Hi Everyone, I know this post is irritatingly late. My computer had been under repair for 3 weeks and then by the time I got it back I was off on another trip. I have a lot of catching up to do. Dublin now feels like it was a long time ago. Anyways, The first few photos are of the plane trip to Ireland. When you fly north out of Milan you fly directly over the alps and its beautiful.
I believe this is one of the lakes, Como or Garda.
Once I landed in Dublin I took one of the direct buses into the city and was dropped off a few blocks from my hotel. I stayed one block from Temple Bar and around the corner from Trinity College. The first day I went to Trinity College, which was one of the first Universities in the UK in addition to Oxford and Cambridge. It was set up by Queen Elizabeth I. I walked around the small campus and found a college cricket game going on, with many spectators.
After walking around I saw the Book of Kells, which for me was a very big deal. Being an Art History minor, with a possible specialization in the Medeival Era, I took a Medeival Manuscripts class my freshman year of college and the Book of Kells is by far one of the most famous and best preserved books on Earth. I love books, the history of books, reading books, and I've even taken a book making course. Seeing the Book of Kells was another one of those life goals achieved. Maybe not as significant as the Mona Lisa but still up there.
The book itself is actually scottish. During the viking rule of the UK it was moved to Kell in Ireland for safety. Even during WWII it was hidden to protect the priceless pages. The original cover was destroyed in a fire but the pages and some of the binding are still preserved. Of course, no pictures allowed for preservation purposes. The book is dated to about 800 AD
The way books are displayed is that certain pages are chosen to be shown on different days so that no one page is constantly under the light. Of course not all of them can be shown at once.
When I was there folio 284 V-285 R were displayed. Books from this era were made on vellum which is sheep skin. The skin is soaked, de-furred, scraped with a razor to smooth it but there is always one smoother side than the other. They explain this in the folio numbering with a V (the back or rough side) and R (the smooth front side). A folio is one side of a page. On many pages you can see imperfections in the vellum such as skin punctures that originated before the making of the vellum. The monks who wrote the book simply skipped over it and kept writing.
Another set of folios displayed was 314V-315R which is the passage of The Enthronement of Jesus, John 7, 44-8, 7. "Never did man speak like this man; the woman taken in adultry". Another book displayed was the Book of Armagh.
After leaving the book of Kells you get to see the Long Room in the old library which houses thousands of priceless books, most of them 1st editions. On display there was a 1st edition Bleak House by Charles Dickens, numberous Edgar Allen Poe 1st editions, at least 10 Sherlock Holmes 1st edition mysteries by Arthur Conan Doyle. Agatha Cristie has a special place in the heart of trinity college because one of her mysteries takes place in this room in the library. Her 1st editions were also on display. I suggest googling "Trinity College Old Library Long Room" to see a picture, its amazing. Rows and rows of book shelves and busts of literary icons such as Cicero, Shakespear, Newton, Plato, and Homer. It is a must see to any one who goes to Dublin.
After leaving the Trinity College, I walked down Grafton street. A touristy shopping street.
Before dinner I walked down Temple Bar and by the river.
I was supprised to see a Flannery posted under one of the Temple Bar bars. My mom's maiden name is Flannery and her grandfather immigrated from Ireland. For those of you who don't know what Temple Bar is, it's a district in downtown Dublin filled with pubs and restaurants. Temple came from the man who originally owned the property.
Potato and leak soup at dinner.
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