On our last day in Dublin, we started out the morning with a walk through St. Stephen’s Green to St. Patrick's Cathedral. We coughed up the entry fee to get into the church (that must be a protestant thing…) and spent the morning exploring. To an extent, it was fascinating. But on the other hand, once you’ve seen one really old Celtic church, you’ve seen them all. After checking out the wonderful adjacent park, we visited the Christmas Market in the crypt of Christ Church Cathedral.
After having lunch at a whole food vegetarian restaurant (note: this was a big step for my dad), we walked around Trinity’s campus once more and went into the exhibit on the Book of Kells. Penned laboriously in approximately 800 AD, the Book of Kells is an illuminated manuscript detailing the Gospels. Named its former home in County Meath, the Book of Kells boasts rich history and unequaled detailing. The exhibit leading up to the book itself describes the complicated and intricate process of assembling a book of that type. Videos line the walls, wordlessly exemplifying the tedious process. While walking through the exhibit, I picked out individual illuminated letters and focused on all of the ornate detail that could be contained in such a small space.
At the end of the Book of Kells exhibit, lies the Long Room of Trinity College Library. Lined with busts of famous thinkers, philosophers, and academics, the Long Room looks like the set of a Harry Potter movie. Composed of small horizontal corridors coming off of the long main hall, the Long Room also boasts spiral staircases which lead seductively up to a second floor.
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