They've gotten to experience a bit of "regular" time with us here; walking to school, doing homework, having dinner, doing dishes, playing with Oscar and Pearce (glad that's a regular!) and doing a bit of Dublin-touring.
We've tried to pick just one thing each day to see and allowed for a lot of relaxation as they needed to prepare for their trip and I have needed to get back to work.
The first day, Monday we headed in to Dublin so that they could see the Book of Kells. I checked out a place touted as "probably the best coffee in Dublin!"
It was great, although I am still working through my midterm essays so that reduced my satisfaction of the experience generally.*
Afterward we shopped a bit at Kilkenny** and grabbed a quick bite at an acclaimed, nearby restaurant, The Pig's Ear. You can, but I did not, have a "sack of home made breads"for €2.95 and "slow cooked old spot pork belly."
Tuesday was an at-home day for the retirees. The rest of us went to school (Sheila had her writing class).
Today we headed into Dublin again to check out the bog bodies at the Archaeology Museum.
Barb is hilarious and noticed all of the "To Let" signs around town. When she brought it up I figured she was just wondering what that meant.
No...
She said that she had an impulse to go around the city putting an "i" in between the "o" and the "L" on all of the signs!
Ha Ha Ha Ha Ha!!!!
It was great to have an opportunity to head back to that museum. We might even go again and grab some headphones to hear the audio tour. This time I headed in to the Treasury to see the treasures of early medieval Ireland.
I scouted out this area for the rest as they were spending most of their time on the bog bodies and had limited energy. I figured there were four really fascinating must-sees:
1. The Faddan More Psalter: The second gallery is devoted to an early medieval Book of Psalms known as the Faddan More Psalter. This manuscript, which dates to approximately AD 800, was discovered by chance in a Co. Tipperary bog in 2006.
2. The Ardagh Challace: The Ardagh Chalice is one of the greatest treasures of the early Irish Church. It is part of a hoard of objects found in the 19th century by a young man digging for potatoes near Ardagh, Co. Limerick. It was used for dispensing Eucharistic wine during the celebration of Mass. The form of the chalice recalls late Roman tableware, but the method of construction is Irish.
The bowl and foot of the chalice are made of spun silver. The outer side of the bowl is decorated with applied gold, silver, glass, amber and enamel ornament. The underside of the foot is also highly decorated and contains a polished rock crystal at the centre.
3. The Tara Brooch: This brooch was found not in Tara but near the seashore at Bettystown, Co. Meath, in 1850. Its provenance was attributed to Tara by a dealer in order to increase its value. It is made of cast and gilt silver and is elaborately decorated on both faces. The front is ornamented with a series of exceptionally fine gold filigree panels depicting animal and abstract motifs that are separated by studs of glass, enamel and amber. The back is flatter than the front, and the decoration is cast. The motifs consist of scrolls and triple spirals and recall La Tène decoration of the Iron Age.
A silver chain made of plaited wire is attached to the brooch by means of a swivel attachment. This feature is formed of animal heads framing two tiny cast glass human heads.
4. The Bru Lochtar. Check out this little tiny gold boat that was found with a bunch of other gold in a lake. This and other gold objects may have been deposited as offerings to the Celtic sea god Manannán Mac Lir.
Next time, the free audio portion for your ipad or iphone and the Cross of Cong!
We grabbed a bit at Harry's afterwards (I, naturally, had the mussles!)
In the afternoon Sheila, Barb, Maggie and I headed in to Dun Laogherie. I worked a bit over a cup of coffee while they shopped at Pennys for a cheap summer wardrobe for Maggie (if summer comes) and we picked up some drum sticks for our little drummer boy. He's starting lessons at Newpark Music School tomorrow!
*One of the work-fires that I had to put out was creating my final exam. Unbelievably, I have only 2 and 1/2 weeks of school left and the final exam will be given to them on May 10th. I do not have to be present, but do need to provide my cell phone number in case of questions. My midterm consisted of two, fairly straightforward essays and, with 140 students, travel and visitors, I am still muddling through so I violated all of my personal goals and ethics as an instructor and made an entirely multiple choice final exam. The thing about multiple choice is that the work goes in at the front end and it's all downhill after that. So anyway, my final was due this past Monday: 50 multiple choice questions. I finish these midterms and it's easy street.
**Sheila is eying an Orla Kiely bag.
There must be some mistake! The link to Orla Kiely is just to the general web site, not to the exact bag she is considering :( :( So NOT satisfying to the readers wanting to get a glimpse of it!! Love the idea of adding I's to those to let signs - very funny! Love, Kathy
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