Next stop - Dublin, Ireland

Traveling to Dublin with Steve, Yoshimi, Howie, Bonnie, Warren, Eric, Brooks and myself ended up being a great choice! Dublin is a fun small-scale city, with lots to see within a fairly compact local area. The sights were all relatively bite-sized - even the top-ranked sights only required a couple of hours to see them - which helped when trying to be tourists while accompanying two active little boys. Yoshimi and I had to duck out of a few activities at various points to give Howie and Brooks a break, but for the most part, we were able to stay together as a group of 8.

The exception to the group togetherness, however, was almost every single sight that had an entrance fee. Brooks seem to decide that he was done with grown-up activities on cue, and choose to communicate his feelings with lots of shouting, mere moments after paying for and beginning three separate guided tours. Note - when a very vocal toddler starts yelling, it's impossible to hear a tour guide! So, Eric and I took turns at Trinity College, Dublin Castle and Kilmainham Jail, listening and reporting back an executive summary of the tour guide's info to whichever one of us was with Brooks. Less than ideal perhaps, but we had several good laughs about it, and thankfully, no one else in the family seemed to mind us ducking in and out of the sights.

Trinity College is home of one of history's most celebrated texts - the Book of Kells - illuminated manuscripts of the four New Testament Gospels in Latin. Our group visit there was difficult, as Brooks was just *done*, but I ended up really getting to enjoy it in the end. After unsuccessfully trying to take Brooks through the museum and library in the backpack, I carried him outside and found a fleeting spot of sunshine to rock him and let him fall asleep on my lap. After Eric finished his tour, while his family went on to the next sight, I carefully transfered a sleeping Brooks to him, and ran back inside to see the Book for just a moment. I had been there twice before on trips with Wendy and Eric, but that afternoon in the moments before closing time, I had the quiet, darkened room to myself. I could lean over this priceless treasure and study the colors and words and patterns and age marks on each page. It was a great "stolen moment", especially after Brooks's challenging last hour. I didn't feel rushed by tourist crowds or by the baby, but had time to savor the beauty and the significance of what the Irish Monks had accomplished almost 1200 years ago. I loved it!

The weather was incredibly windy while we were in Ireland and we found ourselves on one really long head-wind walk to the Guinness Brewery and Storehouse, but we had a great lunch there after our educational stroll through the museum of beer and we re-fortified ourselves before venturing out to tour the Kilmainham Jail. The Jail tour guide did the most amazing job of telling the complete history of the Irish Rebellion in fast-forward. I have never heard anyone talk that fast in my life!

One evening Bonnie and Warren stayed in with the boys so that Steve and Yoshimi and Eric and I could go out on a double date. It was a great evening, and reminded me of their visits to Chicago before any of the kiddos came along. We had a great conversation about work and ex-pat life and I wished for more opportunities to have a sit down visit with them!

Our last day in Dublin, we briefly visited the art museum (a small but quality collection) and the natural history museum (filled with Celtic gold hordes and bog men) and then had a tasty lunch of Boxty's - traditional potato pancake meals. I was glad for a couple of big group meals in Ireland, while the boys were easily entertained across the table from each other and we could talk about what we were seeing. Here are some of the pictures of the trip, mostly of the family but a few of the sights that we saw, too!

Eric and Brooks at Trinity College (pre-tour one of them is smiling!)


Before our tour of Dublin castle...


Howie introducing Brooks to "Puppy"


Cousin Howie and Dada helped Brooks do laps around the Dublin Castle parlor while we waited for the tour to begin, to the delight of his mama as well as other tourists!


Yoshimi and Howie enjoying the Water exhibit at the Guinness Storehouse. Brooks could yell as loud as he wanted next to the falls... He loved this room!


A late lunch at Guinness, enjoying our free pint... Brooks liked the crayons, but I think he confused them for food.


After lunch, the boys each sacked out on his dad's back for a little shut-eye.



Yoshimi and Howie check out one of the jail cells in the new "modern" portion of the jail house, built in the Victorian Era.


Graffiti left by the Irish Rebels. There were lots of reminders of the men and women who died to earn the Irish their freedom from the crown, as well as many stories of the Famine. The poor would commit petty crimes so they could be thrown in jail - an over-crowded prison was actually preferable to freedom, as no one had any food outside the prison walls.


Brooks contemplates a hungry night in prison.


Leaving the Victorian wing of the Jail...


A quick visit to the National Gallery of Ireland - Howie enjoyed the audio guide, I enjoyed the Vermeer and Rembrandt.


Our last group dining in Ireland, sampling boxtys. We missed the Irish musicians by only moments, but still loved the meal.


I can't believe how grown-up Brooks looks in this photo.


The boys got all their wiggles out in the hotel lobby before we took off for the airport.


In the van on the way to the airport.


Brooks getting silly with his kissy face!


Sweet kisses for Nana.


Getting sleepy...


Everyone was exhausted by the time we landed back at Gatwick, but Grandpa did a great job of entertaining the boys on the train ride home with the "disappearing puppy act"! Brooks was fascinated and not yet a great guesser, but Howie figured it out fast! Good job, Grandpa, with keeping everyone happy!