A book, a bog and a Bulmer

After a hearty Irish breakfast, we decided to visit a couple of spots since we didn't know if the official tour would take us by these places.  Our first stop was to visit a book.  We went to the Trinity  College where the Book of Kells is housed.  This is a manuscript written in the eighth century by  Irish monks on the Isle of Iona. (We visited Iona during our travels to Scotland in 2011. Really neat we can tie these two places together!)  Sixty-eight monks had written most of the book while on Iona but were attacked and killed by Vikings. Somehow the manuscript was rescued after the attacks and brought inland about 806AD.  The book had been buried in a bog and found much later pretty much in tact minus the ornate and bejeweled cover.

As we walked to our next tourist spot, we stopped and bought woolen hats to wear to ward off the chill and the wind!  These will come very handy as we continue to travel north to the coast.

Our next visit was to the Nationl Museum of  Archaeology to see a bunch of old stuff that was found in the bogs...such as rocks, pots, jewelry, clothes, canoe, and dried up dead people!  Amazing how a cold, wet envronment can preserve items that were normal everyday items and people.  Apparently, a bog was "the Louisina swamp" of Ireland where people and things would just disappear.  Some bodies found had signs of brutal murders or sacrifices.  Scary times to say the least!

We walked back to the hotel with about 25 minutes to spare before meeting up with our group. After a quick stop in our hotel room, we went downstairs to get on the bus.  After the tour guide, Liam counts heads and determines all his little chicks are onboard, off we go...with changes to the itinerary!  Our first stop, the Trinity College and the Book of Kells!!!  We just looked at each other and laughed! I mean really!  Once you see the Book and have read the story...who wants to see the rerun already!?  We did a polite, but quick walkthrough, then grabbed a bottle of water at the college restaurant and looked for a seat on a bench in the sun!   We found a spot with our tour guide, Liam and visited for about 20 minutes before the rest of the group came out of the exhibition..  Really nice guy who has been a tour guide for about 35 years.

The rest of the afternoon was a bus tour of Old Dublin and New Dublin business center.  We came back to the hotel for a quick group meeting and our one free drink.  We had heard people talk about an Irish Apple Cider, called Bulmer.  Can you say...."NASTY!!!?" One sip and your taste buds  scream for mercy!  Must be an acquired taste that Irish are born with!  We left our pints sitting on the table.  After the meeting, we walked down the street to an Italian place for spaghetti and a glass of Prosecco wine.  

Tomorrow's agenda, breakfast at 7:30, a visit to an Irish National Stud to learn about breeding and racing horses. Then on to a Japanese Garden.  But we have the afternoon free, so we are heading to a park where local artists display and sell their paintings.   Keep your fingers crossed we find a nice piece of art to bring home!  Till tomorrow....!

Trinity college.

More Trinity college.

The Old Library in Trinity College. A copy of all Irish copyrighted books must be maintained at Trinity College.

 Deb in a centuries old doorway.

Bog preserved body.

 Harp shaped bridge over the "sniffy Liffey" the river that runs through the city. We don't want to know how or why it has the nickname sniffy. Judge Villines could get some good inspiration for the Broadway bridge design. Ha!

 'Famine' (1997) was commissioned by Norma Smurfit and presented to the City of Dublin in 1997. The sculpture is a commemorative work dedicated to those Irish people forced to emigrate during the 19th century Irish Famine. The bronze sculptures were designed and crafted by Dublin sculptor Rowan Gillespie and are located on Custom House Quay in Dublin's Docklands.

This location is a particularly appropriate and historic as one of the first voyages of the Famine period was on the 'Perserverance' which sailed from Custom House Quay on St. Patrick's Day 1846.  Captain William Scott, a native of the Shetland Isles, was a veteran of the Atlantic crossing, gave up his office job in New Brunswick to take the 'Perserverance' out of Dublin. He was 74 years old. The Steerage fare on the ship was £3 and 210 passengers made the historical journey. They landed in New York on the 18th May 1846. All passengers and crew survived the journey.

Statue of Oscar Wilde in Merrion Square next to our hotel. He as a graduate of Trinity College.

My new enterprise.