5/31/2004 Dublin at the Litton Lane Hostel

Breakfast of ‘wheat bix’, cornflakes, and toast. Conversation with two Ozzies transplanted to London. Lots of Ozzies and Italians staying here at the Litton Lane Hostel. Took a short job along the River Liffey, which would have been enjoyable without all the cars and smog. Something about the smells reminded me of jogging in Japan, of the damp smell beside canals and rivers. Took a walk across to the vicinity of Trinity College, and had a coffee in a sandwich place. Most of the workers there were Chinese, probably exchange students. I ended up buying a new backpack later on, and negotiated the price in mandarin. The seller quickly offered a five euro discount. According to him, there are many many Chinese in Ireland, which is fairly surprising to me. Is there a Chinatown here?
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Trinity College: quite bustling, both from its students and tourists. I’m not sure if I’ve ever seen a college campus turned into such a state before. Certainly at Princeton, most of the visitors are highschool students and their families scouting out the University. Trinity was charging ten euros to see the Book of Kells, an early example of ancient Celtic writing, but I passed up the chance. Ten euros!
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Saint Patrick’s Cathedral: dark and solemn on the interior. The final resting place of the acerbic Jonathon Swift, who acted as Dean there later in his life.


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Guinness Storehouse: My, they sure know how to make some rather obvious facts look glamorous. Guinness (“black gold” we’re told over and over) is made from water, hops, and malted barley, plus ‘magic’. Add water fountains, videos, and moody blue lights, and you have six floors of entertainment, including a massive giftshop. Preaching to the converted I guess is pretty easy. We were all there to celebrate Guinness anyway, so why bother with surprises? One thing that I did learn though was that the Guinness Book of World Records was originally produced at the request of the manager of the Guinness Brewery in the 1950s to resolve barroom debates. I guess that also gives you some insight into the Irish pub culture.

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Rain, rain rain. The weather returned to its ‘typical’ state. I’m concered that I may end up climbing hills in the rain tomorrow.