Last Full Day in Dublin

Yesterday was rainy and dreary and cold, which caused my mind to drift to the tragic story of "Angela Ashes", the Potato Famine and all of the Irish that migrated to other countries for a better life. I couldn't blame them, so I thought. With the sun brightly shining and an occasional downpour of rain, Dublin was like a sparkling jewel and I was smitten. Grafton Street was jovial and energetic with street musicians and humans posing as statues. We went to Trinity College ~ established by Queen Elizabeth, King Henry VIII daughter ~ and saw the Book of Kells. Entry into this exhibit included the Old Library or Long Room which houses 200,000 antiquarian text and the oldest harp (the Irish symbol) in Ireland. We made our way to Dublin Castle, not majestic as some I have seen (see photo) but the guided tour made me feel more informed about the early history of Dublin... Vikings and the struggle to separate themselves from English rule. Next to the castle is the Chester Beatty Museum which houses a life time collection of books, prints and odds and ends from around the world. It is an impressive collection, Mr. Beatty was an American mining magnate who obviously had much time on his hands. The true treasue, in my opinion, was the collection of the oldest text of the Bible

We lost internet service right at the end of the last sentence. I was typing away and didn't realize most I had wrote, was lost. It is three days later and we are sitting in our B&B in Kinsale, a quaint little village on the coast outside of Cork. It is raining so we are drinking wine, writing postcards and waiting for the hurling match between Kilkenny and Tipperary to begin on television. This cold weather is making my fingers ache so I will close and just post a few photos so you can get an ideal what we have been doing without writing, but just for today. I love blogging and if none of you are reading it, at least it will be my journal.