I just survived Dublin traffic, including road construction on major streets. I deserve a medal!
This morning I talked for a bit with Geraldine, the B&B lady (I was their only guest last night). There were pictures in the dining room of the Grand Canyon, so I asked her about them. She raises funds for leukemia for the hospital where her son has been a cancer patient for the past five years. He doesn't look to be older than 12. She and her husband do these fundraising charity runs every year. They have been to Arizona, Capetown, South Africa, New York City, and other places. This fall they will be going to San Francisco. She has also run the Dublin marathon, and wants to run the New York City marathon.
Then I set out for Dublin. I decided to take the coast road, but almost right away I got detoured off because of some tree-trimming that was going on. I got back on the coast road at Brittas Bay. The weather was great - sunny and not too cold. I stopped several times to take pictures, even turning around and going back when I caught a view out of the corner of my eye. The road was lined with beautiful golf courses and homes, and at one point I could see wind turbines way out in the water. I eventually came into Wicklow town. I stopped at a gas station to check directions, then headed toward the N11 back to Dublin. Wicklow wasn't fun to drive through. The streets were narrow and confusing. It was a cute little town, though. I would have liked to have some time to spend there. But Dublin awaited. As I left the gas station, I looked left (like I would do at home) instead of right (like I should have done). Just as I rolled forward, I saw a truck coming from the right. I slammed on the brakes, he swerved, and somehow we didn't collide. OMG! The guy didn't even honk at me, he just drove on. I just wanted to get out of Wicklow.
The rest of the drive to Dublin was mercifully uneventful. The B&B lady had drawn me a map of where to turn off to get to Kilmainham Gaol. She was familiar with the drive because her son's hospital was near there. I found the gaol, then drove past it because I was unsure of where to park, and ended up having to go around the block because it was a one-way street. And - gak! - that meant three right turns in traffic (remember, that's like three left turns at home).
I had time to go through part of the museum before it was time for my tour. They had a very moving display called Final Words, that contained letters that were written from the condemned to their families, along with some personal effects. The tour was really great. The building itself was just overwhelmingly depressing. Part of it, the "newer" part, was built during a period of prison reform. The roof is a huge skylight, and all of the cells face the center. In the older part, the halls are narrow and dark. There was no electricity or heat in the building when it was in use, and no sanitation system. They showed us a slide show about the history of the gaol, from its beginning as a place to house criminals, to its later use as a place to house political prisoners from the Easter Rising and the civil war that followed. One of the men sentenced to death for the Easter Rising was married by candlelight in the chapel of the gaol just hours before his execution. His wife's sister was married to another of the condemned. They showed us the yard where they were shot, just a wall away from the street. One man who was unable to stand was executed in a chair.
They also showed us an exercise yard that was mostly used by children prisoners! Kids could be sentenced to prison - prison! - for things like throwing snowballs, or pulling up flowers in a public park, for 2-3 days or up to a week. I wonder if they had less teenage crime then. I learned a lot about the Irish history of rebellion, and heard some really tragic stories. During the Famine, people would sometimes commit crimes like stealing food because they were starving, but if they were caught, going to prison could actually save teir lives because they would be fed there. Of course, sometimes that meant being shipped off to Australia for the rest of your life. I can't imagine how you could survive in that place for long. I was really impressed with the tour. Eamon DeValera was one of those sentenced to death for the Rising, but because he was born in the US, the American Embassy intervened and they commuted his sentence. He later became president of Ireland.
After Kilmainham, I took a deep breath and headed back out into the traffic and torn up streets toward my B&B. They are apparently installing a tram system in the city center. The lady at Kilmainham told me not to turn onto O'Connell Street as I had been instructed, but to go directly to Gardiner St from the quays. I am glad I took her advice, since the whole median of O'Connell is torn up, with barricades all over. Someone was definitely looking out for me because I sort of stumbled into the correct lanes to get where I needed to be, and through the most confusing parts the traffic was so bad that you had to go slow. That gave me time to see where I was and look ahead to where I needed to turn. When I got onto Gardiner St, I found the place and found a parking spot almost right in front, but across the street. I checked in and paid, then had to go move the car into the free parking. That meant I then had to make a u-turn from my spot across four lanes of traffic, go through a set of traffic lights, turn left into a tiny street, turn left again into an alley, cross a street and go into another alley, then turn into a big garage. It is very secure, but I don't look forward to getting it out of there. At least the airport is on this side of the river, so I don't have to go through the quay mess again.
This B&B is pretty basic, though I think it suffers in comparison to the places I have been already on this trip. This one cost as much as the first one, but there is no stained glass, no antiques, no glassed-in porch, and, I'm sure, no scrambled eggs and salmon in the morning. Oh well, I don't have to drive anymore, and I know where I will be tomorrow night.
Once I left my bags in the room, I went out exploring. I was looking for the Global Internet Cafe on O'Connell (Gardiner is only a couple of blocks over from there). I walked all the way to the top of O'Connell, but didn't find it, so I did a little shopping, then walked down toward the bridge. I wanted to get a close-up look at Messrs Maguires, a brewpub/restaurant whose webcam I used to watch all the time before our first trip. They had webcams that overlooked the O'Connell St bridge, and also on every level of their restaurant. But before I could get to the bridge, I found - Global Internet Cafe! So I popped in and checked email, then went on to Messrs Maguires. I ended up eating there, in the library room that I had seen so many times on camera. I know it seems geeky to be so excited about it, but it was just cool to actually be there. I will have to check when I get back to see if their cams are still online.
I came back and planned out my day for tomorrow, and now I'm headed for bed. I don't know if I will go out tomorrow night, but I am thinking about it. I guess it's a little scary to think about doing it alone. But someone once said you should do something every day that scares you, and so far this week, I have done just that. :) Maybe that's my thing for tomorrow.
First I am going to Trinity College to see the Book of Kells, and also to see if I can find a Trinity College shirt for Kym. Then I am going to the National Museum (the archaeology one), then to the Georgian House tour. If it's around meal time, I will go over to the Temple Bar area to have dinner at the Bad Ass Cafe. I also want to see the Designyard there. Then it's off to Grafton St for shopping. I won't have time to do much of anything Friday morning. I have to check out of here by 11:00, so I might as well head for the airport then. I have no idea what they will say about the mirror, but the guy told us last time that they replace a lot of passenger mirrors. Still, I'm dreading the conversation.
Had to call the desk to tell them that the room is getting pretty cold. I guess they turn off the boiler at a certain hour, but they turned it back on for me. I am assuming that it will go off in awhile, so I think I will try to get to sleep before that happens.
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