Dublin

Our last day in Ireland. And we spent it looking at a door.

Not really, but we did spend SOME time looking at a door. THIS door. The most photographed door in all of Dublin. It's located at 46 Fitzwilliam Square.

Why is it the most photographed door in all of Dublin?

A very good question. The answer is...

No one really knows. I even scoured the Internet to find the answer and couldn't find it.

But evidenced by the picture at the right, everyone on our bus got out and took a picture of it. Every bus that comes through the Georgian part of the city stops and everyone takes a picture of this specific door. But no one knows why. It was decorated for a Royal visit that never happened and the poor people went bankrupt

The fame of the doors of Dublin precedes them. Before we even got there I saw several calendars for sale in the gift shops that specifically showed "The Doors of Dublin".

I guess that back in the 70's, some guy did a collage of some of the doors in Dublin and hung it the window of the Irish Tourism offices in New York City. On their way to the NYC St. Patrick's Day parade, a lot of people saw it and requested a copy. So many people wanted one that a poster was commissioned and the doors have since been an icon of Dublin.

Oh, those wacky 70's!

After a short bus ride (I didn't get to say that much on this trip!), we found ourselves at St. Patrick's Cathedral. Built way back in 1191, it is the national cathedral for the entire Irish island. Interestingly enough, Jonathan Swift, who wrote Gulliver's Travels, was dean of the cathedral back in the early 1700's. His final resting place is in the cathedral itself.

Right inside the front door, as you soon as you come in, the first thing you see is the gift shop. Right there where they hold the services every week.

Can you say, "Clearing the temple," neighbor? I knew you could.

Next it was on to the large park they have in the middle of the city. It's called Phoenix Park and our tour guide, Gregor, told us that this park is large enough so that five Central Parks could fit inside it. (I looked it up and you could only fit two. Still, it's a stinkin' big park) It's got a zoo, the President of Ireland's home, a giant cross commemorating the Pope's visit, and also the second tallest obelisk in the world, behind the Washington monument in DC. (I looked it up. The Obelisk in downtown Buenos Aires, Argentina is actually 5 1/2 meters taller. Still...) It measures 62 meters and would have been a lot taller if funding had not run out.

By this time we're all famished and the tour bus cut us loose to do whatever we wanted. Um, get some lunch, maybe?

So, off we went into the wild blue yonder of Dublin to find some grub. We walked around a little while, when what to our wondering eyes should appear but a Burger King! Yes!!

We ordered our chicken and chips and went up to the bar stools upstairs, looking out the window at all the people. We watched them dance, sell books, prance around in odd costumes and make dogs out of sand.

Excuse me?

Yea, look closely at the picture to the left and you'll see what I mean.

After lunch we went walking around and saw any variety of things, such as a giant ogre, a midget (sorry, little person), a rock and roll band, and the five street entertainers at the right. They stood deathly still, supposedly for hours, until someone dropped some dough in the bucket in front of them, when they would all bow in quiet gratitude. Jacob dropped some coin in and they bowed at him, too. See the video below and left.

We were supposed to meet back at Trinity College at a certain time (my old, feeble mind won't recall specifically, but let's say 5:30pm), so Jacob, one of his buddies (Joe) and I decided we were going to go for a bus ride. You know, one of those double decker ones. I took the picture at the right from my seat. You can see the rugby ball I bought for Jacob at a rugby store for about $10.

Fun doesn't begin to describe what kind of time we had. We climbed up to the top floor and went to the very front of the bus, feeling every jolt and stop along the way. We watched in amazement as the driver nearly hit several people and several other cars.

Now, I've been a bus driver myself, and I've had some close shaves. But I could NEVER have gotten as close as this guy did. I mean, he was literally millimeters from the next guy's bumper. I swear he brushed against a pedestrian's shirt sleeve. I mean, this guy was CLOSE!

He motored us all around Dublin and then out into the suburbs and I started to look at my watch. Hmmm. We've been driving around now for 40 minutes and he's still going away from the city. We've only got 50 minutes to get back. How much further before he turns around?

So, I went and asked the driver.

"Is there another bus that goes back to Dublin?"

"Sure," he said in his lilting Irish accent. "Just get off at the next stop and wait for the 115 bus. Shouldn't be more than about 10 minutes."

"How long will it take to get back to the center of Dublin?" I asked nervously.

"Only about 40 minutes, depending on traffic."

Great. Stuck in the northern suburbs of Dublin, Ireland, on a deadline, and no way to get back, aside from waiting for the next bus.

So, we got off and waited for the 115.

About ten minutes later we saw the 115 coming down the road toward our stop. I stuck out my arm (which is how you make the buses stop, just like in Argentina), and he pulled over. We stepped up into the bus to show the driver our tickets, and who do you think is sitting there in the driver's seat?

Yup. Same guy that told me to get off and wait for the next bus. It was the same exact bus. Even today I just roll my eyes.

One of the things we saw while on our little jaunt around the Irish suburbia was a really cool looking bridge. It was designed to remind people of a ship, since Dublin is a port town and much of their commerce is supplied by the shipping industry. The picture to the right will give you some idea what it looks like. Two lanes going across, one suspension "mast". Pretty cool.

By the way, we also saw The Book of Kells at Trinity College today. It was created by Celtic monks back in 800 AD, and is a hand illustrated collection of the Gospels from the New Testament. It was amazing to see something that old that has survived this long. We weren't allowed to take any pictures of it, nor the big library that resides above it. The one to the left is one I got from Wikipedia. I know it's cheating, but sue me.

We also went to the National museum, specifically to see the bog bodies. These were bodies that were discovered in various parts of the world in bogs. I wrote about the bogs the other day. These bodies were so wonderfully preserved in the bogs, that you can see the hair, the jewelry and the tattoos they had while in life. The picture to the right is a shot of one of their hands that, again, I got off of Wikipedia. Notice the detail - the fingernails, the lines on the knuckles, the veins. Amazing.

They say some of these bodies are from the Iron Age, which is about 2,500 years ago. These were probably some of the oldest things we saw on this whole trip...and they were people!

Coming soon - Part V - Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch (no, I didn't make that up!)