Dublin Culture Night

I'm reporting now about last night, which was Culture Night! Apparently it's a holiday across Ireland where all of the museums/galleries/historic locations open their doors for free so people can come take tours and see the latest paintings or even demonstrations of various plays, music, or food. It's a crazy busy night and the perfect night for tourists like moi.

So I left Friday afternoon with a group that included all of the Arcadia girls + 2 guys (don't ask me how they got included, because I have no idea...). We all went down to the train together and took it off to Dublin, arriving just before 5pm, which is when all the exhibits opened.

We had no idea what we were going to do first. We tried the Wax Museum, but they were being jerks and not opening until 7pm. At that point, we split up and me, Carrie, and the 2 guys went off to eat at the (I kid you not, it really is called...) the Bad Ass Cafe, in the Temple Bar Quarter. It was actually more of a restaurant/bar than a cafe, but whatever. I had pasta, which would have been great except it had onions in it that I had to pick out (evil onions! Really, who puts ONIONS in PASTA?). The boys had wings, and they got messy digging into that. Surprise, surprise.

Then we went off to the Historic District. Our first stop was Dublin Castle and boy, was it gorgeous! It was more of a regency castle than a medieval castle. It had ballrooms, parlor rooms, marble statues, giant paintings of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert (and a bunch of other Famous Dead Dudes). There was lots of gold and mirrors and plush, soft carpet. Talk about a place to live!

Outside of Dublin Castle, in the square.

Inside Dublin Castle, in one of the hallways of paintings.

After that we went next door, to Dublin City Hall (which is still being used today, naturally). When we got inside there was a group playing some pretty Irish music in the rotunda. I also went up to one of the official-looking meeting rooms, and actually sat in the cozy leather chair where (I was told) the Lord Mayor actually sat when conducting meetings. So that was cool.

From there we went down the street to the Christ Church Cathedral (I feel like that name seems redundant...or maybe just too much alliteration). From what I learned, the cathedral has been around in one form or another since the late medieval times and is still functioning today. They had some wonderful examples of architecture on display from various centuries, as well as numerous gargoyles. There were also sarcophagi, some of which I weren't sure were empty...

A moment of quiet contemplation in the Christ Church Cathedral.

There were also some beautiful stained-glass windows and a HUGE organ. I won't lie, when I was inside I felt like I was in the middle of a dungeon in Assassin's Creed II. I know, I know...I'm such a nerd. But the last time I was in a church like that I was scaling it in order to reach the hidden cache of ancient Assassin artifacts!

Anyways, we stopped at a few minor places along the way, but our final destination was the Contemporary Music Center. They had a lot of samples of "contemporary" music to listen to. I wasn't sure what contemporary music was when I walked in...well, it sounded very New Age. You know, symbolic. Some of it was very pretty. I especially liked one that sounded like you were in a rain forest. Then there were some stranger ones, like scratchy bleepy noises...*shrugs* whatever. I've never been a huge fan of the modernist movement. I'm a sucker for the classical stuff.

By that time it was late, like 9pm or so, and we had to start heading back. Carrie and Amanda actually stayed behind, believe it or not, to explore some more (I admire their endurance and courage!). By the time we got on the bus, traveled back to Maynooth, and walked all the way to the Apartments I was exhausted. I collapsed in my bed and pretty much went straight to sleep.

Irish Word of the Day: Art - Ealaíne

I saw some wonderful art today. -- Chonaic mé roinnt ealaín iontach lá atá inniu ann.