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On Friday, the resume I sent to the Really Useful Company was returned to me. They said they won't accept it
unless there is a specific position I'm applying for. But they don't have any available. So that was sad. But,
I do have an interview set with a temp agency for next week, so maybe something will come out of that.
Figuring there was nothing much more I could do in that department for the day, I decided to spend the afternoon
doing one of the Original London Walks, and I
chose the one that centres around the University of London. I stayed in that area the first time I came to London,
six years ago (can it be that long?), so was curious to find out more about it. The tour was very good! We learned
a lot of interesting facts about the area and the university, and we went inside two museums in the university -
a zoological museum started by one of Darwin's mentors, and a great Egyptian museum that I didn't know was there.
There really must be half of ancient Egypt here in London. Anyway, that one included the world's oldest piece of
clothing - it's a linen shirt that was recently discovered among some sheets. And it's not in bad shape, really,
considering that it's 5000 years old! And it's not that out of fashion either. :-)
The next day, Saturday, was, of course, St. Patrick's Day! Getting to the parade in Dublin proved to be a bit of an
ordeal. To start with, I had to get up at 4:15, and walk to the bus stop, since the tube doesn't run at that time of
day. After an hour on the bus to get to the airport, the flight was delayed slightly, and we arrived in Dublin
around 9:30. So now there's a lot of people at the airport, all wanting to get to the same place. The airport shuttles
were packed, and the city buses, which I was trying to take, were either not coming or were packed by the time they
got to us. I heard someone say they were on a holiday schedule, because, of course, the day is a holiday in Ireland.
Still, it seems a bit of poor planning to me. I finally got on a bus, and we made one stop to squeeze in a couple of
more people, and then drove by every other bus stop all the way downtown, past stop after stop of people who wanted
to get on the bus.
Anyway, I finally made it to the parade route shortly after 11:00. I was going to stick where I was, at the
beginning of the route at the top of O'Connell Street, but I decided that since the parade didn't start until noon,
I had time to go find a better spot. Not the smartest idea. :) I finally got a place at College Green, which just got
more and more packed, and when the parade finally did start, it didn't reach us until after 1:00! So my feet were
already tired just from standing there waiting, and then the parade itself was over an hour! And it was cool and windy, and started to rain on and off. At least it was
interesting. They had some really different stuff, plus the usual bands and all.
After a quick lunch to refresh myself, I set off to do some of the things I wanted to see in Dublin - I had three
major priorities. The first was to see the Book of Kells. This is considered the oldest book in the world, and
the illustrations are so intricate. It's housed in the library at Trinity College, and the library itself is one of
the most impressive I've ever seen - maybe even the most! It's this incredibly long, tall room, with two floors of
books. I could stay there for quite a while. :-)
I walked from there to Merrion Square, where they had a midway set up for the day. I saw a little boy wearing a shirt
saying "Patrick may be a Saint, but I ain't!" I thought it was really cute, so I spent some time looking in the gift
shops for one for my nephew, but I never found it. The Oscar Wilde house is around there somewhere, but I couldn't find
an entrance (I think it may have been closed for the day), though I did see a statue of him. I took a look at some of the public buildings, then headed over to
Christ Church, and spent some time wandering around there. It's the oldest building in Dublin, and there's been a
church on that spot for nearly 1000 years! Pretty impressive.
The last major thing I wanted to see was the Dublinia exhibit, a museum on Dublin's history, but sadly it was closed
for the holiday. I tried to get to Dublin Castle instead, but didn't quite make it in time for the last entry. So
there are definitely still some things I'd like to do on a return visit! I found Dublin a very pretty city, with
really grand public spaces. It hasn't been bombed like London has, so the city centre still has a lot of its character.
I'd love to go back and wander around when the streets aren't quite so crazy.
I did make a go of the partying, but it's not quite as easy when you're on your own. :-) I went to a pub for supper,
and then to a bar where they were playing traditional Irish music. I stayed there for a couple of hours and met some amusing people, but then all
the walking and lack of sleep began to catch up with me, so I decided to head out to the airport while I was still
reasonably energetic. Once I got there, I decided to check if I could change my flight and get on one that was going
back that night, but when she told me it was 250, I decided I could wait!
And I wasn't the only one - Dublin airport was like a giant hostel that night, with people sleeping everywhere and every
which way. I was lucky to get a big leather chair fairly early in the night, and was managing to doze on and off until
we got woken up and moved at about 1:30 a.m. so they could clean the area. So I went somewhere else and tried to sleep
on the floor, but it was too cold. So I just read the book I'd bought - and finished it too. :-) Finally, at 6:00, I was
able to board the flight back to London, and arrived back at my apartment at just after 9:30.
It was a fun experience, though I'll have to think hard before doing another 24-hour turnaround trip like that. Here are some pictures:
St. Patrick greeting visitors at the airport
People dressed up for the parade
Me and some of the crowd on O'Connell Street
(I'm actually happy, even though I don't look it! :-)
Statue of Oscar Wilde
Stained glass window of St. Patrick in Christ Church
Some of the Dublin waterfront, along the Liffey River
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