Where to begin? Today has been very full and pretty wonderful. We woke up early this morning because we had an appointment to see the Book of Kells at 8:30, as soon as they opened. We got a little turned around using Google maps without a WiFi signal, but eventually found our way to Trinity College by 8:00. We were first in line. There was some confusion about which line we should be in as there was a sign for online tickets, which we had, and another sign that said “Please queue here.” Jeff chose the correct place for us to be. The staff started scanning tickets about five minutes before opening the doors, which they did right on the dot. We passed through to an exhibit hall, which we stayed around in because a tour group with tons of people went straight for the Book. The information was interesting, and I took lots of pictures to study later on. When the tour group moved out of the area where the Book was, Jeff and I took our opportunity to see it. We had heard that you can’t get anywhere near it for the crowds, but we were able to get right on top of it and take our time studying it. It had the faded patina of age, but we could imagine how bright the colors would have been 800 years ago. One folio was open to an image of the apostle John opening a book, and the other folio on display was opened to the illuminated text of Luke 16:10-22. I teared up at the thought of the thousands of hours of work that went into creating this book because I felt a certain kinship with these craftsmen who knew the importance of the written Word. I think if there hadn’t been other people in the room, I might have bawled.
From the exhibition, we moved upstairs to the Long Room of Trinity College Library, and I had another emotional moment. I was standing in the middle of History. So many of the people I had studied as an English major had been in this very room. There were so many books here, I couldn’t possibly count them. I took a picture of each and every bust in the place until my phone died, and then I asked Jeff to take the rest. We have seen some amazing landscapes and incredible historical sites, but I believe this room has been the highlight of the entire trip for me.
We left Trinity College, and I was on a high. I think Jeff got a kick out of how giddy I was. I didn’t even complain of how far we had to walk to get to our next stop, the Little Museum of Dublin. It was an interesting hodgepodge of information and artifacts relating specifically to Dublin, and even had a whole room devoted to U2. However, it was in a very old house, so the upstairs portion got quite hot. I started to feel queasy from overheating while we looked at the free portion of the exhibit, so I headed down to sit in the doorway where I could get a breeze while Jeff completed the paid portion. He said the guide was very informative, and he told me some of the history he had learned as we walked to Doughboys for some sandwiches for our picnic at St. Stephen’s Green.
At one time, only the very posh who lived in the neighborhood were allowed to go into the park, but now it is open to the public. We found a tree root and a spot of grass to sit on next to a pond full of seagulls that I had thought were swans from a distance. Seriously, there are some big seagulls here. The thing about birds in Dublin is they have absolutely zero fear of people. The pigeons will get right under your feet as you’re walking the street if you aren’t watching. Some seagulls came right up to us to beg for food, and sounded exactly like cats meowing until they started in with the longer cry we normally hear. Jeff made fun of me for filming so much of them, but I never knew how seagulls behaved before, and it was interesting to me. We watched one grayish gull act like it was trying to kiss a white gull, and chased it around trying to get to its mouth. I likened the scene to Jeff and me as I pursued him while we were courting. But it turned out the gray one was an offspring of the white one, because we saw the mother regurgitate some food for it. Some of the gulls got so close to us, we feared they might take our sandwiches out of our hands!
After we got our fill of the park, we walked some more to the National Museum of Ireland: Archaeology. I was particularly interested in this museum as history fascinates me. I was getting pretty worn out, though, so we only went through the ground floor. We saw some Celtic and Medieval artifacts, a Viking boat, and, most interestingly, bog men. These are the remains of ancient people preserved by the bog for thousands of years. It was pretty macabre, but interesting.
From there, we walked around the block to see the National Museum of Ireland: Natural History. I was pretty much ready to go back to our room by this point, but we did see some interesting taxidermy. The best thing there, though was the Giant Irish Deer, an extinct animal that towered above us and was so big, I couldn’t fit it in the frame of my camera any other way than to catercorner it.
Jeff and I were both getting very tired at this point, and we discussed whether to go back to our room or stop to see St. Patrick’s Cathedral on the way. My feet said room, but my head said cathedral, so we walked around until we found which bus we needed to be on to take us to the nearest stop. We arrived at a time when the choir was practicing, and the sound of their singing was haunting as we took in the stained glass, stonework, and artifacts, and I again felt like I was standing in the middle of History. Of course I enjoyed the beauty of the place, but there was also the relics of a door with a story entitled “The Door of Reconciliation.” At some point in the city’s history, two families were feuding. One side extended a truce to the other, but they thought it was a trap. The host had a hole cut in the door and extended his arm through it as a show of good faith, and the leader of the opposing family was able to grasp his hand in truce. This is the origin of the saying, “to chance your arm,” meaning taking a risk even though it might be unsuccessful.
After St. Patrick’s Cathedral, it was definitely time to go back to our room. We stopped in at Spar for a push-up orange popsicle thing, and dragged into our room hot and ready to fall down. A couple of cold showers and a microwave soup-and-sandwich meal later, we have settled in for the night. Tomorrow we have an easier day planned. We will see Dublin Castle, do some souvenir shopping at George’s Street Arcade, and then Jeff will go see Kilmainham Gaol.