We got up early on the last day, which was about 7:30. After showering and getting ready, we got going about 9:30. It may have been later than I would have had I been on my own, but it was about what I had expected. It was fun walking around Dublin with my father, who spent 6 months or so there about 30 years ago before moving to Seattle. Naturally things have changed considerably, and with the effects of his aneurysm he gets turned around a bit, but he still recognized quite a bit.
Because he’s getting older, walking is getting to be a bit more difficcult. He can do it, but needs frequent rests. Planning for this, my idea was to take the Dublin city bus tour, which does a circuit of many of the sights the city has to offer, and runs for most of the day at about 10-15 minute intervals. Riders can get on and off at as many of the stops as they wish.
One of the first things we saw was St Patrick’s Cathedral. Well, I went in, he went outside for a smoke. My father has no interest in anything religious, while I do (and always have because of history, but that’s another matter altogether). My impression of the building was muted by the fact that admission is paid, and desite the fact that it’s a working church, it has a gift shop inside taking up space. It’s really neat to see though, and I still recommend it.
Then it was Dublin Castle, which isn’t quite as much a castle as it is a palace. Not only that, but the building that stands there today is a replacement from a couple of hundred years ago. Perhaps because of this (and it’s a working government building) the tour was well worth the time. Only a small portion of the building and grounds were seen, and the next time I’m in Dublin I want to spring for one of the unoficcial guides that go into all the public areas.
Had we the time, I would have liked to have National Gallery, being a fan of art. Since I had the one day for sightseeing, I had to prioritize and make some hard selections. The next was easy, however, as it was something I had been wanting to do for years – St. James Gate.
The Guinness Storehouse is the location where the dark liquid used to be made, and is now more of a tourist spot. When I first planned on going there many years ago, Guinness was still brewed there. Still, the self guided tour walks visitors through the brewing process in interesting. And there’s a free pint waiting at the end. I don’t think I ever want to back there, but I’m glad I finally got to see it.
At this time, it was 3:30, and it was cllear that my father needed to go and lie down for a rest. I had plannd for this, by sort of scheduling my visit to see the Book of Kells (which he didn’t want to see) while he was resting. The problem was getting him back to the room then me to Trinity College in time. This led to our only argument my whole visit, about which direction to go. Eventually we parted ways, at his insistance. He was (finally) oriented in the right direction to go back to where we were staying, and I was off to Trinity College.
Walking from St. James Gate to Trinity College isn’t so much of a problem. Doing it in a short ammount of time in order to beat closing time can be an issue. Several blocks into my walk, I hailed a cab and made it in plenty of time.
The Book of Kells is a lavishly decorated copy of the four Gospels that holds historical significance for Ireland as it was written over 1000 years ago. It is one of the very few manuscripts from the time that is not only intact, but on display. One doesn’t need to be religious in order to appreciate what the Book of Kells holds for Irish heritage and history.
By the time I got back to where we were staying, it was time to pack, a little more tourist shopping, some dinner, repacking, then out to the pubs for music again. The pub with the misic this night was just down the street from where we were staying. Since they only have music on Thursday, Friday and Saturday nghts, there was nothing on offer th previous night.
Music started rather promptly at 9:30, and consisted of a duo singing mostly Irish songs, but they weren’t necessarily “traditional” tunes as expected – or advertised. Because we were going to be getting up early so I could get my flight, we didn’t want to get up and go wandering around to try and find some better music. By the time we found another pub with live music (which might have been just as bad) we would have had to leave. We stuck it out, and some of the songs were good, but Neil Young is Canadian, and “Heart of Gold” is anything but traaditional Irish music. When they stuck to standards such as “Whiskey in the Jar” things were better. Oh well.
Up in the morning, we caught a bus to the airport, and checking in was easy. The flight to Chicago was sparsely populated, which was nice. There was a delay in lifting off, but that’s how air travel goes. And I’m back home.