Day 1 – Durham to Dublin

We arrived at the airport about 1.5 hours early and had no problem checking bags or getting through security.  The flight to Philly was uneventful, but the flight to Dublin left about an hour late since they switched us to a different plane at the last minute and had to move baggage and catering to the new plane at a new gate on the other side of the terminal.  The plane was comfortable enough and the flight crew was nice.  We were served a mediocre dinner late and managed to get a couple hours of sleep before breakfast was served about an hour and a half before landing.  The pilot made up some of our lost time and we arrived only a half hour behind schedule.  Baggage claim was easy…customs was non-existent…and car rental was a piece of cake.  We stopped by the cell phone store to get a SIM card for our “in case of emergency” cell phone (and, yes, they hire the same idiots to work in the cell phone stores in Ireland as they do here…they just have a cool accent).

We found our car (Ford Fiesta), loaded up, hooked up the GPS…and we were off.  John’s job was to drive – Erin’s job was to keep reminding John “left side…left side…left side…”  Adapting to the different car configuration and the roads wasn’t really as hard as John thought it would be.  The hardest parts, as we quickly found out, was that the road signs in Ireland are either really bad or non-existent, traffic lights are sometimes hard to see, and one-way roads are rarely marked.

Dublin, as an official city, dates back to around 795 AD.  However, there are questionable historical references to a settlement in the area around 140 AD.  More likely, Dublin was birthed as a result of two different settlements started in the 9th and 10th century – one Viking, one Gaelic.

We made it into and through Dublin (thank you GPS) to the Mespil Hotel.  We checked into our nice room (471) with a view of the rear parking lot and other tall buildings and made the decision to hit the streets in search of food, pubs, and some sites to see.

 


Canal next to the hotel boasted ducks, ferrys with schoolkids and, where the canal was larger, tour boats.
We christened our arrival in Ireland at Houricans Pub.
Guinness for John and a Smithwicks for Erin.


We started our search for Leo Burdick’s (a fish & chips place that was recommended on several travel blogs).  We tried using the GPS to get us there but after an hour of walking up and down and around figured out that the GPS was taking us the route it would if we were in a car…and since Dublin has a lot of one way streets, well, we spent way more time finding the joint than it should have taken.
BUT, it was well worth it.  The recommendations had said that one order was enough for two people…and we should have listened.  We ordered two orders and there was definitely enough for four people.  Opened in 1913, it is the quintessential Irish takeaway shop.  The fish is bought fresh every morning and served up  with good Irish potatoes, both cooked in "drippings" (none of that modern cooking oil!).
That's about 1/2 of the total amount.
Based on another online recommendation, we took our meal and headed around the corner to Christ Church and found a bench with a view of the church and a good spot for people watching.  The church was pretty awe inspiring both inside and out including an awesome crypt, amazing stone work, amazing tile work, beautiful stained glass windows, etc…all the things you’d expect.


Next stop was the Foggy Dew for a couple of beers and a rest o’ the feet.


Beered and rested up…the Book of Kells exhibit at Trinity College (c. 1592) was our next destination.



 


What is the Book of Kells?

The Book of Kells is a stunningly beautiful manuscript containing the Four Gospels. It is Ireland's most precious medieval artifact, and is generally considered the finest surviving illuminated manuscript to have been produced in medieval Europe.

The Book of Kells was probably produced in a monastery on the Isle of Iona, Scotland, to honor Saint Columba in the early 8th century. After a Viking raid the book was moved to Kells, Ireland, sometime in the 9th century. It was stolen in the 11th century, at which time its cover was torn off and it was thrown into a ditch. The cover, which most likely included gold and gems, has never been found, and the book suffered some water damage; but otherwise it is extraordinarily well-preserved.

In 1541, at the height of the English Reformation, the book was taken by the Roman Catholic Church for safekeeping. It was returned to Ireland in the 17th century, and Archbishop James Ussher gave it to Trinity College, Dublin, where it resides today.

The Book of Kells was written on vellum (calfskin), which was time-consuming to prepare properly but made for an excellent, smooth writing surface. 680 individual pages (340 folios) have survived, and of them only two lack any form of artistic ornamentation. In addition to incidental character illuminations, there are entire pages that are primarily decoration, including portrait pages, "carpet" pages and partially decorated pages with only a line or so of text.

 

As many as ten different colors were used in the illuminations, some of them rare and expensive dyes that had to be imported from the continent. The workmanship is so fine that some of the details can only be clearly seen with a magnifying glass.

The exhibit was really interesting and the small display of several pages of the Book of Kells was great…but just as great was the Long Room.

The Long Room (immediately upstairs from the exhibit) is a testament to the secular worship of learning: it is a cathedral of the book. The library is 210 feet long and is over two stories high with a beautifully timbered, barrel-vaulted ceiling. Over 200,000 of the oldest books in the library's collections are held in oak bookcases and shelving, running the length of the room in a series of alcoves on either side. Contrasting with the dark wood and bindings of the books are white marble busts that punctuate the alcoves, celebrating great writers and philosophers.

Now that we are all historied up…time for some more walking.  Our walk around Dublin took us through some beautiful parks...

...past St. Patrick’s Cathedral (c. 1191)...



...and right into The Ginger Man for a pint.


Big beautiful trees all over Ireland!

After hours of walking, we headed back to the hotel to clean up and head out to find food, pints, and music.  We acted upon a recommendation from the hotel’s desk clerk and made the 15 minute walk to O’Donoghue’s.

There was already a good crowd when we arrived and we staked out a couple stools near the bar.  We ordered and couple of pints and when John asked if they were serving food the bartender said that they had sandwiches…so John said that sounded ok (expecting a menu to appear).  Well, what appeared was our two pints and two grilled ham & cheese sandwiches – that being the only choice, apparently.  Have to tell you - - - damned fine sandwiches.  Struck up a conversation with one of the regulars and got a free beer out of the deal.

The bar had 3 rooms (2 inside, 1 outside)…all with music.  We settled on the inside room in the back where a couple of guys on guitar and banjo were singing and leading the crowd in traditional Irish pub songs.
Ahhhh...how beautiful!		  
We were wondering what the stuffed cow and chicken were doing sitting on the table in front of them…but got our answer when they sang the cow and chicken song and started tossing the stuffed animals around the room.  There was a group of local girls out for the night doing a really good job of keeping the bar busy – one of the girls was quite silly and got the crowd to start chanting a particular song that she wanted the guys to sing…and they finally gave in.  She joined them in their corner of the bar and mimed playing one of their guitars and sang along quite badly.  One of the local bar flies (Albert) sang a few slower songs and captivated the room with his beautiful voice.  We spent a little time sitting next and talking to a couple from New York.  We stayed out until 11 before making the trek back to the hotel.
The weather was perfect today - sunny and breezy.

Click HERE For Next Day!