A Night of Schmoozing

Our last full day in Dublin was an action packed one. I learned that I have an amazing ability for finding the sketch area of big cities. But, I also learned that the map reading class from 9th grade actually has value and that I remember something from it. Kelsi, Taylor, and I started the day at Trinity College where we saw the Book of Kells (the four Gospels) and the Long Library. I really wanted to touch all the old books in the library and discover all the cool facts I am sure they held within their pages. It is amazing how vivid the ink from the Book of Kells still is after all these years. After Trinity, we hiked across Dublin, through some shady areas, and ended up at Kilmainham Gaol. It was rather surreal to be standing on the same grounds on which so many notable Irish revolutionaries were killed. I was horrified to learn that children as young as 5 years of age were also held at the jail for such petty crimes as stealing apples or scarves to stay warm. The children, like the adults, were kept in solitude for 22 hours a day. The kids were made to exercise one hour a day by walking in a big circle; they weren't allowed to make eye contact or talk to eachother. Some of the children were in the jail simply because their parents were and there was no one on the outside to take care of them. After the jail we opted to ride the lightrail back into the heart of the city and wandered over to - I would just like to mention that my train of thought was just completely destroyed by the excitment of seeing a Coast Guard helicopter circling the water about 50 meters away from us. We are guessing that someone was swimming from the Cliffs of Moher or something and that the helicopter was an escort to make sure he didn't die, back to the retelling of our day - the National Art Gallery. I stumbled across a picture called "Ecco Homo" that I believe would be a perfect addition to Mike and Noah's wall. After we fortified ourselves with a milkshake for dinner (don't worry, Dad, not anywhere near as good as our's and totally not worth the money), I convinced Taylor and Kelsi to go to the Dublin Castle with me to attend a free performance by the Royal Irish Academy of Music Chamber Ensemble. The night consisted of actors reading segments of fictional works pertaining to music and musicians and the the RIAM would play a piece. There was a tenor last night who was phenomenal! One of the peices of literature read completely reminded me of Woodwind Quintet and our "closed door" rehearsal policy. All in all, it was a fantastic day. Now we are back in Lahinch and preparing for our last eight days in Ireland. I hope everything is well in America. Jennifer, you should read the book "The 19th Wife" by David Ebershoff - good, but odd. PS