It is 6.30 AM, the alarm is ringing and I am opening my eyes. I can see Anastasia covering her ears with the pillow so I decide to get up and use the bathroom first… I will wake her up later.

Breakfast has always been my favorite meal, even if it is not so simple to enjoy this watered down coffee.. I wonder how Irish people can drink it.

 

We pick up our lunch and take the bus at about eight o'clock, but we are a little worried about the stop we have to get off to: we don't want to be late like yesterday!

Fortunately Riccardo and Federico are taking our same bus today; we travel up to the school together and we surprisingly arrive there earlier than expected (that actually means that we are not too late).

 

Before starting the lesson I have a coffee in the school's cafeteria, where I notice that they call it “espresso” but if you pronounce it in the Italian way, you can say they have no idea of what you are talking about.

 

The first part of today's lesson is about Oscar Wilde. I really like our teacher, Madeline Gray. She is very creative and able in making us interested in Irish literature. Obviously, we don't have enough time to deal with the topics extensively, but these lessons are a good starting point to deepen on our own what interested us most.

Besides, I appreciate she is proactive and involves music in her lessons: introduced by the song “Sunday Bloody Sunday” by U2, we have a discussion about the conflict between Catholics and Protestants in Ireland.
We also talk about Irish traditions and we learn how to sing the traditional song “Molly Malone”.

 

It is 12.30 AM and it is lunch time... and what a lunch! A wonderful sandwich with cheddar cheese and nothing else is waiting for me. I am not sure I can eat this every day for a week. Especially considering that Andrea and Leonardo are eating a tasty and big portion of fish and chips in front of me.

This torture lasts until 2 PM, and we finally start to walk toward the Hugh Lane Gallery.

 

In the Hugh Lane we have a guided tour; I like the guide, you can easily notice that she is passionate and her exposure is dynamic and interesting.

The first room is darkened because there are some stained glass windows by Harry Clarke and to appreciate them you have to see them with a particular enlightenment. The central window portrays a traditional love story and it is colorful, mainly blue, and detailed and it creates a wonderful atmosphere.

 

In the Hugh Lane gallery we also see Francis Bacon's studio. Substantially, a very messy room; if this is a feature of an artist I'm sure he was a great one. About some Bacon's uncomplete works we have seen I haven't matured an idea on my own yet; I think I am not experienced enough and I just find them a little disquieting.
We take some pics and after an half hour we start to walk toward the Trinity College.

 

 

The Trinity College is gorgeous, I am pretty sure it is the only thing that may make me eager of studying in the previous seventeen years. I remember that our teacher said that Beckett and Wilde studied here and now that I see it, I am no more surprised about what they became.

I see white and brown-orange impressive buildings, encircled by a shiny green lawn. I don't know if it is an intention, but aren't they the Irish' flag colors?

 

Unfortunately, the Book of Kells is not available today, and we can't see it. We visit a room with other ancient books and what I notice is that they are really ancient.

After a short visit of the exhibit we go to the Old Library.

 

A great college needs a great library, and the Old Library is absolutely up to it. I don't even know how to describe it. I think there are about one hundred thousand old books and the atmosphere is warm and relaxing, but at the same time it is majestic, it is like being run over by culture.

 

After the visit at the Old Library we have a walk and then we return home for dinner.

 

The dinner today is made up by a dish of spaghetti with tomato sauce and in the midst of the spaghetti there is a chicken steak. Fortunately the taste is good, our “host mother” is a good cook.

 

After dinner Anastasia and I are relaxing after the tiring day. In ten minutes Zack, the eight year old child of the host family burst into our room (actually it's his room) because he wants to “make the snot” with us. He takes a box out of the closet and an half hour later we are completely covered by an undefined chemical green substance… and so is the floor. When we show it to his mother she is pretty disgusted but amused.

 

At 9 PM is time to go to sleep for Zack, I have a shower and then I'm ready to go to bed too.
I wonder why the chicken steak was on the spaghetti… Good night.