Today was jammed packed with exploration -- one church, two cathedrals, a love lock bridge, lots of walking, lunch at a pub, the Guinness Storehouse, and live music with dinner. Phew. I'm tired just recalling it all!!
We started off the morning with breakfast at the hotel; nothing fancy, just toast and cereal and fruit and coffee and juice. We then tested our map skills and set off to find St. Mary's Cathedral. St. Mary's was a simple parish still in operation; in fact, I recognized it from the last time I was in Dublin -- I believe Tara and Alycia and I attended mass here. After a few moments in St. Mary's, we walked along the River Liffey towards Christ Church Cathedral. As we walked along the river we encountered bridge after bridge until we spotted the bridge we were most interested in: the Ha'Penny Bridge; built in 1816, it not only serves as a pathway from one side of Dublin to the other but as a host to a multitude of love locks. What kind of adventure would this be if we did not place a Love lock of our own on the bridge?! Not unplanned, we came prepared and placed our one year anniversary love lock on the bridge and threw the key into the river below, symbolizing that our love is eternal. (For those of you counting, that would be three years, three countries, three love locks <3 ) A bit of a walk further found is at the entrance to Christ Church Cathedral.
Built in 1030, Christ Church Cathedral was large and ornate complete with side chapels, a "lady chapel", and a crypt. Though at one time this operated as a Catholic Church, it now is of the denomination of the Church of Ireland. CJ and I decided to "self guide" our way through the cathedral, which was a nice way to explore; there were helpful handouts that provided short explanations of particular areas including the musicians corner (the choir of Christ Church Cathedral was the first to ever perform Handel's Messiah in 1742), Strongbow's tomb (it was tradition for businessmen to sign paperwork or perform verbal agreements at the site of the tomb), and the baptistery complete with candles and font. The crypt was creepy and expansive, but the rest of the church was enjoyable. Though this church still functions as a place of worship for many, it seems strange (to me) to have such secular things such as tombs of prominent citizens and tribute statues to politicians, inside a church. Without a candle glowing above the tabernacle, the place loses that "sacred" feel. That doesn't take away from the immense history and age one feels when standing in such a place -- to think how many millions of people have stood inside the cathedral walls over the past 1000 years is awe inspiring. After escaping the creepy crypt, we made our way to St. Patrick's Cathedral.
If you think St. Patrick's Cathedral would be a Catholic Church, you would think wrong. Though it has functioned as a Catholic Church at times throughout its history, it is primary an Anglican Church (belonging to the Church of Ireland). King James II returned it to a Catholic Church for a bit in the 1680s, but it was a short run and has been Anglican ever since. When we arrived at St. Patrick's Cathedral, the greeter informed us that a tour group was just beginning and that it was free (ahem, included in the price of our admission ticket), so we joined the group and enjoyed the history lesson. According to our tour guide, legend said that just outside the cathedral is the site where St. Patrick baptized the Christian converts over a thousand years ago after his escape from servitude and return to Ireland as a missionary, that a spring bubbled forth and it was there that under his influence the pagans became christians. The tour guide said that many tales surrounding St. Patrick are tied up in a mixture of legend and fact; HOWEVER, in 1901, when doing repairs to the cathedral foundation, thirteen identical stones were buried deep below the ground, one of which had an inscription identifying it as belonging to St. Patrick -- and when it was removed, the entrance to a well was discovered there. Again, this church was filled with history and interesting artifacts, but it did not feel like a place to contemplate and offer a prayer. One of the church's largest "claims to fame" is that Johnathon Swift (author of Gulliver's Travels and A Modest Proposal -- amongst many writings) was the church's dean for over thirty years up until his death. Two of my favorite artifacts in the church were the "reconciliation door" and the "fading flags".
Two Irish families, the Butlers and the Fitzgeralds, were feuding; and not just a little argument, but swords and armies ... a LARGE disagreement. The Butlers were losing and ran to take sanctuary within the cathedral, closely chased by the Fitzgeralds. Trapped behind the door to the chapter room, the Butlers refused to come out despite the desire for peace stated by the Fitzgeralds; so Gerald Fitzgerald took an axe, hacked a hole in the door, and stuck his hand inside as a sign of peace. Luckily, the Butlers shook his hand (rather than chopping it off) and thus the Irish expression "to chance your arm" was born. The door, dubbed the reconciliation door, hangs in the cathedral, as do the "fading flags". There is a saying that soldiers do not die, they simply fade away; hanging within the Cathedral are dozens of flags that belonged to different Irish regiments that are no more, fading and rotting away. They hang just below a beautiful stained glass window of The Tree of Life. Another interesting tidbit about the Cathedral is that when it had fallen into disrepair and needed restoration, it was the Guinness family (in particular Benjamin Lee Guinness) that stood up and donated all that was needed (over 150,000 euro -- a lot at the time. He wanted no special statue or monument within the cathedral; the only tributes to the Guinness family were a stained glass window (though it does not mention the Guinness name; only those who know the woman in the glass know who it depicts) and an occasional floor tile depicting a boar, the Guinness family "animal" that appears on their family crest.
Next we ventured towards the Guinness Storehouse, but first stopped for lunch at a pub along the way. Fish and chips and Guinness stew was on the menu for us, then back out to find our final landmark for the day. Upon arriving to St. James' Gate Brewery, we purchased our tickets and gathered for a short introduction. Arthur Guinness, founder of the brewery, signed a lease for the land on which he built his empire in 1759 at a rate of 47 pounds for the next NINE THOUSAND YEARS. (Looks like Guinness will be around longer into the future than civilization dates into the past ...) Incredible. We toured floor after floor of exhibits on brewing Guinness and ingredients and advertising; we entered the tasting rooms where we learned to use all five senses to get the most out of our Guinness; we learned how to pour the perfect Guinness; and we enjoyed a pint at the top of the Storehouse: the Gravity Bar with a 360 degree view of Dublin (well, perhaps on a day where it isn't so foggy ...). The Storehouse was definitely a highlight of the day!
And finally, we made our way back to our hotel (utilizing the bus -- it was getting chilly and I left my coat behind at the hotel this morning). A cat nap later and we were back out in search of dinner. We heard the pub before we saw it -- Irish music leaking out the doors and windows. We went in and grabbed a table and enjoyed both our dinner and our dinner music! We also met an ex pat of the U.K. currently living in New York; but thanks to Brexit and his overseas work (and his mother's nationality), he has secured an Irish passport and thought he'd explore Dublin for a few days on his way to visit his father in the United Kingdom.
A quick stop for gelato, and we are back at our hotel -- exhausted, full, and ready for tomorrow's adventures. Here are some pictures from today:
More adventures to come tomorrow!
Good night.
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