British Isles trip, part 26: Dublin

Link to photo dump.


Dublin was the last city on our tour. It was from there that we flew back home.

We had been at Glendalough in the morning. In the early afternoon we went to the Trinity College library in Dublin to see the Book of Kells, which many consider to be Ireland's greatest treasure. No photos are allowed in that area, but we exited through the library's beautiful central room, where I stopped to take a few pictures:

Just outside the library, I noticed the dedication on this bench as we walked by:

I don't know who those people were, but I thought it was an admirable dedication. I hope that perhaps some people will think that true of me after I'm gone.

We had the rest of the afternoon free. Dad and I went to the National Museum of Ireland--Archaeology, then the National Museum of Ireland--Natural History. They were both interesting enough, though not exactly loaded with Kodak moments. However, I did feel compelled to document this pair of astonishing beasts:

Those are examples of Giant Irish Deer, also known as Irish Elk, Megaloceros giganteus. Those particular specimens were donated by the 4th Marquis of Bath in the late 19th century. These deer allegedly went extinct more than 7000 years ago, but I'm still a little frightened, because ya never know. Lots more pairs of these antlers are mounted near the ceiling all over this museum. Ireland must have been lousy with 'em.

The last picture I took with my new camera on this trip was this unremarkable shot of the bike-share bicycles in Dublin, and I only took it because I'm a fan of both bicycles and Coke Zero, which obviously sponsors the program:

I do have two more posts of odds and ends. Then I'll do one last post of what I think are the "best of the best" photographs I took.