Postcard Friendship Friday

Since Marie's PFF entry today is featuring a look at mailboxes of Dublin, I think I will follow her lead and write about another unforgettable Dublin sight.

In 1998 the stars aligned and I was blessed to take a trip to Ireland with a fun group of people who became lasting friends. As part of our stay in Dublin we went on a tour of the city with a guide. The tour ended at Trinity College Dublin which was founded in 1592 by Elizabeth I. Only Protestants were allowed to attend school here for nearly three centuries. Catholics were barred.


Trinity College is home to the Book of Kells, which is an illustrated manuscript dating to 800 AD. Irish monks copied and decorated the text which is the four Christian gospels. They wrote on calfskin using black, red, yellow and purple ink.

I admit I was completely ignorant of all we would see that day. We left the room containing the Book of Kells by entering the Treasury, walking up a creaky set of steep stairs into a small hallway type anteroom and then we stepped through a door into the most magnificent library I've ever been in. It honesty took my breath away.

This two story room with an immense barrel vaulted ceiling is known as the Old Library. It contains 200,000 of the Library's oldest books.

Imagine being a life-long bibliophile and finding this scene before you.

This is the back of the 1st postcard showing Trinity College. I can't remember, but I imagine it has postage on it because I meant to send it to either Rachel or TJ, whom I had left at home with their older brother and their dad. I tried to mail them each a postcard every day detailing some aspect of the trip that I thought would interest them.

On this 1st trip of mine, I was given good advice by a more seasoned traveler. She said I should buy postcards of everything I enjoyed seeing....because you never know if your pictures will turn out good or not. Of course this trip was before the use of digital cameras with instant picture viewing became widespread. I have her advice to thank for these postcards I share with you today.

Happy PFF!