In the morning, we had breakfast at the hotel (which had a pretty fancy spread, although the food was so-so), we walked back to Trinity College to tour the Book of Kells and the library. It happened to be graduation day, so we saw clusters of young people in robes and caps. We were lucky to have got the tip about the tickets, because we breezed right in. Even with tickets the place was packed. The first room has a lot of displays about the book, illuminated manuscripts and some of the meaning behind the images. Finally, we are let into a darkened room with a case in the middle that held two books. The larger one was clearer and looked better preserved and was easier to see. The Book of Kells is tiny and quite faded. Several people tried pressing their noses into the glass and lingered to get a longer look, making them particularly annoying. The idea was that we would all slowly circle the case (like Emperor penguins in Antarctica) allowing everyone to eventually get a look at both books and those people were mucking up the works!
While the books were indeed impressive and beautiful, the next stop in the tour was the highlight-the famous library! You could hear audible gasps as we filed into the room. This was possibly the most beautiful room I've ever been in. It's a long narrow room with a vaulted wood ceiling, both sides lined double height with bookshelves. At then end of each shelf was a bust of a famous philosopher or writer. Near the other end of the room was an Irish harp in a glass case, apparently the oldest in existence.
We discussed getting back on the hop-on, hop-off bus which then made me regret not getting the two day ticket yesterday. Luckily, the bus we caught had the same driver that I had yesterday and the guide let me on for free! As we went around the tour (again for me), we planned to get off at the National Gallery, since it had only just been re-opened after years of renovation. Stephen walked to find lunch while Mei and I and the kids headed for the Gallery planning to grab a bite. We hit some bad luck because the cafe had closed early to set up for a reception prior to the opening tomorrow of a Vermeer exhibit. So, we checked in with Stephen and met him at the cafe he was at, in a hotel off St Stephen's Green. I had a tomato soup and sandwich. They don't automatically put mayonnaise on their sandwiches (yay!) and instead use butter (double yay!!).
After our meal, Stephen and the kids headed to the playground at the park while Mei and I went back to the Gallery to check it out. The layout is quite interesting, with many of the rooms painted in strong dark colours, and one room with chandeliers and a grand piano, looking more like a ballroom (which it may have been in an earlier life).
On our way back to the hotel, we ran into some people celebrating Blooms Day! This was another of our serendipitous occasions, as we happened to be in Dublin on June 16th. People were dressed in Victorian outfits and straw boater hats making their way around the spots that were depicted in James Joyce's book Ulysses, following the story of Leopold Bloom. Although I've never read Joyce (and have no intention of doing so in the future), it was fun to see these walking anachronisms. We took a picture of a particularly adorable and well dressed older couple.
By the time we got back, we had to check out of the hotel, grab a cab to the airport to rent a car to drive to Stephen's dad, Michael's place (or Ye Ye as the kids call him). On the way, we stopped at Jack White's for dinner. I ordered a lasagna which came completely drenched in cheese (and not mozzarella either), and a side of 'chips' or french fries.
By the time we arrived at Michael's house, it was 9:30, however it was still light out. Michael's house is small but cozy. He added on a large kitchen, indoor bathroom and a solarium after he moved back to Ireland. Mei, Neve and I shared the small second bedroom while Stephen and Mason bunked in the solarium.
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