dublin plus...

so, after a last-minute trip to paris to retrieve a temporary passport, fraser and i headed to dublin! fantastic city, absolutely loved it.
we spent the first day wandering and taking in the sights, went for some guinness beef stew (and guinness of course), and then hit up the cinema (to take in a french movie, how ironic).
we went to trinity college to see the book of kells, and also the chester beatty library, which has thousands upon thousands of old books. really great displays. we also went to the writer's museum, to learn about all the irish literature we weren't reading (i did pick up a book of poetry, but stayed away from the james joyce).
we went on a day trip to newgrange, which is a neolithic mound, with a passage tomb inside. it's more than 5000 years old. on the winter solstice, (and only during this time of year), the sun shines into a small window above the entrance, and sneaks its way slowly across the entire length of the passageway, illuminating the inner chamber. this likely had some sort of ritual purpose. cool stuff.
the last day, we went to killmainham gaol, where the leaders of the 1918 easter rising were executed. god ireland has a sad history. all famine and uprising and disaster. after that, we went to st. james gate brewery, and visited the guinness storehouse. this was great...thought of dad while we surveyed the massive brewery!
interspersed throughout the week were trips to the pub, which always included live celtic music and a pint of guinness. pretty good way to spend a vacation. so glad i was able to go!
next up...the NATO summit is in strasbourg on april 3-4. the city is basically shutting down to allow this to happen, and there will be significant protests as well. i need a badge to get into the "security zone" that i live it, and there are areas of the city that i will not be able to go. it's pretty wild, the precautions that need to be taken. another fun fact---the strasbourgeois basically use "sommet de l'OTAN" and "OBAMA!!" interchangeably to talk about the summit. so class is cancelled because of OBAMA!
thinking of you!
anne