I love to travel! I have been to several European countries, some more than once, and have just returned from my second trip to Ireland. It was wonderful and the weather was perfect. Unexpectedly the temps were in the upper 70s and low 80s with only one day of rain. It was amazing and I had to purchase T-shirts just to stay cool. (Also a great way to get souvenirs from a trip!) But traveling for me is more. It is a way to see how other cultures live and survive, to discover what is important to them, and to meet new people.

My trip started out in Dublin, the capital of Ireland and a real busy city mixed with both historical and modern aspects – as most European cities are today. I set out to see the famous Temple Bar area and to find where one of my favorite series takes place – The Fever Series by Karen Marie Moning. It was easy to find as it ran along the River Liffey just on the other side of where my hotel was located. Wandering around the area I tried to picture the characters that Ms. Moning created walking these same streets and avoiding the dark fae. It was fascinating and fun. As the drizzle began to fall I found the famous Temple Bar that the entire area was named after. Wow. There it was on the drizzly, narrow cobble-stoned Irish street with beautiful flowers all around it.

From there it was on to Trinity College and the Book of Kells. I was there on my first visit, but I didn’t really take in the importance of it all. I mean this is an illuminated book that was hand-painted thousands of years ago. What an amazing feat that must have been. It was much more impressive to appreciate the time and effort put into creating such a book instead of just walking through and telling people, “I saw the Book of Kells once.” This time I appreciated what I was seeing before me and it was incredible. After viewing the exhibition and viewing a page or two of the actual book, the exhibit leads you to “The Long Room” which is the old library at Trinity College. It is by far the most interesting library I have ever seen.

Trinity College

Long Library

Long Library

Once finished with seeing the top two items on my list for Dublin, I returned to the hotel and prepared for a guided bus tour of the city. It was interesting and a lot like the one that I had taken years before on my first visit. Still I was fascinated and loved all the history and stories that made Dublin and Ireland what it is.

More to follow! Stay tuned!!