Una Giornata a Dublino (a day in Dublin)

L’Arrivo (the arrival)

Saturday, April 9

We got a great cab at the airport…….an older 8-seater with 4 pull down jump seats facing us in the back.  The driver was lively for 5:30 in the morning and kept us awake until we got to the hotel.  The hotel is in the historic city center on the south bank of the River Liffey……arrived at by vehicle through a tortured maze of narrow one way streets.  We arrived safe and sound and hoped for the best as we headed into the front desk with a cheery doorman.

Good fortune was smiling our way.  We were greeted sympathetically by the desk clerk, who gave us an upgrade as it the only available room.  It did not take long to settle in and fall into snooze mode.  We slept off and on for about four hours (6-10).  What a gift to start the trip!.......an amazing difference.

L’Albergo (Westbury Hotel)

We headed downstairs to grab breakfast before the buffet closed at 11:00.  The main lobby level and primary restaurant are interconnected and opted to sit in the lobby at a window looking out to the forecourt of the hotel…….just as the sun came out.  The whole experience was quite rejuvenating.  I think our body clocks needed a jolt of sunlight…….and who would have thought that Dublin would do the trick!  The waitress said it was the first time they had seen sun in days.

The hotel turned out to be quite a find.  Andi discovered it after about 5 minutes of internet searching as we ran into our last minute change of plans before leaving the house.  Great choice!  The location was fantastic…….close to everything in the historic core of the city.  The food was exceptional.  Our rate included breakfast and a complementary dinner and we enjoyed it all!

Breakfast in the Lobby

The Westbury Hotel

Flower Market in front of  Westbury

couldn't resist another photo!

Trinity College

What follows is a short, but obligatory, history summary so that we don’t forget.  The buildings and open spaces of this campus are quite extraordinary.  While modeled after Oxford and Cambridge, they have a more accessible scale and sense of connectivity.

Originally established in 1592 outside the city walls of Dublin in buildings of the dissolved Augustinian Priory of All Hallows, Trinity College was set up in part to consolidate the rule of the Tudor monarchy in Ireland, and it was seen as the university of the Protestant Ascendancy for much of its history.

By the early 1700’s the College had moved to its current central location. The first structure dating from this era was a massive new library (1712-32), initiated while George Berkeley, another celebrated alumnus of the College, was librarian. The Library of Trinity College is a legal deposit library for Ireland and the United Kingdom, containing over 4.5 million printed volumes and significant quantities of manuscripts (including the Book of Kells), maps and music. 

There was a nasty line to get into the library (20 minute wait), but it was outside and the sun was still shining.  Once inside it was a bit crowded but both the building (particularly the Long Room on the second floor) and the Book of Kells were fascinating.  The Book of Kells is a lavishly decorated manuscript, copied in Latin, of the Four Gospels.  The art and calligraphy is astounding.  The Book was probably produced in the 9^th Century by the monks on the island of Iona, off the west coast of Scotland.  The display was well done with illustrative graphics and explanations…….reminding us a lot of the Bayeux Tapestry in France.

Trinity College Library with waiting lines above

Interior views of the  Library's Long Hall

In the chronological development of Trinity, the Library was followed by a string of other classical buildings on the western half of the campus:

• ·       the Printing House (1733-4),
•       the West Front (1752-9),
• ·       the Dining Hall (c.1760-65), and
• ·       the Provost’s House (1759-61).

During the second half of the century Parliament Square slowly emerged, shaped by the Public Theatre (1777-86) and the new Chapel (1787-98), which were designed from afar by George III’s architect, Sir William Chambers. The great building drive was completed in the early nineteenth century by the residential quadrangles of Botany Bay and New Square.

Trinity College is now surrounded by downtown Dublin and is located on College Green, opposite the former Irish Houses of Parliament. The college proper occupies almost 50 acres, with many of its buildings ranged around large quadrangles (known as 'squares') and two playing fields.

La Citta (the city)

No history lesson here……just a lot of images of our walking tour.  We started out with the pedestrian only streets that connect to Grafton Street, which was very close to our hotel.  After our visit to Trinity College, we went on to the Temple Bar District, then touching on the Viking Medieval Area (took a walk along Wellington Quay)…..then took a break.  Later in the afternoon we headed south to St. Stephen’s Green, an amazing park founded in 1663 with a lot of history through the years, including a strong link to the Easter Uprising in 1916.  It is a rather tranquil oasis (swans and all) in a very dense city.

Fitbit said 9,308 steps…….4.41 miles……not bad for a quick tour of the city!

Il Cibo (the food)

Again, the idea here is not to talk too much about the food, but collect some images as a reminder for us. The three meals and multiple café stops were quite wonderful.