Monday, March 18, 2024

More Dublin and Home Again


Well, I'm back home again, after probably the fastest vacation I've ever taken in my life! I made the most of yesterday, though, getting up early and walking back into town from my suburban jail cell hotel room. I spent an hour or so walking around the Temple Bar area, which is Dublin's center of nightlife. It was quieter in the morning, but the St. Patrick's Day decorations were up and there were more than a few costumed revelers about.


Many of the main streets were already blocked off for the big parade and there were barricades everywhere. These parade marchers were fortifying themselves at the neighborhood coffee shop.


I walked to the River Liffey, which flows through the center of Dublin, so I could check out the views.

Then I met up with my stepsister Jennifer, her husband Tony and their friends Steve (yes, two Steves on this trip) and Karen. We had breakfast and went to Trinity College to see the Book of Kells, a 1,200-year-old illuminated manuscript of the Gospels of the New Testament that's held in the library.

Funny moment: We walked all the way to the college and were approaching the door when Jennifer said to Karen, "You have the tickets, right?" And Karen said, "No! YOU were going to get the tickets!" So we actually had no tickets at all -- but fortunately, even on St. Patrick's Day, we didn't have any problem buying them on the spot.

The "Book of Kells Experience," as it's known, was really more than it needed to be -- I'd have been happy just seeing the book and leaving it at that. But there's a museum with huge displays and multimedia stuff going on. Gotta keep the digital kiddies entertained, I guess.


We also walked through the library's legendary "Long Room," which used to be lined with floor-to-ceiling shelves of antique and historic books. Most of the books have been removed now for conservation, but the building was still beautiful. The busts along the sides are renowned Irish and British writers, until recently all male.


The college campus was quite impressive, too.

Afterwards we found a bar for a final pint of Guinness (in my case). I was worried about getting out of town, given the massive crowds and street closures for the parade, but the hotel reserved me a cab and by golly, that cab was waiting at the appointed place at the appointed time. I was amazed!


I saw these two as I made my way to my car, doing their best to spread a Christian message amid all the drunken revelry and commercialism. I told them I liked their signs: "Simple and direct!"


I had a couple of hours at the airport before my 5:50 p.m. flight took off -- but that was fine, as it gave me a chance to edit my photos and relax a bit. I had a good sunset view of Dublin as the plane took off and turned to the east. Those are the Wicklow Mountains in the distance, south of the city.


And I had a good view of London as we flew in about 50 minutes later. That's Battersea Park at lower right, with the curve of the Thames and the brightly lit Albert Bridge. The dark rectangle in the center is Hyde Park, and the dark patches above that are Regents Park and Hampstead Heath. I do love a window seat!

It was great to sleep in my own bed last night, and Olga seems happy to have me home. Dave said she was a nervous wreck the whole time I was gone! Such a dramatic dog.

22 comments:

  1. What a great trip. I have still never gotten to Dublin. My sister said it was one of her favorite cities.

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  2. Love the photos, especially the aerial shots.
    All those empty Library shelves look a bit sad. "Where are my books?" they cry.

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  3. Drat! I wish I could have read this post BEFORE last night's quiz at "The Hammer and Pincers" because we did not get the question; Name the cobbled party area of central Dublin with a religious sounding name?...Temple Bar!

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  4. What a whirlwind of a trip. I love the tour, especially the long room; I would have loved to have seen it filled with bok=oks as those are my favorite rooms.

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  5. The long room looks forlorn without its books. It must be truly impressive when those shelves are filled. Have the books been removed only temporarily? And welcome home. Nothing like your own bed after some time away.

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  6. I agree with Rosemarie. No books in the long room seems so sad.
    The Jesus people look very wholesome and happy, don't they?

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  7. The book of Kells was worth the trip. Just that. I hope the evangelists pronounced it Jaysus in true Joycean exasperated fashion

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  8. I expected that river to be dyed green like they do in Chicago for St. Patty's Day.
    I love the views you got from the plane. All in all, it looks like you had a fabulous trip, Steve. Will you go back one day with Dave?

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  9. I deleted what I had written after clicking on the link to the library. it shows a picture of the long room with books. and I guess you got to see more than just two pages of the Book of Kells since it said a new display allowed seeing all the pages? anyway, a massive library. just the thing for a librarian?

    I imagine Olga was worried about her missing pack member.

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  10. That photo of the river gave me a happy sigh. And I would LOVE to spend some time in that library, even without books! You certainly made the most of your short trip.

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  11. What a fantastic set of photos and a fun trip. I love that photo of the river through the city and that library is beautiful. Too bad the books have been removed but I do understand the reason. I also like your evening shot over London. I love a window seat too.

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  12. Nothing makes me appreciate my life more than sleeping in my own bed again upon returning from a vacation!

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  13. When I went to see the Book of Kells in 1985 it was just by itself, lying opened in a glass case, in a room so dark you could hardly see the damn thing. It was very underwhelming, but the room was quiet and musty, which seemed appropriate, and the library had all the books in it still. It never occurred to me that the library would one day be emptied! And it seems that seeing the Book is now an "experience", one that is over-mediated, or "interpreted", as most things are these days. Sigh.

    Love the street shots of Dublin.

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  14. Great pictures. It feels as if I've been on this trip with you.

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  15. Love the photos! I had always heard that St Patrick's Day wasn't a big deal in Ireland. Is that not true? (or has it changed) I was looking for those mountains but didn't see them. As a Washingtonian I look for the looming kind of mountain-LOL!

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  16. Your photos are outstanding. The floor to ceiling empty bookshelves seem odd. Do they plan to bring the books (or a visual representation) back to fill the shelves? Dublin seems like a thriving city with lots to see and do. London at night as seen from the plane is phenomenal.

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  17. Fabulous! I never sit at the window but you might make me change my mind! I've wanted to see the Book of Kells for many moons but I didn't know about the advance tickets! So, learned something new here! You certainly made them most of things! It looks like a fun city.

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  18. It's been decades since I visited Dublin and I have no memory of seeing the Book of Kells. I studied it in school, so I'd love to see it in person, along with the Lindisfarne Gospels. Those two works stick out in my mind when it comes to illuminated manuscripts. No Guinness for me yesterday, but I did make colcannon and put a few drops of green food coloring in my beer.

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  19. You work hard to have a good time and then you share it with us.

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  20. My daughter and I visited Dublin in January 2019. At that time, we lucked out during an early morning visit when we had the entire Long Room all to ourselves for about 15 minutes. Magical. All those shelves were completely and gloriously book-filled back them. It does look terribly forlorn without the books. Glad you enjoyed your quick trip (well, maybe not the jail cell aka hotel room).

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  21. I was in the Long Room in 1996 and remember being overwhelmed by all those shelves filled crammed with beautiful old books. Talking about an 'Experience'. How awful that they're not there anymore for all to see!

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  22. Mitchell: I wish I'd had more time there. It's small and seems very manageable for visitors.

    River: They DO look sad! I think the books are coming back eventually.

    YP: Bummer! I'm not sure I would have gotten it from that question, even having just been there. I would have been thinking "saint" something.

    Bob: It is kind of a bummer that when we were there the books just happened to be gone!

    37P: Yes, they're trying to install better fire protection and also clean and conserve the books.

    Ms Moon: They do! I wasn't as intimidated by them as I am by some American evangelicals. They seemed quite happy to just say "Jesus" and leave it at that.

    Boud: I didn't actually hear them say it so I'm not sure how they'd have pronounced it. :)

    Ellen D: I would love to go back with Dave. Next time I'll stay in the city center and choose a different weekend!

    Ellen: I'm not even sure I saw the actual book. I saw a book open to two pages but my brother-in-law said it's a duplicate.

    Bug: I did not waste time!

    Sharon: It's always so fun to see familiar places from the air!

    Ed: I agree. It's so great to come back home.

    Vivian: Glad to see you back in blogland! We've missed you! Yes, it was "over-interpreted," to my way of thinking. The book itself was much as you described, though as I told Ellen above, my brother-in-law got the impression it was a duplicate. So I'm not sure we even saw the actual book.

    Tasker: Always my goal! :)

    Margaret: I wonder if it's developed into MORE of a deal in order to cater to the tourists? I did not see green beer anywhere.

    Susan: I think the bookshelves are only temporarily empty.

    Jeanie: Yes, you're supposed to book online ahead of time. But as we showed, you don't necessarily HAVE to!

    Kelly: It's worth a visit even though, as I said to others, I'm not 100 percent sure we saw the actual book.

    Red: I'm always searching out bloggable experiences!

    Mary: Wow, what a great experience that must have been! I am a bit sad that we didn't get to see it with the books in place.

    Brigitta: Well, I think they ARE coming back after they get cleaned and cared for.

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