Dublin, Ireland
“Trust those who seek the truth. Doubt those who claim they’ve found it.” That was written on one of the cobble stone roads in Temple Bar as we ran back to the shuttle bus near Trinity College. We have gotten into the horrible habit of taking the entire day, up to the last second to absorb and experience the numerous cultures we have encountered. And there was no exception here in Dublin today. But, I’ll start at the beginning. I just wanted to get those wise words out of my head. I’m surprised I remembered them this long…
We woke up extra early because there is a lot to see in Dublin. St. Patrick’s, Dublin Castle, the Guinness Brewery at St. James’ Gate, the Book of Kells, Trinity College, Grafton Street. But, I digress. Or progress too quickly, rather. As we were leaving the ship, we ran into a large headed leprechaun in the art gallery, who had just finished taking pictures with passengers on the gangway. I knew our day was off to a good start. We jumped onto the shuttle as it made its way up the River Liffey to the City Center. I was so excited to be back in a place I had once visited (I think the last time I could say this during the cruise was Rome). We ran to a Starbucks across from Trinity College for some warm drinks (it was right around 60 this morning. And cloudy. And spitting rain) before heading up to Dublin Castle. Luckily, we ran into a free walking tour group that had just started, and decided to join quietly without being noticed since there were a lot of people. Unfortunately, the guide called us out (in a good way) before she started talking about where Dublin got its name. It got its name by the way, from the Irish words that mean “black pool,” because the water was dark and muddy. Fiona, our tour guide, showed us all sorts of things like the birthplace of Jonathan Swift, who wrote “Gulliver’s Travels” and “A Modest Proposal,” old Viking settlements, Christchurch, and the area known as Temple Bar. We learned interesting little tidbits about each place, such as the organ that was found in Christchurch was out of tune because they found a very well preserved dead cat in the pipe who had leaped in centuries earlier to chase after a mouse, which was also there. Dublin city council decided to mummify them and put them in the crypt of the church. We also crossed to the north side of the city, over Ha’penny Bridge, which was built by the same company who built the Titanic and when it was first constructed was a private bridge. The toll to cross was a half penny (ha’penny), and enough people crossed it that in today’s currency, the bridge would make over €200,000 a day. That’s a lot of Euros. We also learned some crazy old laws that still exist at Trinity College that were implemented when it was a Protestant institute. For example, if you were a Protestant and you were on the 4th floor of any of the buildings near the Front Gate, and you spotted a Catholic in the courtyard (Catholics were not allowed to attend Trinity until the 70’s), you were not only allowed to, but you were also obliged to shoot the Catholic with a crossbow. That is still a law at the university. Fiona, who just happens to be a student at Trinity, informed us that most students there, even the Catholic ones, would be upset if this law was ever overruled.
After the tour ended, we made our way back to Trinity to see the Book of Kells. It was a little pricey, so I went in alone, since I had wanted to see it since we knew we were going to Ireland and since I hadn’t seen it the first time I was there. Another interesting fact about the book, other than the fact that it was most likely written in the 9th century, was that it was colored with pigments that can not only not be found in Ireland, but that aren’t even available anywhere in Europe. The rich red color seen throughout much of the text, comes from a beetle that is found only in Afghanistan. But it’s not just this specific beetle, it is a pregnant beetle. Only pregnant beetles of this particular species produce the deep orangey-red color. Basically, the monks who wrote this out went through a lot of trouble to make sure they had the necessary pigments to glorify the Word of God. The Book of Kells is kept in a glass case in a very dark room, under very low lights, and the page is turned every day. The page with illustration that I saw was the Temptation of Christ, and it was absolutely beautiful. So many intricate details and colors, it’s unbelievable. From there, you go up these stairs and into the Long Hall, which is just what it sound like – a long hall that is filled to the rooftops with books. Lots and lots of books. I felt like I was in the library from “Beauty and the Beast.” I was in nerdy heaven. Of course, you don’t really check those books out, but hey. And you may know this room from “Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark” where the X is on the ground and Indy hammers into the floor to find the map (Author’s note: Brooke and I sat here for about 10 minutes deciding whether or not we had the right Indiana Jones movie. I apologize in advance if I got them mixed up, but I ended up convincing myself this was the right one. I also apologize for the spelling of “Ark.” Debated that too). There was also a lovely collection of old books from India, my favorite being a sultan’s copy the Qu’ran.
Anyway, I can hear you all screaming at your screens, “Alright already! Enough with the useless, yet interesting facts!” So I will move on. Brooke and I decided that in order to honor Chris and Jack, we would go to a pub and drink a pint of Guinness. In every port they visited, the guys would go to a bar or pub or whatever, and order a local beer. So, we made our way back to Temple Bar with only about 45 minutes to make the last shuttle and chose to drink a pint in The Temple Bar. So, we went to the bar, ordered two pints of “the good stuff” and handed over €5 each. We sat right in front of a man playing guitar and singing great Irish tunes, and drank our pints. Well, I drank our pints. Brooke sipped hers and then looked as if her pint was going to cost her her happiness, so I took over from there. There is nothing better than a pint of Guinness in Dublin, unless of course its two pints. Needless to say, I felt truly Irish – being semi-drunk in the middle of the day. We ran through the streets, and Brooke stumbled upon the aforementioned “wise brick” and said we had to remember it because we didn’t have time to stop and write it down. And I did. I’m awesome. Go me!
Dinner tonight was fairly successful. We sat with a family from L.A. with two boys around our age, one a junior at University of Pennsylvania and the other a senior in high school, hoping to attend Princeton. They were a really enjoyable family, especially since the mother said that she liked me and thought I was funny, after I admitted to drinking lots of wine when I studied in Rome, rather than lying about it. Plus, they knew where Kokomo was! I wasn’t there for this part of the conversation, but Brooke had asked what the parents did, and the father was like, “Well I used to work in this little town in Indiana, I’m sure you haven’t heard of it.” Brooke said, “Well, try me. Anna is from Indiana.” And he used Kokomo as the reference point. He worked on the Air Force base, and was then amazed that we knew what he was talking about. No one ever uses Kokomo as a reference point in Indiana. When we talked to our friends after dinner, they said they planned the whole thing and they were glad we enjoyed dinner. Of course, that was after Johann scared the life out of me and told Paul I needed CPR. They literally make my day every night.
Well, it’s time for bed. We have to meet for our tour tomorrow morning at 7:30. Gross. Let’s hope Scotland is just as amazing as Ireland!
We woke up extra early because there is a lot to see in Dublin. St. Patrick’s, Dublin Castle, the Guinness Brewery at St. James’ Gate, the Book of Kells, Trinity College, Grafton Street. But, I digress. Or progress too quickly, rather. As we were leaving the ship, we ran into a large headed leprechaun in the art gallery, who had just finished taking pictures with passengers on the gangway. I knew our day was off to a good start. We jumped onto the shuttle as it made its way up the River Liffey to the City Center. I was so excited to be back in a place I had once visited (I think the last time I could say this during the cruise was Rome). We ran to a Starbucks across from Trinity College for some warm drinks (it was right around 60 this morning. And cloudy. And spitting rain) before heading up to Dublin Castle. Luckily, we ran into a free walking tour group that had just started, and decided to join quietly without being noticed since there were a lot of people. Unfortunately, the guide called us out (in a good way) before she started talking about where Dublin got its name. It got its name by the way, from the Irish words that mean “black pool,” because the water was dark and muddy. Fiona, our tour guide, showed us all sorts of things like the birthplace of Jonathan Swift, who wrote “Gulliver’s Travels” and “A Modest Proposal,” old Viking settlements, Christchurch, and the area known as Temple Bar. We learned interesting little tidbits about each place, such as the organ that was found in Christchurch was out of tune because they found a very well preserved dead cat in the pipe who had leaped in centuries earlier to chase after a mouse, which was also there. Dublin city council decided to mummify them and put them in the crypt of the church. We also crossed to the north side of the city, over Ha’penny Bridge, which was built by the same company who built the Titanic and when it was first constructed was a private bridge. The toll to cross was a half penny (ha’penny), and enough people crossed it that in today’s currency, the bridge would make over €200,000 a day. That’s a lot of Euros. We also learned some crazy old laws that still exist at Trinity College that were implemented when it was a Protestant institute. For example, if you were a Protestant and you were on the 4th floor of any of the buildings near the Front Gate, and you spotted a Catholic in the courtyard (Catholics were not allowed to attend Trinity until the 70’s), you were not only allowed to, but you were also obliged to shoot the Catholic with a crossbow. That is still a law at the university. Fiona, who just happens to be a student at Trinity, informed us that most students there, even the Catholic ones, would be upset if this law was ever overruled.
After the tour ended, we made our way back to Trinity to see the Book of Kells. It was a little pricey, so I went in alone, since I had wanted to see it since we knew we were going to Ireland and since I hadn’t seen it the first time I was there. Another interesting fact about the book, other than the fact that it was most likely written in the 9th century, was that it was colored with pigments that can not only not be found in Ireland, but that aren’t even available anywhere in Europe. The rich red color seen throughout much of the text, comes from a beetle that is found only in Afghanistan. But it’s not just this specific beetle, it is a pregnant beetle. Only pregnant beetles of this particular species produce the deep orangey-red color. Basically, the monks who wrote this out went through a lot of trouble to make sure they had the necessary pigments to glorify the Word of God. The Book of Kells is kept in a glass case in a very dark room, under very low lights, and the page is turned every day. The page with illustration that I saw was the Temptation of Christ, and it was absolutely beautiful. So many intricate details and colors, it’s unbelievable. From there, you go up these stairs and into the Long Hall, which is just what it sound like – a long hall that is filled to the rooftops with books. Lots and lots of books. I felt like I was in the library from “Beauty and the Beast.” I was in nerdy heaven. Of course, you don’t really check those books out, but hey. And you may know this room from “Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark” where the X is on the ground and Indy hammers into the floor to find the map (Author’s note: Brooke and I sat here for about 10 minutes deciding whether or not we had the right Indiana Jones movie. I apologize in advance if I got them mixed up, but I ended up convincing myself this was the right one. I also apologize for the spelling of “Ark.” Debated that too). There was also a lovely collection of old books from India, my favorite being a sultan’s copy the Qu’ran.
Anyway, I can hear you all screaming at your screens, “Alright already! Enough with the useless, yet interesting facts!” So I will move on. Brooke and I decided that in order to honor Chris and Jack, we would go to a pub and drink a pint of Guinness. In every port they visited, the guys would go to a bar or pub or whatever, and order a local beer. So, we made our way back to Temple Bar with only about 45 minutes to make the last shuttle and chose to drink a pint in The Temple Bar. So, we went to the bar, ordered two pints of “the good stuff” and handed over €5 each. We sat right in front of a man playing guitar and singing great Irish tunes, and drank our pints. Well, I drank our pints. Brooke sipped hers and then looked as if her pint was going to cost her her happiness, so I took over from there. There is nothing better than a pint of Guinness in Dublin, unless of course its two pints. Needless to say, I felt truly Irish – being semi-drunk in the middle of the day. We ran through the streets, and Brooke stumbled upon the aforementioned “wise brick” and said we had to remember it because we didn’t have time to stop and write it down. And I did. I’m awesome. Go me!
Dinner tonight was fairly successful. We sat with a family from L.A. with two boys around our age, one a junior at University of Pennsylvania and the other a senior in high school, hoping to attend Princeton. They were a really enjoyable family, especially since the mother said that she liked me and thought I was funny, after I admitted to drinking lots of wine when I studied in Rome, rather than lying about it. Plus, they knew where Kokomo was! I wasn’t there for this part of the conversation, but Brooke had asked what the parents did, and the father was like, “Well I used to work in this little town in Indiana, I’m sure you haven’t heard of it.” Brooke said, “Well, try me. Anna is from Indiana.” And he used Kokomo as the reference point. He worked on the Air Force base, and was then amazed that we knew what he was talking about. No one ever uses Kokomo as a reference point in Indiana. When we talked to our friends after dinner, they said they planned the whole thing and they were glad we enjoyed dinner. Of course, that was after Johann scared the life out of me and told Paul I needed CPR. They literally make my day every night.
Well, it’s time for bed. We have to meet for our tour tomorrow morning at 7:30. Gross. Let’s hope Scotland is just as amazing as Ireland!
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