July 20-22 - Dublin, Ireland

Days 23-25

Even though this mini break weekend was frustrating in some aspects, I still had a fantastic time.  First thing I did after the airport fiasco, was catch the bus into town.  I got settled in my hostel and hit the town.  I did a walking tour to get myself oriented with the city.  I learned that Dublin came from Dubh Linn which means black pool.  The castle gardens were built right over that black pool.  The tour showed me many great places.  Then I started to utilize my Dublin Pass.  This pass got me into several things for free.

Day 23, Saturday

I did so many things.  I visited Dublin castle (sort of) and then went to the Chester Beatty Library off the gardens behind the state rooms of the castle. This library had an incredible exhibit going on.  Before I went into the exhibit though I spoke with the gentlemen at the information desk and told them I was a librarian.  One of them took me up to the reading room which can only be viewed by appointment only.  It was absolutely beautiful.  There was this bright read ceiling with gold oriental designs.  He showed me a couple of the registers that are held in the library.  I then moved on to view the exhibits.  The first floor was an exhibit of the Art of Books.  It was all about bindings and covers.  There were some truly amazing pieces.  There were also several manuscripts in Japanese and Arabic.  The second floor had an exhibit with more of the oriental and Asian influences that Beatty was known for.  The roof held a small garden that had a great view of the castle gardens.

I visited Christ Church, Dublinia and the Guinness Storehouse.  Christ Church was breathtaking.  They even have a treasure room down in the crypt.  It was cool. Dublinia is a museum that covers the Viking and medieval period of Dublin.  It was interesting to see how the Vikings took over the land and such.  What can I say about Guinness?  It was the best!  I even got a certificate saying I know how to pour a perfect pint. The Gravity Bar at the top of the storehouse provided some incredible views of Dublin. 360 degrees of views. I splurged on myself a bit and took a horse carriage ride back to the hostel.

Day 24, Sunday

I continued to utilize my second day with my Dublin Pass.  I highly recommend getting this pass.  It will pay for itself with all the free entrances and stuff.  Anyway, I started my day off by going to see the Book of Kells at Trinity College.  It was incredible.  The illuminated pages are simply beautiful.  It is hard to imagine how long it took the monks to do that.  I was able to also spend some time in The Long Room.  This is the library where there were a lot of things on display.  A couple of my favorites were the busts of Socrates, Aristotle, and Plato as well as the dyes and powders used to create the inks for the illuminating work.

After spending time at Trinity College, I headed over to the Wax Museum.  This was a lot of fun.  The first room I entered was all about the famous Irish writers which included James Joyce and Oscar Wilde.  There was also a horror section in the basement and a children's floor.  The top floor contained a recording studio where you could record yourself kareokeing to a music video.  I chose not to do it even though I was by myself.

I went the The Leprechaun Museum next.  This museum was all about Irish fairy lore and folk tales.  I loved it!  We went from regular size to really small, walked under the giant's causeway, and into the giant's room where I sat on a humongous armchair.  We left the giant room through the fireplace and through the rainbow to a room with a pot of gold.  We moved on to the forest where a few more stories were told.  After that we were led out into a garden and the gift shop.  A fun time was had by all.

Next I headed over to the Old Jameson Distillery where I learned about this wonderful Irish Whiskey.  YUM!!!  I got picked to be a taster.  Toward the end of the tour we got to taste the difference between Whiskey, scotch, and bourbon.  The Scotch was Johnny Walker Black (blended not as tasty as single malt), the bourbon was Jack Daniels, and then of course Jamesons.  Again YUM!  I got another certificate saying I was an official taster.  What a great lunch!

I then walked across town to see St. Patrick's Cathedral.  I figured it would be a shame to be in Dublin and not go to St. Patrick's... let alone what some of my friends would say...  Just as amazing as Christ Church, more so I would say.

I headed back to the hostel and asked for a recommendation on where to go for dinner.  I went to O'Neills. This is a fantastic Irish pub.  I had Guinness stew and sat and listened to live music.  One of the best recommendations I have had.  And the bar was very different.  It was kind of like a maze and you ordered food like in a cafeteria line.  That was weird but still amazing food.

Day 25, Monday

I went to the Hill of Tara and Newgrange.  See the next post for more info and great pictures.

That is all for now...

July 17-18 - The Highlands

Days 20 and 21

I went on a wonderful highland tour for 2 days and saw many amazing things.  I was on a small tour bus with only 11 other people.  It was quite nice being in such a small group.

Our first stop was Wallace Monument in Stirling.  Our guide made sure to tell us the actual history and not what "Braveheart" showed us.  We had to climb a very steep hill to get to the top to the monument.  I didn't go inside but there were beautiful views around the countryside.

We continued on to Doune Castle.  This is the castle that was used in "Monty Python and the Holy Grail". Again with the big steep hills and the climbing but only to discover more amazing views.

We stopped for lunch in this quaint little town.

After lunch we headed through Glencoe where the massacre of the Clan MacDonald happened.  It is also where a lot of scenery and backdrops were filmed for the Harry Potter films.

We arrived early into Fort William where we would be staying for the night.  I was having a conversation with our guide and asked if we would be going anywhere near Glennfinnan.  He said we had time to go there.  We drove out to Glennfinnan and I got to see the viaduct that was used in "Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets".  I stood on a big hill for like 20 minutes staring at a train track hoping a train would go by.  It was starting to rain so I went back down the mountain.  Alas, I had already missed the last train going through before I even had reached the top.

Back at Fort William, I get dropped off at the B & B I was staying at.  This was a nice place and I had a room all to myself.  It was fabulous!  I stayed at The Distillery House.  I asked where I could go to get a pint and had to walk 10 minutes to get to the nearest pub.  I had a great beer with dinner.  Then I had to walk back.  I relaxed and did some light reading before getting a good night's sleep.

Day 2 of Highlands

We head out for Eilean Donan castle as our first stop.  We all got to go inside and stayed there for about an hour and a half.  I was SOOO excited as this was the one thing I wanted to see the most.  Fantastic views.

After getting back on the bus, we headed to Loch Ness.  We stopped here for lunch and did a bit of shopping.  I did not find Nessie.  :(    I did find a fun statue of her.  :)

As we were heading back to Edinburgh, I suddenly realized I had no place to stay.  When I was doing my bookings I somehow completely missed Friday on my schedule.  I think it may have been because I had been considering a 3 day tour instead of the 2 day.  I was lucky to find a hostel to stay in for the night on Thursday night.  I was stuck in a room with 7 guys.  I just kept to myself mostly.  Did some reading.  All was well.

Friday morning (Day 22)

I got myself settled at the hostel where I had booked a room.  Then I decided to spend my last day in Edinburgh with a free walking tour.  Our guide Kiel was fantastic.  He also mentioned a great pub to have a pint in after the tour.  I also ate haggis.  The whiskey gravy made the dish.  I then had to get up at an ungodly hour to catch a bus to the airport.  Off to Dublin for the weekend.

That is all for now...

July 16 - Central Library and New College Library (Edinburgh, Scotland)

Day 19

Today we visited the Central Library of Edinburgh.  Fiona manages the Central Library and introduced us to some of her colleagues. She also manages 6 neighborhood libraries. Central Library has had many achievements.  Some of these include Bookseller Best Library Service 2012 (finalist again in 2013), CSE - customer service excellence, IIP - investors in people, and Gold Standard - a detailed criteria to help keep the library tidy and with excellent customer service.  They maintain a 97% customer satisfaction rating as of 2012.  Two new bright and modern branches just recently opened that show how they are moving into the heart of the community.  Self service has also been implemented in 12 of the 28 libraries in and around Edinburgh.

They have a large range of services for hard to reach readers.  The Get Up and Go publication is for older patrons above the age of 50.  many community activities are listed in this magazine as well as online.  Bookbug is a national program to help get kids interested in reading.  It is owned by the Scottish Book Trust and is designed for 3-5 year olds. Charter books is another national program.  This one is more for ages 8-11 and includes more chapter books.  The digital library is popular and continues to accelerate.  They want to try to reach a new generation of customers through the digital and technology age.  They say that mobile devices will be the primary connection device and they do have an app.

Their website offers a portal into many things.  They have a connection with Dyslexia Scotland.  This is a program designed to get more kids to read.  They want them to feel welcome and be able to get help.  There are 4 steps of partnership which include awareness, engagement, support and resources, and mainstreaming. Dyslexia Chatterbook is a fun and engaging reading group to get kids reading.  It is designed for 8-10 year olds.  Central Library also offers summer reading challenges.  Children's literacy is a key government issue.  There has been a 12% increase in Scotland in 2012.  The library also makes use of social media by maintaining a Facebook page and Twitter.  There are so many portals on the website.  They use Eventbrite to allow people to book events and activities online.  Your Library is the main platform for all services and the main place to find things.  There are 50 different e-resources available to customers via the website.  Check out the website here at http://yourlibrary.edinburgh.gov.uk/.

Central Library has 5 main goals through their website and mobile app.  One is to provide an alternative to visiting the library. Two is to provide 24/7 access to quality information.  Three is to provide a channel for engaging customers. Four is to provide a channel shift in which to help those unfamiliar with technology.  Five is to provide increased use of Edinburgh Libraries.

We viewed several interesting artifacts.  There was a 1495 Aldus Minitus pocket book, a Bassadyne Bible printed in 1576 / 79, a music book with an English Oak binding, Paranesi's works, old road maps, drawings, watercolors, and even some photographs.  My favorite item was the music book.  I knew by looking at it that it was written in chant form.  Most likely Gregorian chant.

New College Library is where we visited in the afternoon.  covers 5 floors and contains more than 250,000 books.  It was founded in the early 19th century.  Stacks 1 and 2 are for public access.  They are slowly reverting to the Library of Congress classification system from an old Christianity based system. Stack 3 is for staff only and holds various collections and manuscripts.  They continue to make renovations to the building.  It is a religious library in conjunction with a school of divinity.  We did get to view a really old King James Bible and some other rare books.

During the evening hours I went for a walk around Dalkeith estate and then packed for my Highland Tour trip.


That is all for now...