We had a late afternoon flight out of O'Hare which was mostly uneventful. It was delayed a bit; we found out later (on the flight) that it was because of a medical emergency when the plane flew from Dublin to O'Hare. The food was good, the leg room adequate, entertainment entertaining. Cyndie, Emma, and I snoozed a bit, but only restlessly. I don't think Tim slept a wink.
We landed to drizzly skies at around 5:30 am local time. We had pre-ordered a cab (highly recommended) who was there to whisk us to our flat in Dublin 8. Our hosts met us there. Bridg and her husband were lovely. They showed us the flat, gave us a few suggestions on local sights, and were just generally lovely (especially considering the time of day they were greeting us)! If you're going to Dublin, this is a great place (via AirBnB) to stay.
We promptly hit the sack for 3 or 4 hours of shut eye. This seemed to do the trick to combat jet lag as after showers and breakfast (really lunch by then), we were all fresh and ready to go.
Our day's sights were mostly of the ecclesiastical nature.
First up, St. Patrick's Cathedral. We did a little self guided tour, then a guided tour, and also explored the church grounds next door. When we first entered, there was a girls chorus from Princeton there performing which was really neat.
Next was Christ Church Cathedral. We had paid for a guided tour which was worth the extra 10 euros as it was both insightful and advantageous (we got to go up into the belfry and ring the church bells)! One thing that was interesting (and sad) was how non-religious both cathedrals were. When we went to Paris four years ago, Cyndie and I had both been impressed with the sacred manner in with which the cathedrals we visited were treated. Here, however, there were gift shops set up in the Nave (St. Patrick's) and a irreverent docent (Christ's Church). It was a little depressing. Matthew 21:12 much?
On the way back home, we wandered a bit, stopping at a lovely green near the Dublin Castle and re-visiting the park next to St. Patrick's. We really wanted to hear the organ there, so stopped in to learn that there was a free choral/orchestral concert in the evening. So we went back home, grabbed some kabobs for dinner, and then walked back to listen to a combination Dublin Symphony Orchstra/Hawaii Masterworks Chorus concert. It was quite good, though by that time we were all pretty tired. Cyndie leaned over to me about 40 minutes in and said, "I think we should go or I'm going to fall asleep and make a scene when I fall out of my chair".
Some things we learned today:
- Long distance airline travel is MUCH easier with 11 and 14 year olds than with 7 and 10 year olds. Cyndie and I were able to enjoy our own row without having to "manage" the kids! Thanks Donna, for helping me with that insight.
- Sometimes, no matter the planning and help from professionals, it's the stumbled across things that are the most fun (I'm thinking mostly of the two choral events that we witnessed today at St. Patrick's).
- 11 year olds just have to run. Especially if they've been cooped up for a 7 hour plane ride.
So day 1 is down, much more excitement is yet to come!
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