Breakfast at Number 31

We enjoyed a breakfast spread at Number 31; even the taxi driver yesterday mentioned the wonderful breakfast reputation this hotel has. We had Irish bread with butter and jam, fresh squeezed orange juice, a big bowl of fruit, tea or coffee and then an entree of choice. Tony had a cheese omelet that was more cheese than egg and loved it. I enjoyed the mushroom eggs Benedict and asked for a half order as this was so much food. A glass of cold whole milk made it complete.

Trinity College and the Book of Kells

We walked through the front gate under the Regent House of Trinity Square, which was just a short walk from our hotel. We met our student tour guide for the morning, Clementine, near the Campanile. She is originally from Belgium, but is a graduate of Trinity and wants to pursue a PhD in history. She was well spoken and Tony could hear her clearly – perfect. We learned so much!

• The Chapel is called “Heaven” and graduates can get married there though there is a several-year wait list.
• Across from Heaven is a twin building called “Hell” because it used to be the site for tests.
• George Salmon, Provost from 1888-1894 declared that women would enter Trinity College “over my dead body”, and that came to pass when he died in January 1904, and women were admitted that same month.
• Second-year students can opt to take a really hard exam and earn 5 years of free tuition and board to finish their undergraduate and master’s degree and maybe start a PhD. The biggie there is the free housing and three meals a day in the dining hall. Living in Dublin is expensive!
• We stood in front of the Rubrics (the oldest campus building) while Clem spun the tale of the 1734 murder of Junior Dean Edward Ford. Bottom line, he started it and the four students responsible were never convicted, two of which went on to serve as elected officials in the government.
• Clem’s favorite building is the Museum Building with its intricate carvings inside and out including 850 unique flowers in a band around the building and a Gollum-looking monkey. The building materials all came from Ireland.

The Book of Kells Experience

We finished our tour with Clem at the library for a self-guided tour through displays of the Book of Kells history and the Long Room of the library, then into the Red Pavilion where digital displays immerse the visitor into the story of the Book of Kells and the Long Room changes over time.

We saw the Long Room almost empty of books as everything is undergoing restoration and the building itself has a future five-year closure starting in Oct. 2027 for fire-proofing and adding study rooms. At the end of the Long Room, there is a spinning model of the Earth as pictured from near-space called Gaia. The long room is impressive but now lacks the “old book” smell that Tony W and Nancy remember from a previous visit. It will return when the books return in six years.

The Red Pavilion has two immersive videos telling the story of the Book of Kells and the Long Room, no doubt built to keep the tourists coming during the library’s five-year closure. It also creates better understanding of this 9th Century Latin Gospel manuscript’s history. It had to be saved from Viking raids in the 9th Century (moved from Scotland to the Abbey at Kells), theft from the abbey in the 11th Century and burial under sod (when the jewel-encrusted cover was lost), and Cromwell’s Army invasion (at the behest of King Henry the 8th) in the 17th Century. The large gift shop is at the end of this tour.

Guinness Storehouse

Seven floors of interactive experiences at the Guiness Storehouse, along with our faces printed in the foam of a pint of beer and views of the city while getting drinks from the Gravity Bar at the top made this a memorable experience that every Ireland native and visitor alike must do.

The self-guided Guiness tour starts with a room of barley plants then moves on to the water with a really cool water fountain wall where the programming has different figures show up in the cascading water. Next comes the hops display where they discuss the importance of roasting at the perfect temperature and then onto the yeast room where the microbes and the bubbles are imaged in sized-up scale. The advertising floor was fun to note what TV commericials we remember seeing in the states. The most recent big-budget video features Jason Mamoa finding out he is 2% Irish – very cute.

Kin Dee Thai Restaurant

We asked the hotel for dinner suggestions within walking distance, and chose a Thai restaurant for tonight. Kin Dee means “eat well” in Thai, and we did just that. Tony and I shared a Pad Thai with tofu that arrived with a lacy lattice of egg over the heaping mound of noodles, which was a visually appealing way to serve the dish. Tony W and Nancy also split a meal, and it was plenty of food.

We noticed on our walks around town that some cars have the letter “L” or “N” on them. Learning drivers and novice drivers are marked for everyone to know that a newbie may be at the wheel.