Ireland, the end

July 22- For our last full day in Dublin, I didn't journal anything, but thankfully things did improve considerably upon the previous day!  Our little ones finally discovered the "kids' check in" in the hotel lobby, where they climbed up the stairs to receive little coloring packets.  :)

 We enjoyed another full-Hilton breakfast, Dublin-style.  

Once again, we parked the car and made our way into the city.

Thanks to the bus ride the previous day, we got a feel for what we wanted to make sure we saw--Trinity College, where resides the Book of Kells, and the Guinness Storehouse.  

Admission to the Book of Kells included a brief tour of the campus, so we joined another tour group and learned a bit of the history we probably should have read before we went.

Tradition has it that if you are walking under this arch when the bell tolls the hour, you will fail your exams for the term.  I imagine this is not a prime make-out spot!

This statue of a provost with a grimace-like smile depicts the man who supposedly was the last to resist the admission of women into the college.

Our guide had a good personality for the job, and was required to part of the original Trinity College school uniform.

This sculpture was supposed to mean something besides Death Star, which is all I remember!

Once that part of the tour was finished, we were invited to join the line of people waiting to go into the library where the Book of Kells was kept.  However, we realized that we hadn't put enough money on our parking ticket for such a long line, so John left with Gemma to catch the bus while Ruthie and I waited our turn.

The Book of Kells and several other ancient documents were preserved in the basement of this building.  We saw them first (no photos allowed, of course), and then finished the cycle in this delicious old library, lined with marble busts of famous scholars.

Ruthie was a bit of a challenge the whole time, so I didn't spend long there or in the very nice gift shop.  We caught the next bus and headed on to meet John and Gemma at the Guinness Storehouse.

Yogurt helped.  :)

I guess John and Gemma had some fun while they were waiting for us in front of the gate!  

The storehouse was neat; I believe the museum is relatively new.  We aren't really into beer, but we learned a bit.

The design of the building itself is quite fun.  The self-guided tour begins at the bottom and continues upward, with the top level being all glass.  Everyone then drinks his included pint in front of a splendid view of the city.

 

One pint was more than enough for John and me to share, so we used our second drink voucher to get an orange Fanta for Gemma, which she thoroughly enjoyed experiencing.

After that, we drove into a large park in town and found a playground to relax at for a while.

We decided to make our last dinner in Dublin a pizza!  

Later, I remember that we returned to the hotel to put Ruth down for a nap and let John work for a while.  Gemma may have slept, too; I know that I set off on foot for a shopping center a quarter of a mile away to get sandwiches and snacks for the evening and the next morning.  We had just enough time in the morning to grab a roll when the breakfast buffet opened and head out to the airport.  

What a delightful way to spend some of the hottest weeks of summer!  It was a trip we will remember for a life time, How thankful I am for God's good provisions to us, enabling us to go celebrate with Jenni and Sam.  How thankful I am for God bringing them together!