In Ireland, St. Patrick's Day is over.
OK, OK, we know this day is over in Dublin, Ireland.
The 4-hour time difference thing.
(I think it's 5 hours if you take away our Daylight Savings Time factor.)
So
St. Patrick's Day has come and gone.
Officially.
Well, it would have been appropriate to re-visit the worlds tallest Leprechaun.
Ah, me lad, but he is out there on the streets, waving at tourists, all year long.
Collecting coins in his good-sized wee hat.
And that's grand.
But The Emerald Isle is much more than that stale stereotype.
On the campus at Trinity College (University of Dublin), I went into the
Old Library and The Book of Kells Exhibition.
"The Book" is a 9th Century Gospel Manuscripts, beautifully illustrated.
Actually, it has been divided into the Four Gospels so tourists can crowd close as two are usually on display in the upstairs, darkened room.
Large signs say "No Photography" but I eased out my small camera to get a dim natural light shot of an enlarged page illustration.
Unfortunately, in the dark, I did not properly turn off my flash and
WOW..it was bright!
I quickly jammed it back in my pocket and joined all the others, looking around to see who had been so rude!
Later I realized the face looked very familiar and finally it dawned that I was looking at
Jay Leno dressed in a funny outfit. Reading from a cue card.
For a short while, on Daniel Island, we had the only Irish pub around offering the traditional Irish Boxty.
The thin pancakes are rolled up and stuffed with meat, sweets or veggies. I had it a few times at the Dublin Down before it closed.
Not to be confused with the traditional
Irish Breakfast, served around the clock.
The white and black pudding slices caught my eye.
This was enjoyed while on a train taking me south and inland down to Cork.
There I boarded a sightseeing tour bus with an excellent tour guide.
I flash back to many of these memories every March 17.
The other "food" served day and night was a refreshing pint of Guinness.
Or two.
Actually, you could have a Guinness with breakfast ..served around 5:00 in the afternoon.
I know this for a fact.
This year the St. Paddy's celebration here in Charleston was dampened by rain.
A steady downpour.
But I'm almost positive the Irish invented umbrellas just in case that happened.
I saw that parades still were held and I'm sure some places served beer tinted green.
(Click on the pictures for more details.)
I understand the celebration lasted four days in Savannah.
Hope boxties were available.
Labels: Book of Kells, boxty & boxties, Irish breakfast, Trinity College, University of Dublin, world's tallest Leprechaun
Night time Photography...
Friday night I took my camera to take pictures of pictures.
Prize-winning action & adventure sports photos.
The top 50 of 23,000 worldwide entries.
The
Red Bull Illume tour started in Dublin, then Houston, Texas and now is here in Charleston on Marion Square.
Only at night.
The unique exhibit of enlarged back-lighted photos was turned on Friday and will be on display evenings from 7:00pm to 11:00pm through Sunday March 27.
My
photography group was offered 10 VIP tickets to the opening and we brought our cameras.
Well, DUH. Of course we did.
The challenge, as twilight turned very dark, was to find a balance to show the brightly-lighted images and the people viewing them.
As you'll see on the link, the troops did a fine job of capturing the unique setting.
Kevin Harp, a co-coordinator for the group, probably surprised the sponsors with his use of a silhouetted skateboarder.
Fellow member Dee posed to seemingly "pluck" the airborne skater with her fingers.
This exhibit is very family-friendly.
Parents pushing strollers.
Eager kids crowding close to the images.
There's even one in
3-D and the familiar red and blue glasses are provided.
The only nude shot I saw was from Spain.
It was tastefully presented.
Apparently after a race of some sort, the winner is
"de-panted" and tossed into the water.
It looked like the tide was low.
(Click on the photos for details. And click on the group link to see more pictures taken that evening.Go to Marion Square to see this unusual exhibit before it leaves town for Miami. Thanks for stopping by.)
Labels: Dublin, Houston, Marion Square, nude, Red Bull Illume tour, Trinity College
An Irish Literary Tour ...
Looking back over several blog postings about my trip to Ireland and Germany, I detect a theme.
Drinking beer seemed very popular.
Well, there's more to life than Guinness.
There's a terrific and entertaining
Dublin Literary Walk.
After walking over to Trinity College (above) to hear some Oscar Wilde stories, our small group huddled close in front of a church that now serves as a Visitors Center and paid rapt attention to two Irish actors (L-R Frank Smith and Colm Quilligan).
Colm quipped that the "
This church continues to provide guidance to confused people who come in seeking direction." 
One of the stops included
O'Neill's, the first drinking establishment we had visited upon our arrival in Dublin. Check out their excellent buffet.
Oh. Surprise. The tour started at
The Duke pub and visited three others.
In diverse settings, the two actors recited passages from the writings of famed Irish writers including James Joyce (Ulysses), Brendan Behan, Samuel Beckett, Yeats and others.
They threw out clues to the "quiz" for prizes that would be held at the end of the 2 hour, 15 minute adventure over cobblestone streets, back alleys and cozy pubs.
Labels: Beckett, Behan, Dublin Literary Pub Crawl, James Joyce, O'Neill's, Oscar Wilde, Trinity College, Yeats
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