Trinity and the Mountains

Arrived back in Epping, and now trying to catch up again with what I did in Ireland!

On Friday July 29 I woke up to a wet and rainy Dublin. I had not yet had the chance to visit Trinity Collge, so I decided to do that first thing in the morning. Trinity is an old University similar to Oxford and Caimbridge, although a lot smaller. I was able to join a fantastic walking tour and get some good history of the university and it's bulidings. Afterwards I went to see the Book of Kells and the old library. The Book of Kells is the oldest and most illuminated manuscript of the four gospels that they believe was done around 800AD. There is nothing else like it and it is an absolute treasure.

I wish I could have gotten a better look, but there were a lot of people of course all crowding around to see it. From the Book of Kells viewing room you can go upstairs to view the Old Library. A massive library with some really old books that are all arranged according to size, not subject or author!

After that, they day was really to wet to enjoy much of. So I bought a few postcards and some stamps and went back and wrote out a bunch of cards to send out. I believe some of you should already have recived them! After I wrote those out and had some lunch, it was starting to clear up outside and I went for a walk around the city. I also walked up to Christ Church Cathedral and a museum called Dublina about Dublin during the Viking Age. I wanted to go to Dublin Castle as well, but all the tours were sold out by the time I got there.

After that I dropped some things off at hostel and then walked along the river bank. The sun was out and it was absolutely beautiful!!

That night I met up with my friend again to go have a couple of pints at some Irish pubs. It was fun walking around the city at night because it becomes so different. I was thankful however to be with some one who knew the city rather than being bymyself!!

After that, back to the hostel to get some sleep before I went to the Wicklow mountains.

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Saturday was a bus tour up to the Wicklow Mountains. The bus picked people up from different parts of the city and drove us up into the hills of Ireland!

It was a wonderful day trip. The hills are just what you see when you t hink about Ireland. Rolling green hills dotted with sheep! Didn't really meet anyone on this bus trip. Though I talked with a nice couple form Westpoint at lunch. It was a quiet trip for me, but still really beautiful. We stopped in places where "P.S. I Love You" and "Braveheart" where filmed. Saw the Guinness Valley where Paul McCartney walked around the lake, Lough Tay and wrote "Yesterday".

We had lunch in a little town called Avoca. A popular British TV series was filmed there in the 90's called Ballykissangel. I had never seen it though I'd heard of it here and there. Apparently very little of the town has changed from when they were filming the show!

Got back into the city around 6:00ish. I had some supper and got ready to leave for Belfast in the morning!