Ireland . . . day 1

we landed in Dublin just before 7am local time, after about a six hour flight that departed Newark around 7pm EST. I tried to sleep a bit, but of course that came to little actual rest. the flight wasn't bad though, and if I remember the flight to Amsterdam correctly, this one was easier.

we were met by Andy, our tour guide for the week outside of baggage claim, and then all fifty of us followed him to the bus to load up for a tour of Dublin. part of the tour took us through Phoenix Park, where the residences of the Irish president and the American ambassador are located. America is well loved by Ireland, as we were the first country to recognize them as a country after they gained independence from Britain. no other ambassadors live in the park.

eventually we stopped outside of Trinity College to see the Book of Kells. now this was exciting to me for several reasons. I've studied it as Art, as musical inspiration, but most of all it is a book of the four Gospels . . . Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. in some of the darkest times in history, the saints and scholars of Ireland preserved the written texts of the Bible. the Book of Kells is one of those. it is an illuminated manuscript many centuries old. pictures aren't allowed inside the areas where the book is kept, as light damages the over 1,000 year old book. the room where you can view it is kept extremely dim. still, it was amazing to see the actual book, instead of slides on an auditorium wall.

after Trinity college, we piled back on the bus, and met John, our driver for the week. more on John later . . .

John drove us to Jurys Inn which is in downtown Dublin. our check-in was later in the day so we unloaded our bags into a secured room that they had for that purpose, and then wandered over to some local Pubs and restaurants for lunch. or, as it turned out . . . brunch. it wasn't quite noon yet so not all of the Pubs were open. in Ireland, Pubs are the places to go eat. trust me on this. after the meal we headed back to the hotel where some of our rooms were beginning to come ready. the hot shower was fantastic at that point.

around four we headed over to the Brazen Head Pub, Irelands oldest pub. it dates back 1198. I had the beef and Guinness stew, which is going to become a staple recipe in my kitchen. it was wonderful. the dinner took quite a while, but eventually we finished and I went with the choir to Monkstown for their evening concert. yes, it was that night . . . they were troopers. while the choir warmed up I went across the street with a couple of other "non-singers" from the trip and had a real Irish Guinness. it's not the same by the time it gets over here to the US.

the concert was a joint affair with the Dun Laohghaire Choir at the Parish Church in Monkstown. it was exceptional, and the audience was quite receptive to the FCC choir. afterwards there was a small reception across the street for the performers and friends. they were very nice. after that we piled back onto the bus and headed for the hotel and our beds.