Gardens & Castles.

I haven't gone anywhere spectacular since midterms, which is okay by me. It's been paper-writing time (& I didn't get as much done as I wanted, but I wasn't really expecting to. I have time). Over the weekend we explored Dublin a bit more; I went to Dublin Castle with Cozy, Lee & Meghan. And before that I found Ivaugh Gardens, which are somewhere behind St Stephen's Green, & smaller, & much emptier of people. You know those determined quests to find something you know is around & you know is worth it, where you get lost & then stumble upon it randomly & it turns out to be just as good as you wanted? Yeah, well...it was like that.

But first have some DUCKLINGS!




I found Ivaugh Gardens, & they were wonderful. I found a side entrance & came down a ramp to this:



There's a rose garden near that entrance, & when you're inside all of the outside views are framed by the tall fence:



In summer I imagine it's covered in vines & flowers...in winter, it's just bare green metal. There were only a few roses in the rose garden, & none of them very bright. The gardens in winter have a hunkered down feeling, a more peaceful feeling. It's a little desolate, but not unhappily so.

I climbed up a little rocky hill outside the rose circle to look down on it.



Just to the side of the roses, further into the garden, is a large landscaped lawn, everything manicured (or as much as one can with leaves going everywhere), and two large fountains.



The angels take their job seriously.



And more lawns--and a waterfall!







And there were identical gates to either side of the waterfall, gates that were sadly locked. This was more frustrating than usual, because--well, just look at that gate! It's too interesting to be unbroachable.



Further afield, there's...a field. (...sorry.)



And some art, artistically placed near a litter bin...



And some more art, this time with a head:




DUBLIN CASTLE



These are the gardens behind Dublin Castle, right outside the Chester Beatty Library (to which I went to with the parents last week--really gorgeous & eclectic collection, mostly of religious books and art).



Back on the other side--this is the entrance.



The figure of Justice, inside the ground & opposite the entrance to the main castle building. But this Justice isn't blindfolded, like the allegory usually is.

So Dublin Castle is not exactly a castle anymore; most of that burned down a few hundred years ago, although one tower survives (I bet you can spot it in my photos...). It was the home of the Viceroy for England before Ireland gained independence, and as such was home to state dinners, balls, Important Guests & other suchlike. Now it's government offices. But lots of the old sumptuous still remains:



(Outside the main room, just up the stairs from the entrance.)



(A side room, once a drawing room, now used to show off a table donated by a narcoleptic judge.)



(The Ladies' Drawing Room, where said Ladies would wait to be asked into the ballroom. If you were a Ladie you weren't allowed into the ballroom except as a man's partner. Pshaw, I say.)



(The banquet room. The Viceroy would sit in the middle, opposite all those mirrors, which were tilted just so, in order for him to spy on everyone in the room. Hah.)



(The ceiling of the ballroom / state room / etc. The painter of those (whose name I sadly can't remember at the moment) was an Italian, who was living in Irish society. He was invited to a wedding, and the groom wasn't showing up, with the poor bride waiting at the altar...so he walked up there & offered to marry her instead. & she said yes.)

And the last part of the tour was down into the other tower they still have, which is all underground; it is being excavated & archeological work is being done on it. Mostly it is old walls & stopped up passages & rocks. & because I am a nerd, I think it's way cool. (Sorry the photos are dark. We were basically in a big hole.)









& it's definitely time for bed; classes are starting to wear us all out. And tomorrow? Tomorrow is finally Wednesday. Which means Joel's arriving in Dublin!