Morys Musing

We awoke to our last full day in Ireland. Tomorrow we would be flying home! How quickly the time passes. We slept in again but this time longer and got going by noon! This was never occur once we get home.

My final name is…………..(drums rolling please) Michael D. Higgins, the current President of Ireland.

We had a very open plan today. Just walk freely and see where we end up. We had a few last minute gifts Anna had to pick up and we had to get that whiskey flight in and finally find that bottle of Dingle Gin to bring home.

As we walked closer to the center of town we decided to visit Trinity College, the premier learning institution in Ireland. What a great choice it turned out to be. It was like a small city within a city. Beautiful old architecture and so much history. We decided to pony up and pay to get a guided tour from a just graduated student “looking to make some money before he started his masters”. He was wearing the actual student robes of Trinity College that are currently optional for students to wear (apparently no one wears them).

It included a tour of the Book of Kells. Fascinating. The Exhibition displays the Book of Kells, a 9th century manuscript that documents the four Gospels of the life of Jesus Christ. The Book of Kells is Ireland’s greatest cultural treasure and the world’s most famous medieval manuscript..

The history behind it’s origins on the Isle of Iona and it’s transfer to Dublin and the Trinity College for safekeeping enthralled us. No photography was allowed in the chambers where the books were housed (sorry, you will have to visit yourselves). The writing was ornate on vellum with colourful pigments and in a Gaelic form of Latin.

The Exhibition also featured access to the Long Room, one of the world’s most beautiful libraries, that houses 200,000 of Trinity College’s oldest books. We were awestruck again. It was massive and with the books arranged from the floor with the largest and heaviest to the ceiling smallest and lightest. The effect was both solemn (quiet like a church) and awe inspiring. This is a must see if you are in Dublin!

Next we were off to the Museum of Irish Whiskey. A proper museum! We had hoped, and our hopes were realized, that we could order a whiskey flight. We had four different types of Irish Whiskey all different in character. Anna and I both agreed the Powers whiskey was the best of the lot.

We then went along Grafton Street and area and got some of Anna’s shopping done. I was tempted by a very nice jacket but decided against it. Anna felt I made a very dire mistake.

A final walk around the Temple Bar district with an actual walk through the Temple Bar and we walked back to our hotel for an early night. We found a Tesco on the way back and went in and…..found Dingle Gin on sale. Ah, the gods were smiling down on us.

We had to get up very early for our flight tomorrow morning and pack tonight so we decided we had completed our Ireland holiday.

Until next time……….