Day 8: Dublin, Ireland
Dublin tours
We started out the day with a bus tour around Dublin, making stops at various
sights along the way, Such as St. Patrick's Cathedral and the statue of Molly Malone
at left. Apparently the locals aren't too fond of the statue, and call it "The
Tart with the Cart." That dress does seem a bit low, doesn't it?
We made several stops along the way to look at the building architecture. There
were some old houses that were built for the dock workers back in the 18th & 19th
centuries (I think...). Tiny little blocks of houses, with doors barely 5 feet tall!
Reminded me of my dorm room back in college.
We also made a stop at Trinity college, and had a look at the grounds and the museum
where the Book of Kells is kept. The Book of Kells is the oldest bible in the
British isles, at 1200 years old. Bits of it are on display in a special
environmentally sealed room to keep the books from decaying further.
Trinity college also has a fascinating Old Library with books dating back centuries!
It is still in use today, although you need to make a special appointment to be
researching in the Library. It is lined with busts of many famous literary and
scientific minds (including many I had not heard of ).
Wandering Dublin
That afternoon we had the day to ourselves, unless you wanted a tour of the Guinness
factory, which I didn't (being a teetotaler). So instead I wandered around the shops and
parks of Dublin. I wandered into O'Connell street, which has some Interesting
museums, and also the Gate Theatre, where Orson Welles and James Mason first started out.
Wasn't showing anything that I hadn't already seen, though.
I also wandered through the National Gallery of Ireland (not bad) and through a small
museum showing the various flora and fauna of the Emerald Isle. Not live, mind you:
all stuffed. The parks are well kept and since it was a nice day, there were lots of
people wandering through them.
I saw a number of neon signs in the city, apparently put up by denizens of Trinity
college. The one above says "I wouldn't give a snap of my two fingers for all their
learning." Sounds like someone who got flunked to me... probably a quote from some
famous alumnus of Trinity, but I sure don't know who. Anyone?
I picked up a few souvenirs at a local shop and headed out to dinner, wandering various
Irish pubs.
The Horror... The Horror....
That evening was free, so I went in search of a local film, but I had the same problem:
most of the theaters were showing American films! Arrghh. So I went and saw
"Event Horizon" anyway. My review: thumbs down.
That night I left the windows open because it had been a hot day and my room was stuffy
(a lot of hotels in Ireland have no air conditioning, because the weather is usually so
mild). Boy, did I regret THAT! Some time around 4:00 am, I
awoke to the most horrible smell imaginable. You see, our hotel was along the River
Liffey which cuts through the center of town, and it has a certain amount of barge traffic
in the morning. Well, this barge was churning up the river muck and releasing
god-knows-what into the atmosphere! I couldn't close the window because all that did
was trap the smell in my room, so I had to suffer until the smell went away, around
7:00am. Me for a shower, pronto!
