The Land of the Irish

Alright, so day one in Ireland. . .

By about 10 last night I was really tired (of course it was 11 in Paris) so it was bed time. I slept so good last night! The 'matresses' the hostel have here are remarkably comfortable - for a hostel. Of course that means I slept like a rock. I was the first one in our room last night to go to bed and I never even heard anyone else come in. I usually do even with the ear plugs.

This morning I got up and went down to get the breakfast they offer, which was really good. Then I didn't really have a plan for my day. I pulled out the map of the city and remembered some stuff my good friend Jack had told me, and decided to go see the Marsh Library.

Remarkably, everything is a fairly easy walking distant. I walked down to where the Marsh Library was located, and when I got there it looked closed. So I kept walking along the wall thinking instead I'd head to St. Patrick's Cathedral. As it turns out, there was an alternative entrance to the Marsh Library, so I went in.

It was super cool! I walked in, went up the stairs, and rang the bell, and this funny old gentleman opened the door and said in his Irish accent "Would you like to see our library?" He was so nice, he only charged me 2 Euros to go in because I looked like a student and he told a bit about the history of the library. It was a man named Marsh who opened the first library in Ireland. Seriously guys, this place was amazing! Rows upon rows of books on either side of the aisle. Floor to ceiling bookshelves -- the books themselves were remarkable. Very clearly aged. Some of them looked as if you touched them they'd crumble. The librarian man told me the youngest book in there was 300 years old. The oldest book they have in there is over 700 years old. That one was actually on display in a case: it's hand written in Latin...the book was about 3 to 4 inches thick. Anyone want to hand write a book in Latin (in small writing) that's going to be nearly four inches thick?

I so badly wanted to reach out and touch some of the books, just to see what they felt like (they were all within arms reach, not behind a case or anything). But knowing the damage I would do to them and my love of books, I know there is no way I would ever actually touch them. They are so important it's not worth risking any damage to them. I asked the guy and he said people still use the books, but they have to sit with special linen gloves so the acid and oils from human hands don't destroy them. I kept looking at them thinking, the youngest book is 300 years old! It's probably going to outlive me. A book will still be in existence, long after I'm not.

I wish I had pictures of the inside guys, but the Library policy is no pictures, even without flash. You're just going to have to go there yourselves to see the inside. I highly recommend it! Just seeing the Library is worth it.

Then, since right down the block was St. Patrick's Cathedral, I went into there! All of these churches I've been in never cease to amaze me. They are such beautiful structures and have lasted so long. There is so much history behind all of these places. And if you think about all of the wars that have happened, it's incredible so much is still standing. The history behind why things were built and how is amazing. Today we have the advantage of power-tools but everything looks the same. The craftsmanship is gone. And things don't last. The one bridge in Paris took the king 40 years to build. And it's still there, 500 years later. 

One thing I will say, is my day here was short, because I am no longer in Italy. What does that mean? IT'S COLD HERE! I figured travelling in May, I'd hit some rain, might be a bit chilly -- no. It is cold. It feels more like the end of October, not the middle of May. Even with my sweater it was not a nice day to be out walking. And I didn't have my umbrella with me. Not something I'll do again. It looks like it's constantly going to rain.

Tomorrow I'm (hopefully) suppose to be meeting up with someone local, which would be thrilling! It'd be great to see Dublin from a local point of view. That's all for now Homies, so I'll talk to you later!