Our last day in Ireland before heading home. But we sure made the most of it, despite having to run around to get COVID tests in order to be readmitted to the US.
We started the day with a walk to Trinity College at the University of Dublin. It was here that we had priority tickets to enter the Trinity College Library to see the Book of Kells. It was nice to be the first to enter the library since by the time we left it was getting much more crowded, making pictures such as the one below of the library, impossible to take without a lot of other people being in the way.
If the picture above looks familiar, it may be because you've seen the Jedi library from a Star Wars movie. Although Lucasfilm denied that the Trinity College Long Room was the inspiration for the Jedi archives, they sure seem to bear a striking resemblance to me.
The Molly Malone statue is another bit of Irish controversy, with some decrying the sexist nature of the statue and others saying it is "regarded with great warmth and affection by the city of Dublin"[*]. As you might be able to tell from the picture below, around 2014 tourists began taking pictures of themselves rubbing Molly's breasts for good luck, further adding fuel to the fire.
Our next stop for the day was at the Dubh Linn Garden, a very scenic garden just outside Dublin Castle.
Right next door to the gardens, and in fact visible in the picture above, was Dublin Castle. The picture below shows the view of the Dublin Castle apartments. Unfortunately there weren't any tours that day for the inside of the Dublin Castle or the surrounding apartments.
Last, but definitely not least, was our visit to the Guinness Storehouse where one of Ireland's most famous exports, Guinness beer, has been brewed since 1759, almost 20 years before the USA was founded.
Be sure to book your tour ahead of time for both the Book of Kells and Guinness Storehouse. Each Guinness Storehouse tour comes with a pint of Guinness. If you sign up for an additional class on how to properly pour a pint of Guinness you get a second pint. Since Elizabeth doesn't really drink very much, I had to help her with her two pints as well as drink my own.
Click this link or one of the pictures above to see more pictures in the Dublin photo album.
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