Brief skim-through of several days

It's been a while since I've been able to get back here, so this will just be a brief summary of what we've been doing. Thursday, we went to the Irish Museum of Modern Art, which is housed in an old hospital on the Northside of Dublin. I'm not much of a modern art aficionado, though, so my favorite part was the exhibit that showed all the different wars that soldiers who lived in the hospital fought in; it was a military hospital. Then, we went to the Guinness Storehouse to take the tour, paying special attention to the graphic design in the advertisment section. We had an excellent lunch on on the 5th floor (which was actually the 6th or 7th, but they number floors strangely here), then took off on the tour. We saw the 9000 year lease that Arthur Guinness signed, leasing the property for 45 pounds a year, then went through all the steps that are required to make the beer. The advertising section was particularly interesting, because they had televisions where you could look at old commercials, as well as memorabilia that was produced by the company. After the storehouse, we walked down to St. Auoden's church to get our Heritage Passes for the rest of the trip, and the man that sold them offered us a tour of the church. It is the only complete medieval structure that remains in Dublin, and bordering it is part of the medieval wall. The church has been in use ever since it was built, changing from Catholic to Anglican after the Reformation. Walking back from the church, we passed Temple Bar, where Susy, Alecia, Rachael and I decided to stay until our group dinner at 7:30. We found a gelateria, then did some shopping.

Yesterday was our free day, and I got up early to go out. I didn't end up going anywhere til after 10, when I went out for coffee, then back to wait for Susy, Alecia, Amanda, Rachael and Kaitlin to get ready. We stopped for coffee for them and to mail postcards, then took a trip over to Pearse St. to get a package for Rachael. We went back to the National Museum, but Susy and I didn't stay very long, since we had to catch a bus out to Santry, a neighborhood on the Northside, where we visited some friends of my grandparents, Jenny and Norrie Wilson. The Wilsons were the kindest couple, welcoming us into their house with open arms and lots of kisses. We told them about our trip, what we'd done so far, school, and of course, I had to update them on my family. They decided that I looked like a distant cousin named Alva, whom I'm going to meet when we go to Galway; they had me call up Alva's mother Mary, who, when she found out I was a relative, insisted that they take me out to dinner the night that we arrive. Jenny wanted to make us a "pot of tea, " which we accepted, but couldn't figure out why she was gone so long. When she called us into the kitchen, we saw why, because she had prepared a full spread with bread, turkey, ham, coleslaw, potato salad, lettuce, tomatoes, beetroot, tea of course, and a stollen-like bread called Oxford lunch for dessert. It was quite the spread and we both left there feeling quite full! When it was time to go, Norrie drove us back to the apartments; he's been a cab driver in Dublin for 58 years and was telling us all about the city and how he'd seen it change. It really was a wonderful afternoon with two very lovely people. Last night, I went with Susy and James to the Gate Theater to see Conor MacPherson's "The Weir." I was so glad that I was able to experience Irish theater while I was here, because it was absolutely wonderful.

This morning, we headed out to Dublin Castle about 9:45, but stopped to watch some people swim in the Liffey; they were doing a charity swim for cystic fibrosis. Dublin Castle wasn't open, so we visited the garden that is built around the site that they think is where the Black Pool originally was (Dublin's name comes from the Gaelic for those words, Dubh Linn. It was changed to Dyfflin by the Vikings, then later Anglicized to Dublin) and the Chester Beatty Library. The afternoon was spent at Christ Church Cathedral and St. Patrick's Cathedral, taking self-guided tours and drawing. I got to see the plaque with Jonathan Swift's epitaph on it; actually, that's what I chose to draw.

I'm about out of internet cafe time, but I'll try to get back before we leave Dublin. When I get back, I'll also post a link to my snapfish account, which is where I've put my pictures. If you don't want to wait, I've emailed that link to my parents, and they can pass it on. Love from Dublin!