Two days in a row we all woke up to blue skies and sunshine in Dublin, Ireland! (Imagine our surprise!) John and I took full advantage of that gorgeous weather and took a morning walk to St. Mary’s Church!
The church was gorgeous, inside and out! I had resigned myself to not understanding a word the priest spoke, (being in Ireland, ya know!), but, to my surprise, he was fluent our English! And there were three men and one woman who sang beautifully throughout mass!
We met back up with Patte and Mike and were all super excited (NOT, to be perfectly honest) that we actually got tickets to go see the Book of Kells. (Actually, one of us was excited—can you guess who that was?)
The tour was actually very well done. When we got to The Book of Kells no photographs were allowed. In case you are wondering, The Book of Kells is an unrivaled masterpiece of medieval Celtic art. Crafted around 800 AD by Columban monks, its’ 680 pages feature wildly intricate, vibrant and complex illuminations that have survived for over 1,200 years. (Thanks, AI!)
The part that was intriguing to all of us was the Old Library, or the Long Room, often hailed as the world’s most beautiful library. It normally held over 200,000 of the libraries oldest books, however, many had been removed as part of a massive 90 million Euro redevelopment project to safeguard the 300-year-old building (it was wooden and lacked modern fire suppression systems). The books were being carefully vacuumed, electronically tagged, catalogued, and placed into secure, climate-controlled storage since the centuries old chamber lacked proper climate control. The massive restoration was expected to take five to eight years!
Throughout the library there were short videos of how the books were being cleaned and stored. It was fascinating to watch the intricacies of the process!
The Book of Kells was actually located on the campus of Trinity College. It was a beautiful day to walk around the campus with tons of students and visitors out enjoying the weather! (Yes, that’s John right there being one with the Trinity students!)
We walked around the college neighborhood and passed by a talented busker, singing his heart out!
O’Neil’s was the chosen destination for lunch and the food and drink were delightful!
We had some time to spare before our next adventure, the Guinness Experience, so we hopped on a City Sightseeing Bus (after making darn sure it was not an Irishman leading the tour)! We wanted to understand what we were seeing!
Before long it was time for our Guinness Experience! Mike and John were more than ready!
The experience was delightful and so well done! And to top it off, we all got to drink a complimentary glass of Guinness at the rooftop bar when it was over!
Would you believe we ran into a young man wearing none other than a Ball State t-shirt! (Chirp Chirp!)
And a little while later we saw another young man wearing a Purdue t-shirt! (It’s a small world we live in!)
The boys chose Milan’s, an Italian restaurant, for their Father’s Day dinner. (Happy Father’s Day, Mike and John!)
It was another beautiful day in Dublin! We are hoping for yet another one tomorrow!
Good Night, Dublin!
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