Ireland day 13

     We bundled up in our overcoats, picked up the umbrellas, and went out to face another cold, rainy Irish day in Dublin.  Flowers are blooming in all the parks here; it must be the water, because it can't be the temperature.  It is so wet I live in constant fear my hearing aides will short circuit and electrocute both ears.  There are really only two seasons in this part of the world:  late fall, which lasts from September 1 until August 20, and early spring, which takes place during the rest of the year.  Don't blink, or you will miss it.

     One of us went shopping this morning, while the other wandered around trying to keep his mind off what the first person was doing.  We rendezvoused and walked over to the Shelbourne, a magnificent hotel build in 1824, where the Irish constitution was drafted the same year.  We had a reservation for high tea in the Lord Mayor's lounge (there is a debate going on in the city as to whether Dublin needs a Lord Mayor; they've had 342 of them over the past 800 years or so), and what a tea it was.  Good thing we had skipped lunch, even though the little sissy sandwiches they brought us were certainly not filling.  There was a choice of a hundred or so varieties of tea, and if you didn't like your first choice, the wait staff would be happy to bring you a different one--in solid silver, of course--and pour it for you, straining it through a dainty little silver strainer.

High tea at the Shelbourne

     While the sandwiches weren't filling, the triple decker silver serving trays of sweets did the trick.  There were two types of scones, clotted cream, strawberry jam, and petits fours of all descriptions.  We stuffed ourselves along with the other patrons, knowing this could be our only meal in Ireland served without at least two potato dishes.  I have put on at least 28 pounds, while Tricia is still as trim as ever.

     We waddled over to the National Museum of Ireland for an afternoon of browsing through the archeology section.  This part of the museum (whose sections are scattered about the city) contains more than two million artifacts, and is a treasure trove of the history and prehistory of Ireland.  It contains stone tools of the first hunter-gatherers around 7000 B.C., bronze weapons of the Late Bronze Age around 500 B.C. , copper axes and daggers, shields, cauldrons and cast bronze horns (the earliest known Irish musical instruments), jewellery made from amber, glass and stone, wooden examples of shields, wheels and cauldrons, a 4,500-year-old logboat.  and an extensive collection of finds from Viking graves of the ninth and tenth centuries.  It contains the finest collection of Bronze Age and Iron Age gold artifacts in the world, as well as the most complete collection of medieval Celtic metalwork.  Here you can see the Ardagh Chalice, the finest piece of Celtic art ever found.  You can also see the famous Tara Brooch, made from white bronze, gold, silver, glass, copper, enamel and wire beading.

     We could have seen all those wonderful items, too.  But today is Monday.  In Ireland, it turns out, all the museums are closed on Mondays.  So we sat on the sheltered bench in front of the museum door, out of the rain, and contemplated how exciting a tour through the museum might have been.  Perhaps tomorrow.

 At the Gate Theatre

     We did board a bus for a windshield tour of the city, which took us past 1,000-year-old churches, government buildings, breweries, and pubs, and ended up at a stop near the famous Gate Theatre, where we had tickets for a play.  The Gate is in a building more than 250 years old, and is the place where Orson Welles and James Mason began their acting careers.  It is well known and appreciated for modern plays, and tonight was no exception.  The house was packed, on a cold, rainy Monday night (did we mention the weather here?).  We enjoyed an adaptation of Daphe du Maurier's My Cousin Rachel; you may remember the 1952 movie version of the book (we don't), in which Richard Burton made his acting debut.  The set, the actors, and the play itself were superb.  Remind us to watch the movie when we return home.

     Tomorrow, another run at the museum and whatever else comes up during our last day in Ireland.

Charlie and Tricia

© 2012