traditional Bunratty Medieval Banquet at the Bunratty Castle. We had a great place at the banquet at the end of the table right in front of the performers and I recognized our server from my first time here. We drank lots of mead - a wine made from honey, supposed to be consumed by newlyweds through the first moon to ensure fertility! ("honey...moon") We had a lot of fun and the singers were really talented, making it a truly enjoyable evening!