8/16/2011
Dublin – Day Three
This was museum and church day. We took the Dublin Bus Tour Bus to the National Gallery of Ireland first, and we saw some great paintings by the masters: Rembrandt, Goya, Monet…but also a lot from their contemporaries that I’d never heard of. Next was the National Museum of Ireland. Here we saw exhibits on Paleolithic Ireland, Egyptian mummies, and a lot of medieval church reliquaries. Last was the Natural History Museum, which the boys liked, but by this time they were getting museum-ed out. Funny though, they both always perk up when we hit the gift shops.
Then it was off to Eddie Rocket’s for lunch. This has a 50s diner motif and has some pretty good food. I thought it was only in Ireland, but my dad says he ate at one in Washington DC.
We also stopped by Dublin Castle, but we only looked in the Upper Yard. Most of it was built in the 18th Century, but there has been some sort of fortification here since the 1170s. Today it mostly houses Irish government offices, and while my inner bureaucrat was itching to see that, I can only push everyone else so far. We didn’t tour it.
Speaking of pushing, when I found out Sinn Fein had an office and a store here, I had to visit. We managed to squeeze that in around 4pm. I wanted a shirt with their logo on it, but they were out of my size on that, so I got one celebrating the 1916 rebellion. I heard the guys at the counter talking among themselves and I imagined they were plotting revolution, but I think they were really just talking about their inventory.
The last two highlights of the day were an evensong service at St. Patrick’s Cathedral. They had a guest choir from St. Luke’s Cathedral in Ontario. It was really nice and afterwards we walked around the church and saw a lot of historic things. This is the church where Jonathan Swift is buried (and where he was dean). Christchurch Cathedral was next and Fe got some great pictures of the outside, but we were too late to get in.
I almost forgot about the really last highlight which was dinner at O’Shea’s. This is the second night we’ve eaten there and the food is great. This is a place I’d recommend not only for the food but for the value. All of the portions (except the drinks) are large. Tonight I also splurged on desert. Again, it’s funny how the boys drag through the meal but then pick up at desert. I can’t imagine doing that when I was their age.
Present location: 53.349949, -6.25404
8/17/2011
Left Again
After a quick breakfast at the B&B, we brought our luggage on a bus to the airport where we picked up the rental car. I should say rental van, because we needed something that would hold five people and their stuff. I was worried about having a big van, but it’s actually smaller than a small-size SUV. It’s an Opel Zafira and it handles pretty well. It’s also an automatic (sort of) so while I prefer a manual, that’s one less thing I have to think about. The weird thing is that you push the stick to the position you want, then it returns to the center. There’s an ‘N’ and an ‘R’ which I know, but then there’s an ‘A’, a plus, and a minus! What’s up with that?!? To go forward you use ‘A’ so I guess that means ‘Ahead.’ A friend of mine told me once that a car is actually a really simple machine, so whenever I have doubts, I try to remember what he said.
After a quick breakfast at the B&B, we brought our luggage on a bus to the airport where we picked up the rental car. I should say rental van, because we needed something that would hold five people and their stuff. I was worried about having a big van, but it’s actually smaller than a small-size SUV. It’s an Opel Zafira and it handles pretty well. It’s also an automatic (sort of) so while I prefer a manual, that’s one less thing I have to think about. The weird thing is that you push the stick to the position you want, then it returns to the center. There’s an ‘N’ and an ‘R’ which I know, but then there’s an ‘A’, a plus, and a minus! What’s up with that?!? To go forward you use ‘A’ so I guess that means ‘Ahead.’ A friend of mine told me once that a car is actually a really simple machine, so whenever I have doubts, I try to remember what he said.
My dad drove from the airport to Belvedere House, a Georgian estate about an hour’s drive west of Dublin. It was a self-guided tour and it was interesting to see how the Irish nobility lived. The parkland was at one time all private, but it is now open to the public.
I took the wheel from Belvedere to Athlone, where we took a cruise on the River Shannon. You always see things from a different perspective when you’re on a river, so I like to take one when I can. Unfortunately there was no time to explore Athlon because we had to get to our next lodging, the Rodini Bed and Breakfast in Kilkenny. We will explore the town tomorrow.
Finally, today is Fe and my anniversary. I bought a card to give her, but that is still on top of the refrigerator in Carlisle. But as Ireland is the home of the limerick, I felt inspired:
I came to the Philippines single.
With a young woman named Fe I did mingle.
I said with a grin,
"Let's get married--you in?"
And now the name Vaughn's on her shingle.
Present location: 52.638675, -7.249364
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