Saturday + {Day Five: Dublin}

So yesterday, while Maddi dropped her friend off at the airport and returned their rental car, Gooligan and I slept in a little, which was really relaxing. Then we got up, ate some scones for breakfast, and headed out to catch a free walking tour of Dublin.

I highly recommend free walking tours. There's no pressure, so you can leave the group whenever you want (which we did). After we toured Dublin Castle (mostly completely rebuilt), we bowed out and grabbed fish & chips at Leo Burdock's, a famous fish & chips place in Dublin.

 
Then we headed to the Chester Beatty Library--an amazing free library that is basically a museum. It's part of Chester Beatty's extensive private collection that is on display. Aside from Istanbul, it has the largest collection of Qur'ans. They were beautiful. Each passage was laid out in amazing calligraphy and inked in gold or other metal inks. Unfortunately we weren't allowed to take any pictures, but I did buy a postcard from the gift store for my parents.

 


After the library we headed back home and grabbed some dinner from a local grocery store--spaghetti & sauce & bread--and came home to shower. A good thing we did, too, because a bunch of Spanish men arrived at the hostel-like place we were staying right as we were finishing showering.


They were having a lot of trouble with their phone, but only one or two of them knew any English, and Gooligan and Maddi tried to help them the best they could but to no avail.

After dinner, we walked to the store and bought some chocolate milk and came back and just sort of vegged. A nice relaxing evening after the frantic hurry of the last few days.