I personally woke up early. I knew the alarm was set for 6:10AM, but I can’t stand to be woken up by an alarm. It startles me and I’m just not the same for a few minutes after that.

We got up and got ready. Afterwards we ate our usual breakfast in the shared kitchen area. I had the last two chocolate muffins while Sharon had cereal.

Sharon had mapped out our route on her phone the night before. The only problem was that I hadn’t charged her phone (forgot to plug it in). Our Pixel 2 phones charge fast and within the short amount of time that I figured out that the phone wasn’t ready vs. the time we left, the phone had charged 30% which is phenominal compared to my previous phones. Phone batteries have come a long way.

After a short walk we caught our bus a few blocks from the dormitory we are staying at. We got off the bus and then walked to Trinity Colleage for our 8:30 AM entry to see the Book of Kells. We did make a wrong turn. It’s easy to make considering the way you’re walking doesn’t always match up with the way Google thinks your phone is facing.

We came to the courtyard of Trinity College. I could tell Sharon was getting excited because she was smiling, much like our wedding day. She had thought about seeing the Book of Kells from when she was a teenager and now her dream was going to come true.

We found where we were supposed to stand for online tickets. Sharon went and sat down and rested. We saw a big tour group approaching and we immediately got up and beat them to being first in line. While we were waiting several people came by and asked if this was the line. We honestly didn’t know. Soon after a young ticket agent came by and scanned our tickets. Then soon after the doors opened and we were inside.

Before we got to the actual book of Kells there is a musuem telling about it with big illustrations of the manuscript. Sharon took many photos of these illustrations as she was certain (and correct) that no photos were allowed in the room with the Book of Kells.

Soon after we went into the room with the Book of Kells. The two books were John 1:1 and Luke 16:10-22. It was in Latin so of course we couldn’t read it. It was facinating and humbling at the same time. So much work and time had been put into this Bible, and sometimes we take the Word of God for granted at times.

Next was on to the Long Room – part of the Trinity Library. Sharon too was exited to see this. As described it was a long room with two stories of books. In front of each shelf was a bust of a famous writer or author or benefactor the college. Sharon took photos of each of these busts…and got me to finish it when her phone ran out of battery from my mistake. It was all very facinating.

Afterwards we exited via a gift shop. Sharon got some gifts for herself and loved ones. We decided to go to the Little Musuem of Dublin. It was one of those which had good reviews because the tour guides tell you to write good reviews. But nonetheless it did have some uniquie artifacts.

The lady who greeted us after we bought our tickets babbled on about everything and seemed to fascinated with bust of Bram Stroker. We settled in to watch a 1960s film about Dublin before heading up stairs to wait on our 11AM tour. We went around to different rooms to view the objects. They had a whole room dedicated to U2 which I enjoyed but I’m not sure Sharon found it interesting.

Sharon began to feel sick maybe due to the musuem not having air conditioning (a common theme throughout our tour) so she said she would sit this one out. I took the tour. A man dressed in a black suit and purple shirt arrived and got a tourist to run the hand cranked siren to announce the start of the tour.

Our tour guide was a good showman and told lots of anecdotal stories about the history of Dublin including the blowing up of Nelson’s Column (making it to be the “Half Nelson,” female leaders of Ireland, U2, the Pope’s visit and many other things. He kept the tour interesting.

After the tour I met Sharon at the bottom of the stairs and we decided to try to find Doughboys for lunch. The only problem was that we walked too far in the wrong direction. By the time we realized it, it was faster just to go ahead and finish walking there rather than go back and catch a tram.

Doughboys was expensive. We got two sandwiches and two drinks and it was 19 EUROs! Next was off to find St. Steven’s Green, a park once closed off to non residents (read upper class who lived around the park).

The park was filled with people, flowers, pigeons and sea gulls. We found a shady spot to sit down and eat. While we were eating the sea gulls came by apparently looking for food. Some them made noises like the meow of a cat. Sharon filmed some of them to her delight.

Afterwards we headed to the National Musuem of Ireland – Archeology. We found out about hoarding – which is not a 20th century invention. Rather early man in Ireland would hoard things by burying them. Archeologists would find these things buried together.

In another room we would find bog men – skeletons or preserved bodies buried in a bog. Some where very well preserved. These were kept hidden out of site probably for the children’s sake.

Next was on to the Musuem of Ireland – Natural History. This is a taxidermist dream with all kinds of animals stuffed and on display. There were skeletons of Irish Deer (now exict) which towered over us. I can’t imagine what it must have been like to encounter one of these in the wild.

We had difficulty finding our way back to St. Patrick’s cathedral. We are always looking for a wifi signal to be able to catch the right bus. The Catch22 is the buses have wifi but only if you get near them or even on them. Since they’re usually moving at the time, I am usually regulated to searching around for a cafe’s open wifi.

After a while of fumbling around we got on the right bus. We went into St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Inside the choir was practicing but alas we weren’t allowed to photograph the choir themselves as it would have been distracting.

The church itself was like any other – plaques and crypts on the walls of the church, stained glass, prayer rooms, etc. There was a bit more emphasis on the history of Dublin. Having our fill of the cathedral, we headed outside to get some photos of the park beside the cathedral.

On the way back to our dormiatory we got a popsicle from the Spar. We napped and had soup and sandwiches from yesterday’s grocery run for supper.

Tomorrow is our last day in Ireland before flying back on Wednesday.