A Dublin Day

We got up at a reasonable time considering the late night, and Bella and I walked to Lidl, about a 15 minute walk. It was cool jacket weather, but before too long, I took off my jacket because the walking warmed me up. Because of this, I made the decision to not take my jacket into Dublin for the day. A decision that would prove to be a mistake.

This photo was actually taken in Dublin, but it fit nicely with this part of the post

We bought pastries and yogurt, enough for both mornings. We also bought some premade sandwiches to either eat for a late dinner tonight, or to take to the airport and eat as a lunch before our flight. We also popped into Costa and got cappuccinos (so overpriced compared to Italy!) and a chai latte for Cristina.

Back home, we ate breakfast and got ready for our trip to Dublin. We walked to the train station (about a 15 minute walk) and caught the train into the city center.

The stylish guy with the bell bottoms complimented Cristina's hat

 

In Dublin, we headed to the Chester Beatty Library to meet Jackie for a few hours. The Chester Beatty is a museum and library established in Ireland in 1950, to house the collections of mining magnate, Sir Alfred Chester Beatty. The present museum, on the grounds of Dublin Castle, was named European Museum of the Year in 2002.

The museum's collections are displayed in two galleries: "Sacred Traditions" and "Arts of the Book." Both displays exhibit manuscripts, miniature paintings, prints, drawings, rare books and some decorative arts from the Persian, Islamic, East Asian and Western Collections.

Without any context and with the weariness of five weeks on the road, Bella and I walked through fairly quickly and then, unimpressed, found a comfortable couch to sit on while we waited for Cristina and Jackie. Then, when we went back inside with them, a guy with an American accent and a name badge for the museum asked us if we had any questions. Jackie asked him what his favorite book was, and he launched into an explanation of Chester Beatty's wonders that quickly turned into an impromptu guided tour. We told him we only had 15 minutes because we only had one day to see all of Dublin, and he tried to keep it shirt, but his enthusiasm was intense and we went along for the ride. It definitely enabled us to see the collection in a different light, and it was much more impressive than the casual pass-through Bella and I had initally given it. He even took us into the Reading Room, which is where the curators, conservators, and researchers can examine the original artifacts. Before we finished up and moved on, we finally got the story on this guy. He retired from the U.S. Army and married one of the head manuscript conservators at the Chester Beatty. He's learned so much in the years that he's been married to his wife that he loves to talk to tourists about all the amazing things they have there.

We had coffee outside the mesuem with Jackie and chatted about our trip, until she had to go. YOu could say our day in Dublin could be fividing into three parts. Part one was the Chester Beatty. Part two was walking around the Temple Bar area (a very touristy part of Dublin with bars and restaurants and shops), and part three was walking around the Christ Church area, where we ate lunch.

The famed Temple Bar. We didn't go in.

We were joking that this was the Roman Colosseum, and then a double decker blocked the shot.

The Clarence Hotel, co-owned by Bono and the Edge of U2

By the time we got to Christ Church, I was getting a little chilly (the temp was in the low 60's F, or 17-18 C). Cristina told me to wear her jacket, which I did for a while, but it was too small and felt kind of silly.

Bella sitting with homeless Jesus

The labyrinth outside Christ Church

Last fish and chips in a pub called Darkey Kelly's

We took the train back to our neighborhood and flopped on the beds with exhaustion. Cristina really wanted to take some Irish soda bread home, which would mean a walk to a market, but we were all too tired. Cristina asked our host if she had bikes we could borrow, and she did, so Cristina and I rode the mile to Tesco. The tires were a bit flat, so we topped them off at a gas station/laundrymat. But they were a bit flat by the time we got home, so they have slow leaks.

It looks like an airport, but that's Tesco in the background.

Back home, we had to do one final packing job of the suitcases, but this time with Air Canada's requirements instead of Ryanair's. Which made it easier. I booked a taxi for the morning with an app called FreeNow.  I had trouble falling asleep again.

I woke up at 2 am and checked my phone and saw that our flight was delayed about 45 minutes, so I changed my alarm and rescheduled the taxi. What is it with Air Canada delaying flights in the middle of the night? Second time. At least I caught it in time to get a little extra sleep.