An artistic experience-The Book of Kells

One place we were looking forward to visiting was the Trinity College OLD library and the Book of Kells. Illuminated manuscripts have always fascinated me. Students don't think about the work that goes into them so much, because their life is just bombarded with visual images. When you think about the time when the book was written and all of the things that took place between then and now, it provides a real impression about how God's Word endures.

Trinity College was founded in 1527 and like Cambridge and Oxford, is one of the seven ancient universities of Britain. It is the oldest university in Ireland.

We were not allowed to take photos inside the Old Library but it is one spectacular place! In the Long Room there are over 200,000 volumes of some of the oldest books in Britain and Ireland.  There are many many marble busts and their most famous is the one of Jonathan Swift. 

This harp is a national treasure as well and dates from the 15th century. It is made of oak and willow with 26 brass strings. It is also the model for the emblem of Ireland.

But this is what we want to see! The Book of Kells!
It is the oldest illuminated manuscript of the Four Gospels.
There are four volumes, dating back to 800 A.D.  Two books are on display at one time and each book is open to one page, so you can visit again and again and probably never see all of it. We could not take photos of the book, but check out the links to take a look at some of the images.  
Kells-More info than you really want to knowKells-links to good images

Poster is an enlarged version of a page from Kells.

I don't know if the kids got so much out of this because they had food and shopping on their minds. In hindsight, I wish I had gone in first, rather than letting the kids go first. That way they would not have had to wait for me to exit! I savored every moment of the experience.

Not only are the Books very old (800 AD)...it is incredible that they even survived this long. The pages are velum (which is stretched calf skin) and the illustrations are painted with pure mineral pigments, but factor in natural decay and it is remarkable that these volumes still exist. It also explains the humidity controlled environment and low light.

The whole experience just reminds me once again about how God tells us that His Word will not return void. Whether written or spoken, memorized or read, it endures. Throughout history, people have tried to extinguish it, but at the very least, a remnant remains. If all the books were destroyed but we have committed God's Word to our memories, then it still can not be extinguished, and the more we share it, the more people are blessed.

There is a whole series of DOCUMENTARIES on the Book of Kells
Just click on this YouTube link and you can see them. It is really interesting!

The Cross in the Dublin Park

Europeans as a rule tend to love their open spaces and have some of the greatest parks in the world. The relatively small spaces where they live...small apartments, tenement housing for 'the common people'....may be why they live in their outdoor spaces. It is so different from the wide open spaces in America. Most of us do not live in cramped quarters and some of our homes are like vacation retreats themselves. 

Terry took us into this grand, green open space called Phoenix Park. It is one of the biggest parks in all of Europe and has all kinds of riding trails, places for picnics, many many athletic fields and more. All of a sudden we came upon this massive cross in the middle of a field. He called it the Pope's Cross, but the formal name is the Papal Cross. 

The cross was built in anticipation of the visit of the (Late) Pope John Paul II. This was in 1979 when he held an open air mass in the park. Over 1.25 MILLION people attended that mass in the park. INCREDIBLE!
Did you know that we have a cross similar to this one in Orlando? It is not for the Pope of course, but it's purpose is to draw people to the cross. It is located on the west side of Orlando, right on the 408 at Good Homes Road...at First Baptist Church of Central Florida. The base of the FBCCF Cross is two stories high and the actual cross reaches 199 feet.

There is just something about seeing a cross like this that brings one back to reality and kind of centers you...well, it does me anyway. 

How are your relationships in life? Vertical, I hope. The relationship between you and Christ is the most important of all relationships.

Wonderful kids at the foot of the 115 foot tall cross

If there was wide open space....they were running! It was always fun to watch the kids when we opened the bus doors! So much energy!

This was such a beautiful park. Had it been warmer, it would have been a glorious spot for a picnic. As we left the park, we passed the Deerfield Residence which is now the official residence for the US Ambassador to Ireland (Since 1927)

There is so much to see in this park that you could spend a wee in this location.
If you ever go to Dublin, be sure to make your way over to Phoenix Park

Dublin by Day and by Night

 With registration now open for our next travel adventure, it is time to finish this blog! So....heading back to our Scotland/Ireland trip....let's head from Belfast to Dublin! Everyone has been so excited to get to this destination city. What is the allure of Ireland? The kids found it to be such a friendly place....so join us on a city adventure before we have site specific posts on St. Patrick's Cathedral, The Pope's Cross, Trinity College and alas...the trip home.

This is the view from the highway as we approached Dublin. The grass was so green everywhere!

Central Florida now has highway walls everywhere, some more interesting than others, and I thought this one was particularly interesting on the road to Dublin. The big wall looks kind of like the St. Augustine cocina stone fort, but really it is like square sections of stacked stone that is held together with a wire mesh, something like chickenwire. I suppose this covered a stronger cement support, but it was a pretty interesting effect. 

Kids find fun everywhere they go. At one of our stops along the highway we were introduced to a remarkable 'rest stop'....sort of like we have along the Florida Turnpike.....only this was unbelievable. There was a great kiddie playground.......

Massage Chairs

And....HARRY POTTER Trinkets from a vending machine....

Yes....everyone was already in love with Ireland.

Entering Dublin...Rowhouses...this is hard for us to imagine. Each home is about four to 5 floors and the width of the home is only the width of one room. No wonder Europeans are so skinny....all those stairs!

C.S.Lewis went to grade school here

Major mode of transportation. Pay stations for bikes....you pick one up, use it to get where you are going, and drop it off at the next station. Pretty clever!

On an independent trip, this is a great option. We did not see a station with enough bikes for our whole group. What a great way to see the city though!

The DOORS OF DUBLIN - the interesting story that goes with the doors goes like this....years and years ago, when the guys spent their evenings out drinking, they would go home and miss the right door (they were all painted the same and evidently did not have big numbers on them?) ....so the ladies got together and started painting their doors different colors so the guys could remember what door to enter late at night. (Lovely, but it does make one wonder why you don't just skip the alcohol which distorts your judgement....)

Almost all the doors are simple but this one is more ornate and called the Edwardian Door. (Edwardian period of architecture)

Ladies at the Edwardian Door         Below are the 'Gator Doors' and more.

Aha! Oscar Wilde's house!

Statue of Oscar Wilde 

Oscar and the girls

A trip to the museum - Dublin has some amazing museums and they are all FREE. 

Artists at the Museum. Interactive elements are always fun for the kids!

The building was centuries old ...just imagine all of the feet that passed this way throughout the centuries.

THE GPO - The General Post Office - it is beautiful!

Purchasing stamps

Yes, they are automated too! Europe is very up to date!

YESSSSS!

Outside the Gate Theatre. We shot this for Mrs. Matos, our favorite director!

One of the many city walks. We did a LOT of walking!

Shopping was great because the street was so pedestrian friendly. No cars. 

We saw all kinds of street artists..chalkers......

Musicians.........

And political statements. The Occupy people were here too.

We loved the night walks. Chilly yes, but so much fun.

We found the Hard Rock

Dublin at night. 

You have to pay attention to the crossing lights. Terry (on the right) is guarding us!

We made a quick trip through the TempleBar area to see the local night life...the kind we do not participate in.....It was a fast walk because we did not enjoy the environment so much. The street musicians were pretty great though.

The spire was our landmark.You can see it from where ever you are in the city.

The Two Pence bridge over the River Clyde. Back in the day you had to pay the tollkeeper Two Pence if you wanted to cross it.

The River Clyde at night.

One of the many statues on O'Connell Street. 

And dear Mr. O'Connell

We loved Dublin

These next photos are not great because the light was low. As we headed back to the hotel, we passed this street preacher. After the girls proclaimed the message of Jesus Christ with him for a while, he shared his story with us. He was from Africa and his family was brutally killed. For a reason, unknown to him at the time, his life was spared. He told God that if He would help him get out and survive that he would spend the rest of his days proclaiming Christ's love to a lost world. He ended up going to college and is today a Psychotherapist by day and daily, after work, goes to the streets to share the Gospel. 

Meeting him, learning about his story, and sharing with him was one of the very unexpected highlights of our trip. The boldness of the young ladies who stepped up to share with those on the streets was a blessing as well.

May God bless your ministry! He did not have a ministry card...it was just something he did because he made a promise to God. 

Late night at the hotel. It was hard to go to bed that last night. Bags were packed for home, but the fun times together were in the memories that were being made along the way. This was a wonderful group of young people!

Morning trip to the airport.....bye Dublin....we loved all of our destinations and the trip was too short. Hopefully these students will have the desire to travel throughout their lives! God has so much to show them!