A Long Room of Words

Courtesy of Wikepedia

On my trip through Ireland last spring my granddaughter and I had quite a wonderful time exploring in various cities and towns our tour took us through.  The first city we explored was Dublin the Capital.  On our free afternoon while there we decided to take in The Book of Kells at Trinity College.

The Book was so unbelievable, Looking at the various pages under glass it was easy to imagine  all the colors that were used when it was first created on calf-skins around 800 A.D.  Those calf-skin pages just reeked of the history of this fabulous country.  But for my granddaughter, Becca and I the real treat was as we exited the room where the Book of Kells was and climbed the marble stairs to the library’s Long Room of Trinity College.  Honestly, it was an amazing first look AND smell of any place I have ever been!  For those who love books the smell that is associated with them is so tantalizing.  It says, “Here lies ancient tomes that are truly precious!”

We walked every place in the Room that was not roped off and browsed and examined the many books under glass (that I so wanted to pick up and read!).   As we stood leaning on the rope after taking in all the books at hand we squinted at the shelves and shelves beyond trying to see what books we could, and I was really wishing for pair of binoculars to explore as far as we could. I really wished we could have been free to roam through those towering shelves and find a spot in this wonderful wood filled room to explore the many volumes held within its walls.

At least we did got to experience this room of stories, histories and medical books.  If you ever get to Dublin, do take time to visit and enjoy the Book of Kells, but also discover for yourselves this fabulous Long Room of books!  It is a real Irish treasure.