OOPS! Left out London!

Our final stop on our Ireland trip was a delightful stop in London to see Trine's family. And what a lovely visit it was. The home is absolutely beautiful, and it even has an aquarium inside. We were able to take a nice walk, visit the bakery Velvet (the owner made a cake for Meghan Markle), have a nice meal, and enjoy being with Trine's family.

The First Northern Lights

I knew, from my trip to Iceland, if we were seated on the left side of the airplane, we would have a chance to see the aurora. I decided that no matter what, I would stay awake to see if they showed up. Before about 10:00 p.m. I began to see a green haze in the north, and it soon turned into a full-blown aurora. I grabbed Rick and Brianna to come to our side of the plane to see it, and we were all treated to a show, just in case we wouldn't get to see them. Pictures from the plane are not great, but I got lucky with a few. Hoping we get a chance to get some better ones.

Headed to Finland

After we returned from Ireland, I received a brochure from the KSU Alumnae Association about a trip to Finland. Although I had said we were done traveling, we saw the beautiful pictures of the Northern Lights and we were sold. Luckily, Brianna and Rick Gaskill decided to come with us. A trip made much better very quickly. As we approached departure date, I began to check the weather. It was a bit shocking to see that Helinki's temperatures were about -20 F, and those in Lapland were reaching -40, day after day after day. Concern about the clothing we were taking was increasing, but then the temperatures began to moderate. Helsinki warmed up to between 11 and 18 F, Lapland about -10. Much better. On Sunday, February 22, the four of us loaded into Jarred's Suburban and went to the airport. Although we had a slight delay in Dallas, we had a very pleasant flight, and by noon on Monday we touched down in cloudy, snowy Helsinki. After transferring to our hotel and resting for a few hours, we were on our way to learning about Finland.

Final Thoughts

Ireland is a lovely country with lovely people and an interesting history. I want to return to try to determine if Thomas was indeed one of the first Orangemen, but until then, I will continue to wear orange and love the experience we had.

The Spitjack

I had made reservations at the Spitjack, a highly recommended restaurant in Cork. It was hard to leave the Hayfield Manor for any restaurant, but we did, and it was worth it. I had the Porschetta pork belly, and oh my, was there a lot of it! It is a specialty that takes 48 hours to cook, and they frequently run out . . . and with the portions they serve, I see why. It could have fed two people, and Don had to eat some of mine. The apple and sage puree underneath it added a very rich taste to the meat - something I could not have predicted. Don had the pithivier, which is chicken enclosed in a puff pastry. He thought it was good, but he was glad he got to taste my pork. Do you know what a spithjack is? It is a historical mechanism, used before electricity, that uses weight (similar to a cuckoo clock) to turn a piece of meat over a fire. And now you have learned something today!

Cricket

When we first arrived at Trinity College, we looked down upon the pitch, and lo and behold, a cricket match was going on. We had no idea what we were watching, so we found a seat, looked up Cricket rules, and familiarized ourselves with it. This game has no physical contact - or little anyway - and lots of pitching and hitting. It appears to us that only the pitcher really gets much exercise. The fielders run a bit, and the batters run a bit, but the pitcher's arm must last a long time. We hear that games can last for days, which would be very boring. And the game is not the most action-packed thing in the world, but it is very popular in India and at Trinity College.

Trinity College and the Book of Kells

Trinity College, founded in 1592 by Queen Elizabeth I, it was one of the earliest Irish colleges and the oldest in continuous operation . . . that now enrolls 20,000 students. The home of Oscar Wilde, Jonathan Swift, Bram Stoker, and writers of the Game of Thrones, it was, and probably is, the college of the elites, founded to promote the ascendancy of Protestantism. Two of the sports featured at Trinity College are cricket and rugby, though at least 50 clubs (sports) are offered, including American football. They also have numerous societies (what we would call clubs), including a Card and Bridge Society, several debate societies, a film society, and a dance society. The oldest building on campus is a red brick dormitory - the Rubrics - which was probably built in the early 1700s. All of the other buildings are made of limestone. Reminded us a bit of Goodnow and Marlatt Halls on the KSU campus, except that the builder of the Rubrics did not receive kickbacks! The bell tower is a beautiful piece of architecture in the center of the main square, and it is surrounded by a large area of green space. The campus reminded us a bit of Princeton, a bit of KSU, and a bit of neither.

One of the buildings at Trinity College has a beautiful wainscoat outside, comprised on hand-carbed blocks of 640 flowers found in Ireland. Within the blocks not one flower is repeated. We can't imagine the cost of doing that now . . .hand-carved limestone. Wow!

After taking the tour, we visited the Book of Kells, which is an iluminated manuscript of the four Biblical gospels. It is a 9" x 13" book - I had expected something much larger - that is turned to two pages, which is changed every month or two. Unfortunately, the two pages we saw were not as ornate as some others. But they were still beautiful, and the information about how the Book of Kells came to be, how it was saved several times from ruination, and how the monks made the paint for the manuscript. Then we went into the Long Hall - the old library - that houses the earliest books. Because they are doing a major renovation of the library, we were only able to see a few stacks filled with books, but imaging the entire library full was beyond comprehension.

WIthin the library are housed two important objects: the declaration of Independence from the British dated in 1916 and the Brian Boru harp in Ireland, which is also the symbol of the beer, Guinness. Fascinating to see all of them. Also hanging from the ceiling is a picture of the world taken from space . . . such a beautiful planet. At first I was irrtated that I had booked a tour of the campus, along with the Book of Kells, on the wrong day! But, they were very gracious and allowed us to take the tour and see the book, and the fascinating tour was well worth the money! I don't know of any US colleges, however, who charge to take a tour of their campus!!!