Today I think I broke a record … four museums: in one day! I managed to sleep through until 6:30 (waking up a few times of course), and we all got breakfast and react to go by 9:00am, instant coffee, yogurt and granola and all.
First was the National Galley of Art of z Ireland, where we had reserved tickets for the exhibit “Turning Heads” of “tronies” by Rembrandt, Rubens, Vermeer, and more. It was a wonderful opportunity to see these artists’ work when it was done mostly for preparation, not as a finished product, all of heads that were interesting, odd, mysterious, even ugly. We shared a small piece of quiche in the cafe to fortify ourselves for the next stop.
Next we went to Trinity College for the Book of Kells. I had seen it before, as had Larry, but it was new for Claudia. The enlarged reality in the exhibit of the phenomenal detail is almost overwhelming, and we saw two pages from the book in a very dark room. We also went up the Long Room, where all but four sets of shelves have been emptied so they can do some massive conservation work (removing dust with specialtiny vacuums) and other needed renovation of the building itself, one of the oldest libraries in the world. There was also the “Books of Kells Experience,” rather like the Van Gogh show we saw, where digitized elements were projects and moved around in two large rooms, quite effectively.
Hungry, we found a place called KC Peaches, which we learned is a chain offering nice sandwiches and a salad bar. It was good to get out of the rain and have a light lunch. We walked a few blocks farther to the Museum of Natural History, especially to see the skeletons of the extinct Giant Irish Deer, which Larry had painted at one time. It turns out the museum is rather small, was built in Victorian times and kept as exactly as it was then, filled with beautiful wood and glass cases filled with expertly taxidermied animals, birds, fish and sea creatures, bugs and butterflies. The skeletons of the a giant Irish Deer were truly enormous, probably 9-10’ tall with antlers that were 10’ wide. I thought about how Madeleine would have loved the taxidermied creatures.
Back out in the rain, we decided to stop by the Irish National Museum of Archaeology, to see the Celtic gold and the Viking silver. We had less than an hour, and spent our time seeing the breathtaking Irish gold from 600-1200 AD/CE, when Celtic gold work was at its height. The bracelets with French-horn-shaped ends, the enormous collars, the twisted necklaces were works of art. And after Christianity, the metal smiths turned their hand to making stunning crosses and chalices of gold and silver, which we saw in the Treasury. Soon it was 5:00 and time for them to close, so out in the rain we went again, back to the Airbnb.
On the way we stopped at the Stag’s Head bar, a beautiful bar of mahogany walls and stuffed deer heads, extremely crowded with lots of locals. Miraculously we scored a table and enjoyed our Guinness (Bulmer cider for Claudia) and reviewing our busy day.
After drying out, Claudia and I did some research to find a nice place for dinner, something with slightly authentic Irish food but but not too heavy as we were all tired and still a bit jet-lagged. We settled on a place nearby called the Quay Restaurant, and once we climbed the flight of stairs into the packed restaurant, I realized I had been there 7 years ago with Barney! We waited about 15 minutes for a table, and I had smoked salmon with salad, while Larry and Claudia had various soups and chowders and salad. The downstairs bar was very loud and busy and filled with live music, as were most of the bars in this busy and touristy area that also seems well-attended by locals. People were packed into the bars as we walked back, really busy for a Wednesday evening. I can only imagine how crowded this area would be on the weekend, perhaps rather like the noisy street we stayed on in Montreal where, like here, our windows faced a busy area.
Time to pack up, as tomorrow we head to the airport to pick up the car and drive (slightly nervous about this) to Athenry in the middle of Ireland. Today I had 20,490 steps, the most ever. Not bar for still using a cane.
No comments:
Post a Comment