I’m certain that we haven’t had a bad breakfast this entire journey, and I’m only slightly convinced we are countering the effects with the considerable amount of walking we’re doing! You only live once though, right? After fueling up here at The Morgan Hotel, we made our leisurely way on a short walk to Trinity College Dublin. This beautiful place was founded in 1592, and has roots that go back even further than that! It was well worth it to take the guided tour. Our Guide Leah is about to start her final year of Undergraduate studies here, and was really good. She is a Drama and Theater Major, and added a bit of dramatic flare to the tour. Our days of small, intimate tours are gone like the expansive acres of farmland outside of Athlone though. There were about 25 folks in our group from all over the world, though mostly from the United States. The highlight for us, particularly for Stacey, came with our entrance into the Old Library to view the Book of Kells and the Long Room, where over 200,000 books spanning hundreds of years are kept. We were fortunate to visit now, as an extensive renovation is planned, and they will close the building to the public for several years. They plan to clean and fireproof every page of over 200,000 books! You can see in one of our gallery photos an empty shelf behind a full one, as the cataloguing has begun. Stacey was mesmerized in this room, as she is a true lover of books.
We left Trinity to stroll the streets of Dublin, guided by our trusty book and some good adventurous spirit. After a crazy good lunch at Bull & Castle, we continued with a bit of shopping before we found our way past Christ Church and on to St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Both were stunning, and St. Patrick’s can be seen as our featured image today. The weather couldn’t have been better for a few nice pictures and some bench sitting in the park beneath her shadow. On our self guided tour inside, we learned that the school choir sings inside for 20 minutes at 9 AM and another 20 minutes at 5:30 PM every single day during the school year! I was amazed at this dedication until I remembered that they are children, and they aren’t given a choice! It must be beautiful to listen to them as they assemble in that impressive cathedral. We stopped in a few more stores on our way back to the hotel for a little rest and relaxation. Those that know me realize that my shopping meter was fully pegged at this point. A break is needed before we head out on a guided musical pub crawl a little later this evening! Up past our bedtime again!! 🇮🇪
I can’t wait to hear about the musical pub crawl!!