Dispatch 1
In which we meet our intrepid cub reporter, Courtney Petagna (the Courtster) and her faithful travelling companions Uncle Monkey (Mark) and Auntie L (me). First of all, for ALL of you who asked...yes I remembered my passport. And yes, everyone else remembered their passports! Our trip here was surprisingly easy and relatively comfortable given we were seated in business class where we could recline and sleep a good portion of the trip. Thanks to CVS for all of those frequent flier miles!
We got to Dublin in time to head out for a little sightseeing and dinner. We're staying at a pretty fancy hotel that is a couple hundred years old, right on St. Stephen's Green (one of Dublin's premier parks). So we wandered out to stroll through the park with oodles of other people enjoying the nice evening. Then we wandered down Grafton and through Temple Bar to see the "happening" areas. We were lucky enough to get reservations at the Winding Stair- a really popular restaurant that used to be a book store. So up my alley! Courtney was a brave little toaster and had lamb chops for dinner which were yummy! Then back to the hotel to crash.
Today we were up and raring to get the sightseeing started! So it was off to Trinity College to see the Book of Kells. This is an ancient book that includes the Four Gospels both in calligraphy and illustrations. While it is kind of funny that you only get to see one page of the book (they turn it to a new page every day), they have a really neat display with enlarged copies of the images throughout the book. We learned about bookbinding techniques and how every time the scribe made a mistake they put dots around it on the manuscript. We also got to see the Long Room which is part of the library at the college with busts of famous authors and thinkers. The library holds something like 200,000 books. Attached is Courtney's take on the visit.
Then it was off to Dublin Castle where we were able to supplement our complete lack of proper education about Irish history. We learned about how the Irish won independence and some of the struggles they faced as they worked towards it, modeling their fight for independence on our's and the French Revolution. They also had an excavation of the original powder room (gun powder, not make-up) that is below ground level which we had a chance to explore. Even part of the river that was used to fill the moat is still flowing underground which contributed to the olfactory sensations on the tour.
Then the piece de resistance (as far as Mark is concerned!) was a visit to the Guinness storehouse where we learned all about how the beer is made and even the fact that Arthur Guinness signed a 99,000 year lease on the property! Yikes. Mark did have the opportunity to learn how to properly pour a Guinness and got a certificate to prove it. I'm so proud!
Tonight we'll go listen to some music in a pub and then it's off to Cork tomorrow and our first experience driving here. Keep us in your prayers!
Linda (and Mark and Courtney!)
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