Dublin!

I was a little nervous about a day in Dublin, but many things worked in our favor. First, the roads changed into true highways. We exhilirated in the wide, fast roads and it took only 45 minutes from Navan to reach the outskirts. Most of the hotels for the weekend were either booked or were the cost of a college education, so I chose the Fitzpatrick Castle Hotel. I can’t say enough good things about this place – gorgeous location on the coast (by Dalkey in the southeast), reasonable price, great room, free Internet–LOVED it. They also let us check into our room at 9:30 in the morning. Amazing.

We took the DART train into the city and got off on the wrong exit for our bus station. Apparently the Connolly station is for regional buses, not city ones. Oops. After much confusion and getting bad directions from two bus drivers, we got our Hop On, Hop Off bus tickets. That is definitely the way to go. It drops you off at any of 21 different stations and the bus drivers tell jokes, explain the history of the city, and even sing to you. It was well worth every penny, but if I had to do it again, I’d buy my tickets directly at the bus (prebooking wasn’t worth it).

Our first stop was Trinity College. I apologize in advance for the not-so-good quality of the upcoming photographs. First off, my digital camera was completely out of power so I had to switch to traditional pictures. Second, I think something happened to the film because most of the pictures were overexposed. I manipulated them digitally, but they’re still not great. In any case, this first picture is of abuilding at Trinity College. One of the most popular attractions at Trinity is the Book of Kells. We didn’t actually get inside to see the book because there was about a 2-hour line outside and there just wasn’t time. The campus was very pretty, however, and we enjoyed seeing it.

Here’s a second picture of Trinity College, of the archway when you first enter. I think, for me, the most startling revelation was realizing that the Irish don’t pay for college. They take exams at the end of high school and if their scores are good enough, they are accepted into the university. I vote for adopting this system in the U.S.! Free college tuition based on academic achievement. Now there’s a great idea.

We are now relaxing and enjoying a weekend of our own alma mater sports: Notre Dame football. Last week’s game was a true nail-biter. I’m hoping that this week will be better. Go Irish!