Surprise posting using the ship’s internet after leaving Dublin on Monday night!
Yes, Jane, we knew Beckett was Irish. The Samuel Beckett bridge is near the ship dock. (See, we do read the comments.)
It was mostly overcast with occasional drizzle (typical Irish weather) today. Once again we took the shuttle into town. We started off with a walk around Trinity College. The Book of Kells (Google it!) is on display here. We had seen it on prior trips so we didn’t brave the long lines of people waiting for a glimpse.
Having been shut out of Saint Patrick’s Cathedral twice yesterday (before 12:30 because there were services in progress and again after 2:30 because of more services – who says religion is dying out?), we yet again walked to Saint Patrick’s using a different route. Hooray, we got in!
Now all churches are nice inside, but sometimes they all begin to look the same. Saint Patrick’s, however, the National Cathedral and Collegiate Church of Ireland (Anglican), is especially historic and photogenic. It, more than any other building in Ireland, embodies the history and heritage of the Irish people from the earliest times to the present day. Saint Patrick himself is said to have baptized converts at a well that once existed alongside the Cathedral.
Jonathan Swift himself was Dean of Saint Patrick’s from 1713-1745. Swift and his closest friend Stella (Esther Johnson) are buried here. Stella died young at age 46 in 1728. Swift was heartbroken and moved out of his usual rooms so as not to see her funeral lights in the Cathedral’s windows. Swift himself was 87 when he passed away in 1745.
Another highlight is the display of the actual chair that King Willian III used in 1690 when he came to Saint Patrick’s to give thanks to God for his victory over King James II at the Battle of the Boyne.
Also in St. Patrick’s is the Door of Reconciliation. It was the door to the Chapter House in the Cathedral behind which the Earl of Ormond had barricaded himself and his followers in 1492. His longtime enemy, the Earl of Kildare, cut a hole in the door, extended his arm through the hole to offer his hand. Ormond took Kildare’s hand, and the feud was officially over. Reconciliation had been achieved.
As we left it started to drizzle, so we searched out a picturesque pub with wi-fi (so I could do the previous post). Picturesque pubs with wi-fi are all over the place in Dublin. We picked Bruxelles Pub where Elaine drank her usual (Harp Lager) while I had mine (Guinness). Guinness does indeed taste so much better in Ireland than it does anywhere else. I had Shepard’s Pie while Elaine had Fish & Chips, but we shared.
Then it was back to the shuttle bus stop, but we just missed one, the line was long, and another wasn’t due for 25 minutes. Instead we flagged down a taxi and were quickly back on board for a nap.
It’s now Tuesday morning, a sea day, and the seas are rough. The Atlantic was like a lake, but the Irish Sea is acting up. We love it! Tomorrow morning we arrive in Southampton where we will disembark at 8:00 AM, gather our luggage, and find the car we have reserved to take us to London. Back at you from the Nadler Kensington on Wednesday night or Thursday morning.
What a nice surprise hearing from you! We just had breakfast and waiting to get our taxi to the Victoria bus station to pick up our transfer. Kris got an email from Princess which said due to safety that the ship would be moved to the Mayflower dock from the Ocean terminal in Southampton. Everything else seemed to be on time. The local weather will get better after Wednesday so you should have a very pleasant time here.but winds forecasted for us in Southampton are 40-plus miles, WOW!!! The weather forecaster said it was 40 years ago today that they had snow here. June 1 is the start of their “summer” but the weather is not summer like for sure!