Day Five - Bloomsday

The decision was made to spend some time apart, pursuing our own interests and we followed through with it this time. For the morning, however, everyone was on the same page. Immediately after breakfast, we began walking to the north, heading for the Dublin Writer's Museum and the James Joyce Center. We wandered the blocks at random, found the Abbey Theater by accident and just generally enjoyed the city and our response to it. As we trekked farther along, I realized our wandering had brought us fairly close to the James Joyce Center, so I suggested we visit it first and then loop back to the Writer's Museum. On the very next street, we found the JJC, along with the actors who were portraying the different characters, some street vendors, and readings of the masterpiece of confusion known as Ulysses by various individuals. The first reading we heard was a section read by the Chinese ambassador to Ireland, which was quite interesting.
After some required gift shop time, we wandered on to the Writer's Museum and paid for the audio tour. I must confess that at this point my fascination with the literary heritage of Ireland and Dublin began to lag. I am one of the world's fastest museum visitors. I arrive, I see, I leave. I have tried to absorb myself in things, to spend that time in quiet contemplation of art or the accomplishment of man or nature, but I cannot. Sights are quickly cataloged, placards are read, and everything is filed away for future use. I do not drink deeply and absorb – I sip and taste, I get the flavor, and then, if I like it and want it, I come back for more and immerse myself in the experience.
After the museum, we each went our own way. I do not know what Kim and Brian did, but Bea and I walked together for the rest of the day and it was a pleasant time. We had discussed going to the Guinness Storehouse, but I admitted that there was little I could learn about making the beer and she doesn't like the stuff, so instead we went in search of a place known as The Porterhouse – rated by the beer god Michael Jackson as the best microbrewery in Dublin. There I tried one of their more popular brews – Wranglers XXXX. That was, without a doubt, the best beer I had in Ireland. Creamy, bitter, sweet, without the watery feel that Guinness has developed over the last several years.
After I finished my beer, we wandered towards Dublin Castle and Bea convinced me to go the Chester Beatty library. I am pleased she did this, because they let us in to see the Da Vinci exhibit right away on the ticket we'd had for the first day. Now that was a great exhibit! I was so absorbed in trying to read the drawings on the folio pages (his original backwards handwriting!) that I bumped into the glass several times. Even now, thinking about it, I am amazed that I had the opportunity to view those priceless pages. I can't believe I'm saying this, but “Thank You, Bill Gates!!!” - he now owns the Codex Leicester and has made it available for viewing by the world.
Bea and I found a nice Italian restaurant after the exhibit and had a quiet meal together and then went to hear readings from two authors that had been commissioned for the Festival called “Ocean Reveries”. Since Dublin is cut through by the River Liffey and is a coastal city, the organizers of the festival wanted to know how it affected writers, so they arranged with the Vancouver International Writer's Festival to trade authors for a week. Two authors from coastal communities in Canada came to Dublin and gave their views of the role of water and waterfront in the formation of the soul of a city. It was a very pleasant moment for me, one of the better programs of the event.
We met Brian and Kim afterwards and went out on the town – this time successfully finding a pub with a band and getting a good rousing sing on. It might not have been the traditional, spontaneous singing of the old songs of rebellion and longing that I was searching for, but perhaps the tourist-filled quarters of Dublin are not the best place to find that. I enjoyed myself, I drank many pints, and I spoke in friendly tones about friendly things to a great many people. A moment of good cheer and good relations – we need more of this in everyday life.