Trinity Long Room and Successful Family Photos

My presence here means that I survived my big trip to Switzerland, Germany, and Poland! It was an amazing experience and I can't wait to tell you all about it. BUT, because I like chronological order, we're going to ignore that week. Instead, we're going to rewind back to when my family was here.

To set the scene: a wonderfully lucky, sunny day in February. My family was even happier about the weather than I was because our house at home was legitimately buried under the snow. Our area had been pounded with snowstorm after snowstorm and the icicles hanging off our gutters were massive. As much as they love winter, they were excited to get a break from the snow and freezing temperatures!

One of the coolest things we did, aside from the Guinness Storehouse obviously, was to see the Book of Kells and the Long Room in the Trinity Library.

Fun Fact: you can only walk on the green next to the library if you have a masters degree from the college. The security guard who shared this with us also cracked that it was all his son's creative writing degree was useful for!

I thought the Book of Kells exhibit was fascinating and read almost every description there was; I was especially enraptured by a video showing how a book was bound by hand. But, I was underwhelmed by the actual book itself. How boring is it that you can only see one page?

From the Book of Kells exhibit, you are escorted into the Trinity Long Room. The Long Room is a place I really wanted to see and it did not disappoint! My inner-book nerd felt so happy being surrounded by so many books.

When walking in, I was hit with the enormity of the room. It's definitely well-named! It felt like the room went on forever.

And everything was so artfully arranged. I spent most of my time snapping as many pictures as I could, trying to capture the beauty of the old books. 

As beautiful as it was, the Long Room didn't really feel like a library. There were no cozy chairs to settle into and it was clear that the books aren't read often, or probably even ever. 

It seemed like a shame to me to have all of those important words and profound thoughts, but no one ever reads them. All of those golden brown spines lined up one after another, towering far above your head, are impressive. But what if you were allowed to pluck one of those books off the shelf and lose yourself in it's content? Wouldn't you appreciate it more?

Don't get me wrong: I loved the Long Room. Just ask my family how much time I spent there! I just couldn't help but think about the part in The Great Gatsby where the drunk man comments on the books still being bound. Like the books in Gatsby's library, the books in the Trinity Library are just for show, they're never actually read. It doesn't make the collection any less beautiful though.

We stopped for a few pictures outside of Trinity and took our first successful family photos in a long time. Okay, maybe ever! 

For once, we all look happy and we didn't fight over the photos! 

We might be short, but we're a pretty good looking family if I do say so myself.

Not long after these photos were taken, I dropped my phone in the toilet (oops!) so the rest of their visit isn't well documented. The remainder of the week was spent in Galway, enjoying trad music in pubs and strolls down Shop Street. 

It was so great to have the fam here, and who knows, we might all be back in four years if Brian decides to study abroad in Galway! (If I have anything to do with it, he definitely will...)