Weekend in Ireland

Greetings!

          This past weekend part of the group traveled to Dublin for some non-academic fun!

You know it was non-academic because our first stop on the trip was the Guinness Factory, which offers a free pint to any who go on a tour.



If I drank beer, I am sure I would have appreciated this tour much more! The factory itself was beautiful and systematically is arranged to take you through all of the elements of the brewery process. You are also taught how one is supposed to drink Guinness! The highlight of the factory, in my opinion, was the sky bar located on the very top of the factory which offers a 360 view of Dublin above the cityscape. What a treat!

We were staying at Trinity College in Dublin, which is the protestant university founded in 1592. The campus is extremely large and we were fortunate enough to be staying above the parliament square, which is the loveliest part of the college.



The college is also home to the exhibit on the Book of Kells, an illuminated manuscript of the gospels from c.800! The pages are covered in absolutely beautiful drawings and script. No photography was allowed in the exhibit, so you will just have to take my word on it. The exhibit was underneath one of the original libraries, which was a splendor itself.


The Long Room Library at Trinity College

Some friends and I also went to see Christ Church Cathedral, home to one the largest crypts in Ireland. The cathedral was once part of a priory, but little of the original structure remains excluding the crypt and some of the west end. The cathedral has a cat, Strongbow, who was sunning himself outside when we visited.



The crypt is home to many treasures...because it includes a treasury. Much to my delight they were exhibiting some of the costumes from the television show "The Tudors", because the site is home to some of the filming. Absolutely gorgeous.


Stonework inside Christ Church Cathedral crypt


Costumes from "The Tudors".

On Saturday, we decided to leave the city and take the train to the coast. We ended up in a town called Howth, which is directly built onto a beach. While it was cold, the beach was still magical. It was low tide, revealing a sand bar covered in washed up jellyfish and shells.


Claremont Beach in Howth.

We decided to take a hike up the hill and came across the remains of an old abbey with phenomenal views of the sea.


St. Mary's abbey in Howth.

On the very last day, the group explored the countryside. We took a hike in Glendalough to see an old monastic city abutting two lakes. The scenery was something out of Lord of the Rings.


One of the lakes at Glendalough.


Remains of the monastic city at Glendalough.

Lastly, we went to Powerscourt Estate, one of the most prominent country houses in Ireland and home to the world's third most beautiful garden. The site was home to a 13th century castle which was extensively renovated in the 19th century and today is a tourist attraction. The gardens were designed in the Italian Renaissance style by Daniel Robertson and eventually developed to include a Japanese garden. There also remained one of the original towers, which we were able to climb into for a better view of the estate. Fun fact: the estate was a prominent filming location in The Count of Montecristo (which I highly recommend).







Hope you all had as wonderful a weekend as I did!