10 Questions About…

1. On Saturday we went to Phoenix Park – to see Áras an Uachtaráin (the President’s house). Our plan was to leave early and get our tickets earlier – but no go. We didn’t leave early and of course we didn’t really know where to get the tickets once we got to Phoenix Park. We’re not really as organized in real life as we may appear on the blog – but we got there early enough to get the ticket somehow.

The Phoenix Park is a huge park. We rarely go there because it’s really the opposite side of Dublin – but I think it’s the largest park in Europe – definitely the largest walled park. There’s 6 miles of fencing surrounding the park. It was created as a hunting park in the 1600’s (going off memory now, not Wikipedia so don’t go making any bar bets on the following but…). So the British brought over a herd of deer – in fact you can still see the herd in the park. We only saw one, big deer, but we have seen the herd in the past.

1. We went past the Wellington Monument and the Cross, which was built when the Pope came to visit in 1979 (again making up that date). Patrick must have told us a million times that he was there for the Pope’s visit. We walked past soccer fields, polo fields, cricket grounds, and the zoo. We went up to the Ashtown Castle. (That’s where we were able to get the tickets for the tour of Áras an Uachtaráin.)

Ashtown Castle has a nice café and we were starving. We went into the interpretive area; they started the movie just for us. We walked through the walled garden, played in the playground and eventually got the bus to the President’s house.

Sadly we couldn’t take pictures in the house – but we did get a picture outside. The house is beautiful, but I have to say the view of the Dublin Mountains is amazing. The tour guide was great. She repeated some of the stories we heard last weekend in the government buildings – but her delivery was much better!

I remembered the story of the fireplaces (in the house and government building). They were designed by Pietro Bossi. He found a way to color marble. On his deathbed his eldest son hoped for the secret to dying the marble – and Bossi just said, “there’s only one God and there’s only one Bossi.”

Also they had a bowl created from wood found at the Battle of the Boyne – at the time of the Battle. Apparently one bowl went to the President and one to Ian Paisley – in a peacemaking/peace-appreciating effort. I actually could rattle off a few more tidbits except that I suspect that without pictures the stories lose something.

One last tidbit Phoenix Park isn’t named after the phoenix rising, it’s actually an English corruption of the Irish Fhionn-Uisce, which means clear water. There’s lots of clear water in the park.

Last night Patrick and I went to see Christ Deliver Us, a play by Thomas KiIroy produced at the Abbey. When Patrick ordered tickets the box office told him that the play contained sensitive materials, there were no refunds, and only front row sees were left. Gulp!

So we were a little nervous going in – but while the show was bleak and certainly not for kids it wasn’t what I imagined. The show is a picture of Ireland in the 1950’s. So there are some statements about religion and sex – but the nudity was minimal and absolutely no audience participation. When I say the show was bleak – I mean the themes. It was very black. So that’s a little bit more my style than Patrick’s. The staging was really impressive.

The action in the first act was a little choppy but the staging was so creative that it worked. One scene includes a group playing hurling on stage – something that makes you a little nervous if you’re in the front row and not know for your quick eye-hand coordination. There’s a dance class scene that goes from awkward (dance class in a single-sex school is rarely everyone’s favorite) to fun to watch when two dancers are able to find the music. One character is killed and then buried under the floorboards in a clean easy sweep that is so surprising – and other great moves.

We started the evening at the Winding Stairs, a restaurant we have tried to visit before. It was worth the wait!

Last weekend we wrestled with a lot of kids activities. Kate had a birthday party. Lily had a slumber party. But in the midst of the social schedule we managed a quick trip into town for a tour of the government buildings. We were very proud of ourselves for getting out of the house in time to get tickets to take the tour.

Sadly we couldn’t take any pictures in the building. And we were followed by security everywhere (everyone on the tour, not just us!). But it was fun. We saw the cabinet rooms and some the slick technology they use. The walls of the building are full of very modern art, which I liked. We got to see the Taoiseach’s office. The Taoiseach is like a Prime Minister. (There is also an Irish president; we’re hoping to visit her house tomorrow.)

The tour guide provided a lot of information – maybe too much to take in on a Saturday but it was fun.

Last week I went to a Facebook Developer Garage. It was interesting. It was fun to hear from folks who develop application that run on Facebook. I phrase it that way because only one of the five who spoke worked at Facebook. If you’re a Facebook user, you know how Facebook changes periodically. Most of us find that annoying – well imagine how well that works for a developer. Criminy! 

I learned a lot about gamers. The biggest gaming demographer is women, aged 48. But as the speaker pointed out any real gamers (the 18 year olds we all imagine) are out playing real games on game sites. Facebook is kind of gaming junior. I’m not saying I’ve never been sucked in by a Facebook game – my super nerdy score of 150,000 on Word Play will attest to some playing. (Although I haven’t touched it in a year since I did get a little addicted.)

It took place at the Science Gallery – my favorite place in Dublin.

So the reason we’re so busy this week is that the girls were off from school Monday and Tuesday. On Tuesday we decided to have a church day.

First we went to Whitefriars, where they have bones from St Valentine. We wanted to see this before Valentine’s Day but that didn’t work out. It was fun to see them today. The church is very ornate. They seem to have relics (our word of the day) from lots of saints and plenty of candles to light. Whenever Irish Grandma picks up Aine from school, they go to the church at the school to light candles; so Aine was *very* into lighting candles at Whitefriar.

Whitefriar also has a life size oak figure of Our Lady of Dublin. I tried to get a good picture there. Hopefully it came out.

After Whitefriar, we went to St Michan’s. OK, first let me say that St Michan’s is an untapped gem. The church from the outside is pretty unassuming. It’s just north of the Liffey, kind of near Smithfield, very near a Viking ruin that’s currently being excavated. So while that way too much detail for most readers I guess what I’m saying is that this is pretty much off the tourist path.

According to Wikipedia, “While the exterior of the church may be unimpressive, the interior boasts some fine woodwork, and an organ (dated 1724) on which Handel is said to have composed his Messiah.” We didn’t hear that at the church, but clearly I’ll be adding that from now on. I did take a picture of the woodwork, which apparently was done from one piece of wood. Impressive.

On the altar is a drape that came from the Dublin Castle Chapel. They quit using the Dublin Castle Chapel years ago and folks figured the drape had been tossed – until someone noticed it decorating a stall in the Liberties market! Makes me want to go to more markets.

The coolest part of St Michan’s by far is the crypt beneath the church. Originally (1095) the site was a Danish Chapel. It was rebuilt/reconstructed in 1686 – but the crypt seems to date closer to the original structure – or at least the inhabitants too.

I tried to take some pictures. The walls in the crypt contain limestone, which has kept the air dry, the temperature is very temperate and apparently there is a lot of methane (a natural gas or as the tour guide told us, cow farts) creating ideal conditions for preservation. Among the preserved remains are a 400-year-old nun, a six-and-a-half foot alleged crusader, Henry and John Sheares (leaders of the 1798 rebellion), and a body with its hands and feet severed. The various holders of the title Earl of Kenmare were also interred here.

But the very best part is that apparently it’s lucky to touch the hand of a crusader – so they let you go in and touch the mummy!! It’s supposedly 800 years old. You have to climb over the 3 other mummies to get to it. We all touched his hand. Creepy, but cool!!

The tour guide was fantastic. He was so animated, informed and excited about everything. Never mind turning a blind eye to cameras. In the crypt are burial rooms. Back in the day, families would pay something like 2-3 years’ salary for the right to be buried in the crypt. Essentially they bought a room but then the families could always be buried there. None of them are buried there today – but if an Abbott or Hamilton wanted to be buried (I don’t know if that’s the right word, maybe laid out is better) there they would have to take them.

The Hamilton family is the family of Scientist Sir Wm Rowan Hamilton. What I love about all the stuff we do is that the pieces always fit together. Today we saw a statue of Hamilton – and I knew immediately who it was – or at least where he could be buried. (Also it’s a sign of how good the tour guide was – because really what a boring thing to remember or relay here – but I had to do it.)

To nip it in the bud, it was really good and we all got to touch a mummy. That’s the only thing that will be on the quiz.

On Lisa’s last full day in Ireland we went to Howth. Howth is the opposite side of Dublin Bay from where we live. You can take the DART from Bray to Howth, which is pretty much like taking it from start to finish. The journey can get a little long, but it’s pretty and it is a good way to get there.

Luckily the girls like to play on the poles in the DART so that passes the time.

We went down the pier and saw about 8 seals, which is always a thrill. The pier didn’t seem as high as when we went there with Aine 2 years ago. In fact I’m sure it wasn’t as high, since the water is definitely higher (bringing the pier closer to the top of the water). Sadly the boats don’t run to the Eye of Ireland (little island off Howth) yet. But we’re coming back in April, when they do run.

We climbed up to the abbey ruins. We had a nice lunch as a place called Deep. The girls and I shared an appetizer platter that included mussels and calamari; maybe a sign that we eat out too often. It was a good but tiring day. We got loads of good pictures because Howth really is very picturesque.

Last weekend, when Patrick and I were at the Dark Dining event, Lily and Kate went to see the All Ireland Talent Show. It’s a kinder, gentler American Idol. The girls got tickets through their friends Ailbhe and Cait. The show starts at 6:30 on Sunday nights. The girls had to be at the studio at 4:00 – but they had free cookies and drinks at the studio. They were surprised at how small the studio was.

Everyone was given a wristband. They got yellow bands, which meant they were in the Northern Ireland section. The contest has judges that has each selected acts from their location of origin: the North, South, East, West and Dublin. Dana is the celebrity star from the North. The girls sat right behind her and got to talk to her. They also got the host’s (Grainne Seoige) autograph for Patrick; he has a crush on her.

The audience had to practice cheering – a lot. (The girls have complained a ton about that one! Although I think they kind of enjoyed it.) I haven’t heard too much about the actual performers. I think once the show started things went very quickly. I did get texts from Lily every 10 minutes until they made every turn off their phones.

The big winners were the gymnastic team from Tuam. So the sad news was that the North didn’t win. The good news was that their dad was born in Tuam and that’s who their Irish Grandma wanted to win.

On Valentine’s we went to our Dark Dining event at the Science Gallery. It was maybe the strangest, most anxious night I have ever had. But we really enjoyed it.

About 50 people attended the dinner. Mostly it looked like couples – not group of folks or double dates. Everyone looked nervous. We were led into the dining room in groups of 14. We were in the last group. We all got into an elevator and then we had to put on our blindfolds and we were told we couldn’t take them off until the night want done and we were back in the elevator. And the blindfolds were serious. You couldn’t see anything with them on.

So they led us into the room and set us at the table. It was terrible at first. The room seemed really loud. We didn’t know if we were next to other people or if people were seated next to us. Patrick kept pulling my chair closer to him, which really disoriented to me. Luckily the people across from us were super friendly. They had been dating for a month – and both had a great sense of humor. As we talked to them we started to relax. The wine didn’t hurt.

The first course was a slice of baguette with brie and a pear/raspberry chutney. It was good and not scary! I called the brie; Roz, our new friend, called the chutney. They don’t tell you what the food is until the end of the night, which is clearly a little sunnerving – but fun. You had to guess what it was by feeling it and then tasting it. What was fun was that the first person served a plate had the responsibility of describing the food to the others. Also we had silverware, which I tried to use, but really you end up stuffing the morsel onto the tines with your fingers. Not super classy – but fairly efficient. The only time I was bummed with this process was with dessert. Ice cream is hard to eat blind.

Occasionally there would be performance interludes. It seemed as if the musicians were playing right behind me – well as if some of them were and some were walking around playing loads of different instruments. And sometimes people would come and run your back. The first time Patrick tried to stealthily ask it that was me. But I have to image that you’re not very sneaky when blindfolded – plus the person was close enough to be touching us so probably she heard. Really working an event like this has to be as much fun as attending.

I took some pictures – with my blindfold on. I was trying to be somewhat discreet but again – tough to be discreet when you’re blindfolded. It looks as if folks caught me and posed for the picture. Our new friends took a picture of us. Really I can’t even tell you how hard it is to sit in a room when you don’t know the layout. Even though I *think* I know what room we were in, I didn’t have a feel about how many tables there were or where folks were sitting or where the kitchen was or the waiters…

I won’t go into the whole menu in detail. (You can see it here.) But I will tell you that I ate the raw oyster. I’m not lining up to eat more but I ate it! I didn’t eat the asparagus. I know loads of people love asparagus – I don’t. Usually I love seafood – but I didn’t love it as much blindfolded. I think the smell of the oyster on the plate may have just been too overwhelming. The oyster had a very strong smell of the sea. Lily and I had actually been walking on the pier and then beach that morning so it was just a little too close.

Also there are interludes of romantic facts or lore. At one time Patrick was supposed to try to hold my wrist to feel the skin, then muscle, maybe down to bone. That kind of thing just makes me giggle.

Lily and I took a walk around Dun Laoghaire, Monkstown, Seapoint. We saw a rainbow, no seals, but someone swimming despite the fact that it was about 36 degrees! You can see the guy getting into the water in one picture.

We went to eat with everyone at The Pub in Monkstown, which is a great restaurant. It was Lisa’s birthday so they sent an extra dessert, which was nice.

At night Patrick and I took a walk down to the new Samuel Beckett Bridge, really we were wasting time before our super fun Dark Dining event – but the pictures were cool.