Present Joys

Part of a series.

Though Karen and I had been planning to take a bus from County Waterford to Dublin, John and (aunt) Karen generously offered to drive us themselves. We fly out of Dublin tomorrow morning, so we just have the tiniest amount of time to explore this place. The familiar old experience of toting around our heavy bags and wandering around trying to find yet another strange Airbnb makes it feel like we’ve been traveling for an eternity. This day in Dublin will be fun, but we’re both ready to be back home. So we dropped off our bags at our new Airbnb, which is close to the city center on the north side of the Liffey. This place is weird—it’s a big downtown apartment complex built in the 1980s, and it feels like a college dorm. Our room is clean and sparsely furnished, but the place is messy and uncomfortable. Just one night here, then I’ll be in my own bed!

We made a short to-do list for Dublin, and at the top of it is the Book of Kells. So after setting down our bags, we walked straight to Trinity College (did I mention it’s cooooooold here?). The Book of Kells is located on the lower floor of the old library building. The exhibition itself, once we got through past the gift shop and ticket counter, consisted of a dimly-lit room with about five separate zones of minor artifacts on display, all things relating to the scribal tradition. This room opened onto an even darker room, empty except for a display case housing the manuscripts themselves. Each of the four gospels was rebound as separate books in the 1950s, and two of these are visible here. Seeing these pages—even just these two spreads—was the fulfilment of a childhood dream for me. The exhibition opened out into the old library’s Long Room—one of those places I’ve seen pictures of all my life. It was surreal to stand there. All the wood felt ricketier than I pictured it being.

After looking around Trinity for a bit, we walked farther west through Temple Bar and along the Liffey. It would be fun to come back here when we have more time. Our next destination was Kilmanhiam Gaol, situated on what is basically the other side of town. Along the way, we stopped to look at the Church of St. Augustine and John (a terrifyingly ornate Roman Catholic church in the middle of a very Catholic country, fulfilling all sorts of romish clichés), the old archway of the Great Music Hall on Fishamble Street (all that remains of the venue which hosted the first public performance of Handel’s Messiah), and the Irish Museum of Modern Art (situated on a beautiful piece of land but unfortunately closed on mondays). When we finally got to the Gaol, we bought tickets for the next available tour (2:30 pm), then ate a late lunch at a nearby pub while we waited.

The Kilmanhiam Gaol tour, along with some exhibitions in the neighboring courthouse, was very slick. Our tour guide gave off a theater-school graduate vibe, and as we toured the building, he told human interest stories relating to the events of the Easter Rising. I’d recommend the tour to anyone with some time to spend in Dublin. The only terrible thing about it was its size: there were something like 35 people in the tour group. They’re really raking in the cash with this thing!

By now, the sun was setting. We stopped at St. Patrick’s Cathedral on the way back to our place. This is the largest church building in Ireland. And the tile floor is to die for. St. Patrick’s is the only church we paid to see during our trip, but it was worth the price of admission. But at this point we were so tired and cold. After a pit stop back at our Airbnb to put on some more layers, we ended up in a burrito place in Temple Bar, and the food was great. Just up the road, we stopped in at the Palace Bar. Although selected mostly on a whim, it turned out to be a great choice. Though there was no music going (it was a monday), the back room of this place was the coziest place on the planet at that particular point.

Tomorrow we fly home. Tonight we sleep in this weird, vaguely uncomfortable Airbnb.