Headed over the Ha'Penny Bridge (built in 1816) across the River Liffy this morning, to the Temple Bar area, which is Dublin's cultural quarter.
Walked through the gates into Dublin Castle, a cluster of buildings built around a square, which is now used for government offices as well as museums and the Chester Beatty Library, that housed a collection of art from eastern and Islam religions, illuminated manuscripts as well as pieces of several of the letters of St. Paul.
We proceeded to Christchurch Cathedral, which was built over a period from 1036 to the mid 12th century in the original Viking settlement of Dubh Linn.
Sitting in this space reminded me of Ken Follett’s “Pillars of the Earth”. How did thy build so high, so ornately, without any machinery? One of the answers is provided here – this cathedral contains the Leaning Wall of Dublin – out of perpendicular by 18 inches. Nobody’s perfect! The windows are high and small and OLD.
The crypt below was DARK and displayed a mummified cat and rat, removed from the pipe organ in the 1860s. The Peace Chapel of St. Laud contains a reliquary of the heart of an Archbishop who died here in 1180. Prayers for peace in the world are offered here daily. Below is a photo of Jim standing next to a tomb within the sanctuary where people come to swear oaths.
Had lunch at a Lebanese restaurant (you may notice we are not going out of our way to find Irish food - tip of the hat to my grandmother's cooking...), and then toured the National Museum, which contained several well preserved Bog Bodies, thought to have been noblemen offered as sacrifice by the Druids and thrown in the bog, which preserved even clothing, skin and hair. The schoolkids were notably impressed!
Walking along the River Liffy, we came upon a series of statues honoring the victims of the Irish famine in the 1800s. Sobering. We ended the day at the national Library, which has an extensive genealogical research area, which did not garner me one new piece of data about my O’Keeffe ancestors from County Cork. Jim spent the time in a multi-media exhibition of the works of William Butler Yeats. We celebrated the end of the day with our first pint of Guinness at the James Joyce pub (it turns out that I really like Guinness!) Tomorrow, we travel to start our hike!
Our plane touched down in Dublin around 6am, and we hopped on a bus (very easy) to get to O’Connell St. downtown, where we walked the few blocks to the Abbey Hotel. Lovely and bright, we admired the view for about thirty seconds, then we promptly collapsed in bed to recover the six hours of sleep we missed by travelling east all night.
Got up at 11am and started our exploration of Dublin. By law, all public signage is shown both in English and Irish (Gaelic). I'll be providing some Gaelic when I can. Walked to Trinity College, built in 1592, to see the Book of Kells, Ireland’s most famous illuminated manuscript of the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, in Latin, lavishly decorated in gold leaf and colored inks. Created in the 800s, they were sent to Trinity for safekeeping in 1661. I am awed and amazed by anything made by the hands of man that is that old, and has survived for such a long time. How did they manage to preserve it during all the wars and bombings Dublin has undergone in the last 1200 years? In the same Old Library is the Long Room, which contains over 200,000 of the library’s oldest works, running from floor to ceiling two stories high, with skinny ladders at intervals so that the books on the upper shelves can be reached. Imagine the research you could accomplish here!
In the museum on campus we came across the skeleton of a giant Irish Deer, which was as tall as an elephant. The college buildings are laid out around Parliament Square, where the students reclined and sat in groups, eating their lunches – how lucky to go to a school with so much history. Did the students in the 1600s eat their lunches here too?
In the afternoon we walked all around St. Stephen’s Green, a lovely park right in the middle of the city, with a waterfall, and a Victorian floral garden at its center, and a picturesque ivy-covered cottage at one end. Flowers are in bloom everywhere, and the noise of the city fades away. What a nice respite!
Tucked in the middle of a block of buildings is University Church, which we would have missed if we hadn’t been looking for it. Inside were a beautiful set of murals of vivid colors, with predominant blues, above a neo-Byzantine interior, with a Mary chapel off to one side. Close by is the Huguenot Cemetery, where the French who fled the persecution of Louis XIV are buried. The alliance between the French and the Irish recurs throughout Irish history.
We had our first lunch of real pub food in a larger pub nearby – homemade mushroom soup and toasted chicken sandwiches.
Stopped in at St. Ann’s Anglican Church (Church of Ireland) built in 1707, and had a nice chat with a friendly verger and the choir director, as he practiced for the next service. Above the choirmaster’s head was a shelf containing three loaves of bread, which he explained are the result of an endowment since 1723 to provide a daily supply of bread for the benefit of any poor person, who can come in and take a loaf as needed with no questions asked.
Although we saw a few homeless begging alms on the street, the overall feel of the city we saw today is busy, multi-cultural, working and fairly prosperous. The tourist area around Grafton St. is a pedestrian-only area with all kinds of shops and restaurants, street musicians, buskers, and flower stalls. Dinner was Indian buffet with lots of delicious dishes to sample, then we turned in early – I think we’ll sleep well tonight!
After finishing up the very emotional finale to LOST this morning, Peter came to take us to the airport. We flew USAir from Norfolk to Philadelphia to Boston, and then had to find the International terminal via bus (not an easy task) for our Aer Lingus flight. The young man at the Aer Lingus counter was from Belfast, and gave us our first taste of trying to understand English spoken with an Irish accent – we couldn’t understand a word he said! We're excited to be on our way!
Jim and I are loading our backpacks today in preparation for Monday's flight to Dublin. We plan to spend a few days in the city, then take the train south to Tralee, on the Dingle peninsula. For the next 9 days, we will "walk the Dingle", staying in a different town each night, and hiking 11 - 18 miles each day.
That's the plan (if the volcano ash allows). Check back for details of our adventure.
Had lunch at a Lebanese restaurant (you may notice we are not going out of our way to find Irish food - tip of the hat to my grandmother's cooking...), and then toured the National Museum, which contained several well preserved Bog Bodies, thought to have been noblemen offered as sacrifice by the Druids and thrown in the bog, which preserved even clothing, skin and hair. The schoolkids were notably impressed!
