Headed South

We're taking off for Cork in a bit. Need to catch the 7:47 DART to make the 9:00 Inter-City to Cork. Bill is going to drive us to the station and then bring the car back to the apartment and hoof it back to meet us.

Mom and Dad and I made it to Malahide Castle yesterday. Quite nice, and interesting as it was used as a residence until the 70s. It's handy too, just a few stops North on the DART. Thursday was a rest day (Bill and I made our trek to the Embassy). That evening we dined on the early bird dinner at Ruen Thai.

Wednesday the 'rents and I went to...Kilkenny!!! We are apparently obsessed with this town. It is a good day trip from Dublin, and I knew it was easily traversable by foot. I'll post some pics later.

I did not get either job I interviewed for, but I am undaunted! I will analyze requirements in Dublin! Or should I say, analyse.

Hope everyone has a lovely weekend!

About that car...

My trip to Kilkenny last Saturday was pretty uneventful. Public transport in Dublin is very relaxed at 8:00am on a Saturday. I tried several times to contact the garage before leaving but no one answered. I took off for Kilkenny hoping the car was fixed. When I walked into the garage the car was on the front-end aligner and James (the owner of the garage) told me it would be about an hour or so and the gearbox was working perfectly. I wandered about, drank a smoothie (the Irish like their smoothies, there are smoothie shops all over the place), looked in some stores and headed back. They even washed the car, which was a nice value-add.

No one was staring at me in horror this time as I drove back through Kilkenny. The new gearbox purrs like a kitten. A kitten with a slight case of congestion, but it is a used gearbox, and the car is eleven years old. I drove the N78 through Castlecomber and Athy back to Dublin. Quite a nice drive, until I hit the M50 ring road. The N7/M50 intersection is under construction, and it is truly horrendous. I'm just glad I don't have to navigate it during the week.

I'm not sure I've truly opened my heart to Kilkenny, but I did loan my car to her for a week.

Sold!

This morning Bill and I took a trip to the American Embassy to get our house sale papers signed. Yes, by tomorrow our house sale should be complete! We are so thankful to God for blessing us with this quick house sale. A huge relief!

I was expecting the embassy to be like the oak-linked offices of a distinguished law firm where we would repose on leather couches eating coke floats and popcorn while a gum-smacking young lady in a smart, navy suit would push lighted buttons on a large phone on a gleaming desk, and slivers of bandstand music mixed with baseball play-by-play would float through the room when the large door behind the desk was opened to admit the next esteemed citizen.

In reality, the part of the embassy we experienced was basically a transported DMV with extra security. But, we got what we needed and the papers are flying to the states for the buyer to sign tomorrow.

mini-stout

If you aren't in the mood for a whole pint of Guinness, remember you can order a half-pint by asking for a "glass."

Look how cute!!!

We're in the oldest bar in Ireland, by the way, the Brazen Head. Libations have been served on this site since 1198. The current building dates back to 1688.

Guest Blogger: Charles Lamb

Today, we took the train into Dublin Centre to visit Trinity College and see this really old book. The Book of Kells is an ornately illustrated manuscript, produced by Celtic monks around AD 800 in the style known as Insular art, in ink on cowhide (vellum), and contains the four gospels of the Bible in Latin. Today it is on permanent display at the Trinity College Library in Dublin, Ireland. It is amazing to me that this ink/cowhide has survived so well for 1200 years, much of which was even without air conditioning! My saddle is only 60 years old and its leather is pretty dry. I was gratified that it was done in large print for seniors. A couple of pages are illustrated here. BTW, all these can be enlarged by clicking on the images.

Trinity College, “College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin,“ was founded in 1592 (44 years before Harvard U.) by Queen Elizabeth I as the "mother of a university", and is the only constituent college of the University of Dublin. Trinity and the University of Dublin comprise Ireland's oldest university. Trinity is one of the seven ancient universities in the English speaking world and the only one outside the present United Kingdom. However, I felt smug knowing Darren McFadden (U. of Arkansas founded in 1871) had just tied an SEC record by rushing for 321 yards last Saturday, and nobody at Trinity could touch that performance!

These pictures show Sharon and Celia at the gate and inside Trinity College.





























At the end of the day my trusty pedometer indicated we had walked 6.4 miles! No way would I walk that far in Arkansas unless I had car trouble!

That castle isn't going anywhere

A vacation can be ruined from pressure to maximize every moment. Thankfully, Mom and Dad are not burdened by that mindset. Not on this trip anyway. Dad may have such inclinations, but he's taking a while to adjust to GMT, so we've been taking it easy.

Saturday we planned to visit the Red Stables Market in our park and then Malahide Castle. When I woke up I found a weary Dad on the couch saying that he had not slept a wink. Since we had the ghost tour that night I really thought Dad needed sleep, so we decided to visit the market and then hang out at the apartment. (I'll let Bill fill you in on his whereabouts.) We enjoyed crepes at the market and bought some baked goods, lamb and goat cheese. Mom and I had no trouble napping that afternoon, but Dad did not get any real sleep. We headed out around 6:00 for downtown. We looked around for a place to eat, and wound up at La Paloma, a Spanish restaurant Bill and I ate at on our first visit to Dublin.

The Ghost Tour was fun. It's a super nice bus, first of all. Our guide was quite the story teller. We heard about the scary tales Bram Stoker's mom used to tell, some famous ghosts including the Lady from the Water and the Lady in White, grave robbers and leper colonies. My favorite part was visiting some sites at night--St. Kevin's graveyard and the ancient Gates of Dublin.

After 36 hours awake, Dad slept Saturday night! Sunday we went to church and then had a carvery lunch. We talked ourselves out of any sightseeing, except for a drive to Howth and back. Bill made us Irish Stew for dinner, and then we decided we had the strength to make it to a movie (Death at a Funeral--Farce!).

Today the parents and I headed out after lunch to see The Book of Kells at Trinity University. Quite interesting and amazing. I told Bill I want one.

We walked from Trinity back up to O'Connell and wandered Henry and Talbot streets. We caught the bus around 6:20 and were so glad to have dinner waiting for us when we arrived home! Bill made tasty Irish pork sausages with lentils and spinach. We had a couple newkies in the fridge that finished the meal out just right.

Tomorrow we're riding the tour bus around Dublin.

Cool tree in St. Anne's Park








Carvery Lunch on Sunday. Dad had roast beef and we three had chicken and mushroom pie. That's my plate with no carrots!







Dad is ready to give up his seat to any elderly person in the coffee shop at Trinity U (make sure to enlarge to read sign).

Soooie Pig in the City

Yesterday we made our first trek into Dublin Proper. We took the train to Pearse station. Wandered through Ryan Park in Merrion Square.










Then we bought sandwiches at Spar and ate them in St. Stephen's Green park. We were kicked out at 5 o'clock sharp (herded out by a booming-voiced park guard) and shopped at St Stephens's Centre for a bit. We walked up Grafton Street amid the throng and made our way to our bus stop on Eden Quay.

Leaving St. Stephen's Green shopping center








On Grafton Street.








The excitement of the evening was when Dad left his cap on the bus, caught up to the bus at a red light and rode to the next stop, which luckily was within sight. He returned triumphant, his hog cap upon his head.

Bill met us at the pub for dinner. Mom, Dad, and I had mushroom soup (and chips) and Bill had a burger.

Today we got a late start, me the latest of all! We walked out to the beach on Bull Island and watched the ocean. We got rather chilly and had to come home and strengthen ourselves with tea and biscuits.

Tomorrow, Bill has to go back to Kilkenny to get the car (with its shiny new gearbox). I think the parents and I will visit the farmer's market and maybe Malahide Castle. Tomorrow night we're taking a Ghost Tour of Dublin.