April 18, 2012

We began the day with an Irish breakfast, then headed to St. Patrick's Cathedral where we stopped in at the library there called Marsh Library. It was like a small scale version of the Book of Kells, but nobody was there but us and the employees. They said they'd been through all 25,000 books --- twice! They were looking for a famous note written by a niece to her uncle, but they've never found it. The legend is that the uncle haunts the library, searching for the note. The library has "cells" or "cages" that were used for locking researchers in while they studied so they didn't steal any books.

We ventured to St. Patrick's Cathedral, which was stunning, making sure to light a candle and praying for a special intention. My favorite part was the tattered medieval flags and the medieval knight helmets in a row on the choir loft because the knights used to actually sing there. Also, there is a garden where a well supposedly once stood, the site where St. Patrick is said to have baptized Christians. 

Then we went to Dublin Castle and although it was closed, we had a nice time touring the grounds and having a coffee in the lovely atrium of the Silk Road Cafe within the Chester Beatty Library. There was a charming chapel on the grounds as well called the Chapel Royal. 

Next we walked across the Quay to the National Leprechaun Museum. We stopped at a pub across the street called TP Smith's for a pint of Guinness first, though. The museum was humorously awful, but I have to admit that the employees warned us of this fact at the door and did everything they could to dissuade us from buying museum tickets. They had a room with oversized chairs and dressers that you could climb onto so that you could feel like a leprechaun and talked about the ridiculous American idea of "Lucky Charms" types of leprechauns.

We stopped off to visit the Oscar Wilde statue, listened to a troupe of young Irish street performers, then had a late lunch at a nice little pub that I don't remember the name of. The food there is a buffet-style (they call it a carvery in Ireland), but delicious, and I had my first ever Irish coffee. Carveries are amazing little things where you get your choice of delicious meats like roast turkey or beef piled high along with veggies such as carrots and potatoes and all of it smothered in the most delicious brown gravy sauce.

Inevitably, I ended up very ill. I came down with a feverish cold and rested while Aaron hung out in the hotel bar for a bit. I managed to to take a few sips of wine with him at the Ferryman, but after feeling like I was going to die, I laid in the hotel for the rest of the night.

Now that Baby is nearly here, and I'm not currently taking clients, I've been trying to catch up on editing personal pictures, like of all of the vacations we've taken over the last 8 years. I especially don't want to forget anything about our 2 trips to Ireland last year, which were INCREDIBLE! So I'm going to post our photos and my travel journal entries here on the Blog...as long as I still have the time! And don't mind the hat head. It was absolutely freezing! Despite my best efforts bundling up with hats and coats and mittens and scarves, I still ended up miserably sick by the 2nd day of our vacation and became painfully windburnt on my nose and hands. Despite it all, though, I'd go back in a heartbeat.

{April 17, 2012

Well, Dublin is nothing like we expected it to be. It reminds me a lot of a Chicago or Munich in the size of Fort Wayne.

We did get to see the Book of Kells at Trinity College (no photography allowed, unfortunately) - AMAZING! By far one of my favorite places in the WORLD. Rows and rows of books in a ginormous hall. Beautiful wood work, artwork and two stories of ancient texts in leather binding as far as the eye could see.

We then went to the Guinness Brewery for a really neat tour. While Aaron probably found the tour a bit more interesting than I did, I enjoyed the view from the top floor where you could enjoy a Guinness with a fabulous view of Dublin including the mountains. Irish Guinness is incredibly better than its American counterpart, and Aaron became "certified" to pour a Guinness. 

We had lunch and a Guinness at the Brazen Head, which was the site of the beginning of the revolution and where greats such as Winston Churchill, Michael Collins, James Joyce, Jonathan Swift...and even Van Morrison...have visited since 1198. It is Ireland's oldest pub. We hope to visit tomorrow evening when it's busier and has live music.

We toured a bit of St Stephen's Green - the site of beheadings in medieval times.

We were so exhausted that we came back to the hotel for a beer and bed. Although we've taken buses for the most part, we've done our fair share of walking.

Hoping to enjoy some Dublin pubs tomorrow!}