Saturday, January 13, 2018

More Dublin

Another jam packed day of exploring Dublin! Trinity College, the Book of Kells and Old Library, Dublinia, Jamison Distillery (kind of), and lots of amazing food!! Plus some prepping for tomorrow. 

We slept in this morning and woke to rain -- as our tour guide said yesterday "can't do anything about the weather, folks; you came to Ireland in January". haha But no worries: we have lots of layers and the radiator in our room dried out our coats / socks / hats quite nicely overnight. We ate a smilie breakfast at our hotel and then set out into the wet to find Trinity College. 

Trinity College is still a functioning university and as such is bustling with student life and tourists alike. The atmosphere within the gate is dripping with history -- from the architecture of the buildings to the expansive old trees. We made our way to the Old Library where the Book of Kells is kept. The Book of Kells is a 9th century hand written account of the four gospels of the New Testament. They are written on calf vellum and are beautifully decorated both in color and pictures. The name "Book of Kells" comes from the Abbey in Kells where the manuscript was written and housed until safety concerns forced it to be moved to Dublin. Unfortunately photos were not allowed in this part of the exhibit ... so you will have to go experience it for yourself!! Next we moved into the Old Library -- here pictures were allowed! The long room smelled of old books and was filled with busts of scientists, philosophers, physicians, and authors. Examples of the ancient books were in cases for closer examination. After making our way through, we went back out into the rain and walked towards our next destination: Dublinia. 

Dublinia is a museum dedicated to the Vikings -- very interesting history and really neat recreations of what the homes / boats / civilizations would have been like. I particularly enjoyed the sections on the Black Plague (even when not at work medicine captures my interest) and how archeologists put artifacts together to build a story of how ancient peoples lived. 

Next we walked towards the Jamison Distillery. Before entering, we ate at a restaurant outside the entrance. I know yesterday I said that Son of a Bun was one of the best burgers I ever ate ... but today's burger was THE BEST burger I ever ate. No contest. haha It was beef burger topped with caramelized bananas, goat cheese, bacon, and lettuce. Oh. My. Goodness. So delicious. I know what you're thinking -- you were iffy about the goat cheese and bananas on a burger is not even in your taste palate. Well it should be. Yum. Then we went into the Distillery -- but the ticket prices were ridiculously expensive and only included a tasting, not an actual drink. And there was no cool rooftop bar overlooking the city ... so we decided to look around the (free) first level before heading out. There was a really neat display of barrel tops -- artists are commissioned each year to make what will be the barrel tops for all barrels sent out for St. Patrick's Day. 

About this time we decided to head back to the hotel for a little bit of rest and to plan and prepare for tomorrow. It was a long walk back to our hotel -- but we walked over the love lock bridge on our way and made sure our lock was still there (it was). We usually use Ways to get around the city, even if we are pretty sure we know where we are heading, just to make sure we don't get too lost (a little lost is okay -- it's usually how we find the best eateries and shops); well today Ways wanted us to take a shortcut through what seemed like a solid wall. Turns out it was a narrow archway that led down a narrow street filled with little restaurants and pubs -- and was a great shortcut back to our hotel!! Once back at our hotel we took a nap (between the walking, the site seeing, the food, and the rain, I am one sleepy traveler!!) and did some packing. Then it was time to head out in search of dinner. 

We ventured back to the narrow street we had found called Merchant's Way and ate st a restaurant called Merchant's Arch -- the food was delicious and the live music was wonderful. After our bangers and mash and shepherds pie, we found Bubble Waffle Company for desert. And now we are back at our hotel with full bellies. A few pictures from today: 

The bell tower at Trinity College -- don't walk under it, though; tradition says that if you walk under it and it rings, you will fail your exams. 

The old library. Look familiar? It should to Harry Potter fans -- it is the library from the films!! 

An interesting book I found -- let's zoom in a bit ... 

Perhaps a long lost relative?!

The Viking museum!! 

Fancy a climb to the top of St. Michael's Tower? 

Almost a hundred steps later -- not a bad view! 

The best. burger. ever. 

Barrel tops! 

I liked this one. 

More stairs -- this time to the top of the restaurant for dinner. 

Mmmmmmmm

CJ entitling his dinner! 

More delicious food!! 

A post it wall inside the waffle factory -- 

-- and our addition to the wall. 

Now it is time for sleep. More adventures await tomorrow!! 






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