Trinity College
The campus is amazing. Obviously, a lot of famous people have gone here. Its actually a little weird walking around campus as a tourist while people around you are going to and from classes. We’re not the only tourists of course because the Book of Kells is here, which we didn’t go in for.
Merrion Square and the Orwell Monument
This is just a stone’s throw from Orwell’s old house near Trinity College. His birthplace is only one street over. The national gallery is here too, and there were painters selling their work all around the outside of the square. Aarti found one that she loved but we didn’t want to carry it around and we’d didn’t get back there in time to pick it up that afternoon. The Orwell monument was great and had some of his most well known sayings. Its too bad that people were so close minded in those days and he was forced to leave to Paris.
Post Office
Bullet holes and all. This was where Irish Revolutionaries made their last stand in 1917.
Writers Museum
I was expecting something else. Ireland, like Scotland, hits far above its weight in the literary sense. I was expecting James Joyce, Johnathan Swift, George Orwell, George Bernard Shaw and maybe one or two others. The museum seemed to focus on dozens of writers almost equally, and not just focus on the major heavy weights. I really had no idea that Irish literature was so heavily influenced by censorship, so it was educational. I obviously expected that English rule and the troubles would have had a huge impact, but there seemed to be some really stuffy people in Ireland in the 18th and 19th centuries. These are the fools who ran off Oscar Wilde for being gay/bisexual.
Guinness Storehouse
Very cool and I loved hearing about how its all done. The advertising section was really cool because I’ve always admired the Guinness ads. Having a pint at the rooftop bar felt like being on the top of the city.
Temple Bar
This is probably the most famous music venue in Dublin, and I had to go in and check it out. The place was packed which was a bit of a surprise for a Sunday night.
St Patrick’s Cathedral
This is where Johnathan Swift was Dean, and chilling out in the park was not a bad way to spend a few minutes.
St Stephens Green
This was one of our last stops in Dublin, and the end of a very chilled out but frantic trip.
Wright After Reading 