8-12-06
Took the Dublin City Bus tour with Jessica, another HFH international volunteer here to get a feel for the city, major points of interest and how to find ‘em. So much to see!Of the 21 stops cited, we opted for Trintity College and The Book of Kells, a stunningly rendered 1000+ year old Latin version of the four gospels. Much history is presented as an integral part of the exhibit (Irish, world, and religious), and the books themselves are breathtaking. Written on vellum with incredibly tiny and detailed illustrations, and perfect script. No pix allowed, but you can get a feel for it at http://www.fontcraft.com/artype/kells/ and http://www.tcd.ie/Library/heritage/kells.php. Impressive in and of itself (would HIGHLY recommend seeing it). The Book of Kells exhibit “ends” in the Trinity College library’s “Long Room”. The room is huge, spanning 65 meters and home to 200,000 volumes of the college’s oldest tomes, as well as busts of several well known scholars and historic figures. The oldest harp in Ireland is also displayed there, dating from the 15th century, significant in that it is this harp that is depicted on Irish coins. Legend has it that it belonged to high king of Ireland Brian Boru (d.1014). Again, no pix allowed, so here you go: http://www.tcd.ie/Library/heritage/longroom.php.
Next stop was the National Gallery of Ireland for lunch and a look at Caravaggio’s The Taking of Christ. Rembrandt, Picasso, Monet and others works are housed here as well. The Gallery (or more accurately, 54 galleries comprising one whole) is open seven days a wekk and admission is free, making it a fine arts/creative visual feast readily available to all, as are several other of the museums and libraries here. Very cool.
Then to Dublin Castle, where concerts and other events are often held in an adjacent center court, huge sand sculptures on this particular day. We opted to tour the interior another day, and headed next door to the Chester Beatty Library, housing phenomenal collections of cultural and religious manuscripts, texts, prints and artwork from around the world. The Sacred Traditions Gallery is
dedicated to all the great religions of the world….all one….imagine….Other collections capture creative expreession from 2700 BC to the present. The library and contents were collected primarily by Beatty and his wife over their lifetimes and bequeathed to the public via trust his death, and are available to researchers and students worldwide….and of course, accessible to the public for viewing. Unbelievable exhibits, and stirred up the artist and student in me…even teased awake the interest in this non-history oriented human. We Americans are so very “young”.
A side note….the juxtaposition of old and new within the city is intriguing, sometimes amusing, and ever present. Fascinating to see the old cathedrals…Christchurch, and St. Patrick’s Cathedral…and then note other churches and buildings of similar age and style now converted to businesses and sometimes residences. Traditional Gerogian brownstones are a much desired living space here, depicted by stepped front entrances and brightly hued painted doors (the color of the door to any particular brownstone cannot be changed without petitioning the city government for permission, so you’ll want to capture the own that has the door color you desire…and have roughly €8,000,000 at the ready for the purchase itself!). Other quick observations…Street lamps have shamrocks entwined in them, most residences share side walls, with small front “gardens” just large enough to accommodate a compact car and a row of flowers, and rear gardens often not much larger.
Last stop for the day was the Guiness Brewery, cleverly laid out with video kiosks simulcasting both old and current methods for each step of the brewing process and sharing all but the deepest secrets of how the brew is made. Well, even there you’ll learn that there is a specific yeast used in the fermenting process, with a back up supply locked away in a vault for safe keeping!
You can sample the roast barley that provides the color and a portion of the flavor (a bit like an a espresso bean), and at the end of the tour one can enjoy a pint of fresh Guiness and a 360° view of Dublin…which, of course, we did!
What’s left? Enough to keep you busy for weeks just in Dublin,…so stay tuned : )
Took the Dublin City Bus tour with Jessica, another HFH international volunteer here to get a feel for the city, major points of interest and how to find ‘em. So much to see!Of the 21 stops cited, we opted for Trintity College and The Book of Kells, a stunningly rendered 1000+ year old Latin version of the four gospels. Much history is presented as an integral part of the exhibit (Irish, world, and religious), and the books themselves are breathtaking. Written on vellum with incredibly tiny and detailed illustrations, and perfect script. No pix allowed, but you can get a feel for it at http://www.fontcraft.com/artype/kells/ and http://www.tcd.ie/Library/heritage/kells.php. Impressive in and of itself (would HIGHLY recommend seeing it). The Book of Kells exhibit “ends” in the Trinity College library’s “Long Room”. The room is huge, spanning 65 meters and home to 200,000 volumes of the college’s oldest tomes, as well as busts of several well known scholars and historic figures. The oldest harp in Ireland is also displayed there, dating from the 15th century, significant in that it is this harp that is depicted on Irish coins. Legend has it that it belonged to high king of Ireland Brian Boru (d.1014). Again, no pix allowed, so here you go: http://www.tcd.ie/Library/heritage/longroom.php.
Next stop was the National Gallery of Ireland for lunch and a look at Caravaggio’s The Taking of Christ. Rembrandt, Picasso, Monet and others works are housed here as well. The Gallery (or more accurately, 54 galleries comprising one whole) is open seven days a wekk and admission is free, making it a fine arts/creative visual feast readily available to all, as are several other of the museums and libraries here. Very cool.
Then to Dublin Castle, where concerts and other events are often held in an adjacent center court, huge sand sculptures on this particular day. We opted to tour the interior another day, and headed next door to the Chester Beatty Library, housing phenomenal collections of cultural and religious manuscripts, texts, prints and artwork from around the world. The Sacred Traditions Gallery is
dedicated to all the great religions of the world….all one….imagine….Other collections capture creative expreession from 2700 BC to the present. The library and contents were collected primarily by Beatty and his wife over their lifetimes and bequeathed to the public via trust his death, and are available to researchers and students worldwide….and of course, accessible to the public for viewing. Unbelievable exhibits, and stirred up the artist and student in me…even teased awake the interest in this non-history oriented human. We Americans are so very “young”.A side note….the juxtaposition of old and new within the city is intriguing, sometimes amusing, and ever present. Fascinating to see the old cathedrals…Christchurch, and St. Patrick’s Cathedral…and then note other churches and buildings of similar age and style now converted to businesses and sometimes residences. Traditional Gerogian brownstones are a much desired living space here, depicted by stepped front entrances and brightly hued painted doors (the color of the door to any particular brownstone cannot be changed without petitioning the city government for permission, so you’ll want to capture the own that has the door color you desire…and have roughly €8,000,000 at the ready for the purchase itself!). Other quick observations…Street lamps have shamrocks entwined in them, most residences share side walls, with small front “gardens” just large enough to accommodate a compact car and a row of flowers, and rear gardens often not much larger.
Last stop for the day was the Guiness Brewery, cleverly laid out with video kiosks simulcasting both old and current methods for each step of the brewing process and sharing all but the deepest secrets of how the brew is made. Well, even there you’ll learn that there is a specific yeast used in the fermenting process, with a back up supply locked away in a vault for safe keeping!
You can sample the roast barley that provides the color and a portion of the flavor (a bit like an a espresso bean), and at the end of the tour one can enjoy a pint of fresh Guiness and a 360° view of Dublin…which, of course, we did!
What’s left? Enough to keep you busy for weeks just in Dublin,…so stay tuned : )
posted by Sheila | 6:47 PM
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