All Summer Long

3rd day in Dublin. What will it hold? 

We started off with a pastry each for breakfast then headed off to Trinity College, which is made up of beautiful grounds that didn’t disappoint. Then it was time to head to The Book of Kells which we were both really excited about. We walked round the corner to see a huge queue and thought, “Oh no, we’re going to freeze!” But this was going to be a highlight for us so we persevered and our fingers didn’t drop off so all was good!

When you’ve paid your entry (€11 each), you have a look round a couple of rooms and read a lot about the history of the book. They think around 185 calves’ skins were used for the pages! Unreal!

After a lot of reading, we went through to the treasury and there it was – The Book of Kells. Only 2 pages are open at any one time but we loved it! If you get chance, watch the animated movie, The Secret of Kells, because it gives you a really enjoyable understanding of the origins of the book and it’s just really cool! After that, we went up some stairs to the Long Room and we’ll be honest, had no idea what it was! So what an amazing surprise we got as it was the main room of the old library! 65 metres in length and home to 200,000 of the oldest of the library’s books! Now I know how Belle felt when she first saw the Beast’s library in Beauty and the Beast!!! It was just beautiful and I actually gasped aloud when I walked in!!! 

So, after a fab time in the exhibitions, we wandered around the grounds of Trinity College then headed for a bite to eat. We went to a lovely cafe called The Pepperpot and each got a sandwich. I had pear, bacon and cheddar and Paul had sausage and tomato and onion chutney. Both were delicious and would recommend going for a lunch.

Now it was time to grab a coffee. We opted for Clement and Pekoe and it was amazing! We both ordered the El Salvador filter which took time to brew but it was totally worth it. It had quite a chocolatey taste and we’d both recommend it to anybody who likes quite a strong coffee. 

We had the coffees to take away and went for a pleasant walk around St. Stephen’s Green Park. It was very cold but walking round with a coffee warmed us up! The walk also got us ready for a look around a few book and record shops. Really enjoyed it but didn’t buy anything as it was just too expensive compared with back home. 

After a little rest at the hotel, it was then time to head out for tea. We both fancied pizza so off we went to a cute little pizzeria round the corner. We had to wait about an hour for a table but we weren’t too hungry at the time so went to a nice bar a couple of doors down. They had a pack of cards free so we played a few games of rummy. I have my lovely Nan to thank for teaching me to play this game and now it’s one of mine and Paul’s faves! Thanks, Nan ?

After our wait, we went for pizza and it was awesome! We shared 2 (see pics in album) and we ate every last bit. They had a wood fired oven so were cooked perfectly. To round off the meal, we had my mum’s fave – an Irish coffee! It was absolutely gorgeous (equal to the charcoal) and was a great end to another lovely day in Ireland! 

Day Three in Dublin: Can’t say we love it any more than we already have. Definitely go and see The Book of Kells; it’s well worth it!!!

Photos are on the albums page ?