Fantastic Day

I had a fantastic day today! Why you ask? Here are your options based on my events of the day:

a) Latin class

b) Wonderful crepe shop

c) GOT TO GO BEYOND THE ROPE IN THE LONG ROOM AT TRINITY COLLEGE

d) Ate Boston Cream Pie

If you guessed anything but c, there is no hope for you.

If you guessed a....there are no words...

Now I shall commence to explain c:

There's a card graduate students can get that allows them access to all of the academic libraries in Ireland. Today, three of us decided to go check out Trinity's library as they seem to have most of the documents pertaining from the Early Modern Period and before. We browsed in the actual library for awhile (the other two did actual research, I read about Michael Collins :) then we decided to go find where they keep the manuscripts. After many trips down drafty tunnels and quite a few stairs, we found the early printed books section. After a brief explanation of how the system worked, the librarian instructed us to the manuscripts section, which is behind the Long Room (it's the "old library"). We went into the gift shop in the front of the portion housing the Book of Kells and inquired as to how exactly we were supposed to get to the designated place and were told to go up the exit and around. We then got yelled at for going up said exit and told to just show our student passes to the ticket guy. When asking said ticket guy, he told us to go up the exit. Talk about mixed information. We then told him about getting yelled at and he said, "Well...I guess you get a free viewing of the Book of Kells!" Talk about awesome. One of my friends had never seen it so she was really excited. We then went up to the Long Room (absolute favorite room ever) and asked yet another security guard where to go. He took us beyond the roped off section and led us to the back of the room where he instructed us in how to get to the manuscripts. Talk about feeling awesome compared to all the tourists that were in there!

My ending will be another link. I've already shared it on Facebook, but it's hilarious so must be done here as well.

http://www.rosvall.ie/Irish-beginners.html

My favorite line out of the whole article:

"The Irish attitude to weather is the ultimate triumph of optimism over experience: Every time it rains, we look up at the sky and are shocked and betrayed."