Dublin

Our introductory walking tour took us across the River Liffy and under the elevated tracks at the Dublin Pearse Station toward the home of Oscar Wilde and his statue in Merrion Square Park. Also in the Park was the Giants Garden and an impressive tall backed chair.  After passing through St Stevens Green, and Saint Patrick's Church, we stopped at The Authors Wall celebrating Ireland's noted authors (James Joyce, William Butler Yeats, Charles Shaw, Oscar Wilde, Jonathon Swift for a few) in Saint Patrick's Park. We enjoyed the creative posts at the Francis street school. 

We finally arrived at Trinity College and found the explanation of the The Book of Kells more interesting than the book itself, mainly because they only display two pages and there were too many folks there making it difficult to even get a view of those.

The Book of Kells is a medieval illuminated religious manuscript with the four Gospels of the New Testament. Written in Latin, it is considered to have been crafted by the Celtic monks circa 800. Researchers believe that it was originally produced in a monastery on the Scottish island of Iona. (Yes, we visited there a couple weeks earlier.) It is thought  to have been created by three artists and four scribes. When Iona was attacked by Vikings, the surviving monks moved to a sister monastery in Kells, County.

The Chi Rho page (below left) is the most celebrated image in the Book of Kells. "The words Christi autem generatio open the narrative of Matthew's gospel with the name of Christ in its abbreviated Greek form (Chi Rho) occupying the whole height of the page. The Chi forms a cross shape. Buried in the geometric designs are images of people and animals filling the page with visual reminders of the sacrifice and resurrection of Christ." For example, in the lower left of the page is a cat and mouse scene. (see larger view on bottom right.)

The Gaia, an illuminated globe created by Luke Jerram from NASA images of earth, located in the Old Library, was eye-catching.

On our strolls around town, as well as from our water front room, we got day and night views of the "leaning" facade of the Convention Center (aka the Beer Can) and the Samuel Becket Bridge (aka The Harp, the harp being the official symbol of Ireland.)

One evening we enjoyed a great conversation with Mackenzie (our friend Heather's daughter who is attending Trinity College) and her friend Matthew, while enjoying Indian food at Kinara Kitchen in Ranelagh, a trendy residential district.

Dublin Castle was the seat of English and British rule from 1204-1922. Today it’s used for important State events and Presidential Inaugurations. We found the interior design and architectural details interesting. The buildings of Dublin Castle were added to throughout the centuries, with styles ranging from Medieval to Georgian times, and made from bare stone to fine plasterwork.

Later we visited the Guinness Storehouse. A Disney-style attraction where you walk through exhibit after exhibit about what is so special with the Guiness process and formula. You finally reach the top floor where you learn how Guiness is properly "pulled". Pat enjoyed her Stout and Bill enjoyed his Hop House Lager while looking over the Guiness site and on to the city. 

We wrapped up our visit to Dublin with a day trip to Powerscourt Estate, a 45 minute drive from Dublin. The building is lovely but reserved for special events (other than the amazing gift shops on the first floor). The gardens are fabulous. We were late in the season but there were lots of blooms. Some plantings are quite formal and others casually laid out. National Geographic considers it #3 of the world's top ten gardens with Kew Gardens in London being #2 and Butchart Gardens in Victoria BC #1. Ratings are debatable but certainly these gardens rate in the top in the world.

The expansive gardens are a delight with its flowers, trees, ponds, paths, and views. The structures (the main building, tower, and gates/fences) add to the beauty.

The Powerscourt Gift Shop is also amazing. It's breadth and depth of high quality, products (from home furnishings to clothes and food) is impressive. Pat kept saying "This is what other Gift Shops want to be when they grow up."

For lunch we went to Johnnie Fox - the highest pub in Ireland (just read the sign). The walls are chock-a-block with antiques and it serves fine Pub food.

On the way to Johnny Fox we stopped at Powerscourt Falls (top right below). On the way back to Dublin we made several more stops for the black water in Lough Tay, a monastery, some colorful heath, and one more sheep.