Monasterboice

The Monasterboice is a cemetery in County Louth. You'll find gravestones here dating back hundreds of years, as well as newly laid graves.

The site also holds the remains of two churches, built in the 14th century or later. The crosses, which are very well preserved despite their age, show biblical scenes in their carvings. The crosses, dating back to the 10th century, are some of the most beautiful in the area.

Monasterboice is definitely worth the drive out to County Louth, be sure to take some time to see theses beautiful and historic pieces.

Moone High Cross

The Moone High Cross can be a bit difficult to find. The GPS coordinates of N52.97879, W6.82468 should get you there. The opening into this space is just a crack in a wall, and there's room for only 2-3 cars to park. Having said that, it was well worth making the trek out to. The cross itself is a fantastic sight, as are the monastical ruins that surround it.

Fairview Cemetery

Fairview Cemetery is best known as the resting place for over 100 victims of the Titanic disaster.   The city of Halifax was key to the rescue effort of this tragedy, as well as the recovery of the unfortunate victims.  The bodies here are all marked with a small gravestone listing the name, date of death, as well as an identification number that was used before the body was identified.  Still, about one-third of the graves were never positively identified.

There is one very touching grave for an unidentified child, where people still lay toys and teddy bears to honor the young who died during this sinking.

For anyone who has an interest in the history of the Titanic, this visit is a must see.  However, this is still an active cemetery, so be courteous of others on the grounds.

Cemetery/Voodoo Tour

New Orleans is known for their unique above-ground cemeteries, which were designed to be this way due to the massive amounts of flooding the city gets.  We took a tour through the St. Louis Cemetery #1 with the group Historic New Orleans Tours.  The group met up at the Cafe Beignet on Royal Street and were given a brief history of New Orleans during the walk to the cemetery.

Once we reached the cemetery, the tour guide gave us a good overview of the cemetery's history and then showed us numerous specific graves and gave us the history behind them.  This included the grave of Marie Laveau, the famous Voodoo Priestess from the 19th century, which unfortunately had graffiti on it despite being re-painted only weeks earlier.

Another interesting grave was a pyramid shaped one (shown below) that is owned by Nicolas Cage to use as a burial spot for him and his family. It is symbolic of his American Treasure movies and the only gave that is not square.

After the cemetery tour, we were allowed to stop in at a gas station to get water and use the restroom. From there, we were taken to an Mardi Gras Indian gallery, which showed us beautiful Mardi Gras Indian costumes, that each take over a year to make.  This is a very niche part of Mardi Gras that only some people of African descent practice and it makes it all the more intriguing.

From there, we went to a Voodoo temple to hear the Priestess speak and give "words of wisdom".  This portion wasn't very interesting or entertaining as she was really just babbling on.  However, getting to view her voodoo temple was at least something unique to see.

The tour was supposed to last 2 hours, but went to over 2 and a half hours, so be aware that this may occur if you're planning things for later in the day.  Overall, for $20/person, it was well worth it.