Dublin - Trinity College

We drove into Dublin on Saturday evening after a 2-hour drive from Waterford.  The drive through some beautiful Irish countryside was wonderful.  The top highway speed is 120 km/hour, which is about 75 mph.  That is pretty fast for a highway that is not as open and straight as the US freeways.  Once we got into Dublin, we had to depend on the GPS to guide us through the city to our hotel.  Fortunately, we were able to find it without any problems.  Also, we were lucky that we got in on a Saturday evening because parking was free that night and Sunday.  We were still tired for the jet lag and all the walking around that we've been doing.  After a quick visit to the Temple Bar area for dinner, we came back to the hotel for a nice sleep.  The Temple Bar area is where a lot of tourists and locals go to because of the abundance of pubs and restaurants.  I will write more about the area in another blog.
After a restful night, we were ready to go and explore Dublin.  One of the top tourist attractions is the well-known Trinity College.  This is not related to either the Trinity College in San Antonio or Hartford.  This Trinity College has been around since the 1500s'.  It was built on top of an old monastery.  In those days it was outside Dublin but today it is a beautiful 47-acre campus right in the city centre.  Its Old Library is famous for housing the Book of Kells, an ancient book written around the 10th century by monks.
We took a guided tour given by a graduate student, Danielle, from Tipperary.  Her first warning to us is not to sing "It's a long way to Tipperary."  She was informative and funny.  The tour last about 45 minutes, after which we went to the Old Library and see the Book of Kells.  It was a relatively nice day the day we went and the whole campus was very green.

Campus Map

Entrance to the College

Bell Tower

Around the Quadrangle

Dormitory with no indoor heat and 2 shared bathrooms

An art piece outside the Berkeley Library

Famous Book of Kells are housed here

Long Room of the Library

Old Irish Language

Cricketers

Bell Tower with Oregon Maple Trees on either side

Our Guide Danielle from Tipperary