Summer in Dublin

Just got back after a week in Dublin with Ciaran.
We had a really good time but we didn't do all that much as it was difficult to plan with the changable weather. We did spend a lot of time with Michele's brood. As the boys get older the age difference between them becomes less of an issue and they all get on better.

We headed into town on Thursday to do the touristy thing.
We started with "The Body" exhibition. This was a set of real human body parts, dissected. It was really interesting, especially where they can preserve the circulatory system by injecting polymer resin and then dissolving the meat around it. At the same time, just at the back of my mind it was a bit "ugh" but quiet and faint. Ciaran, as ever, seemed to neither enjoy or dislike it. I later heard that the bodies were executed Chinese but I don't really believe that. The website (http://bodiesdublin.com/) notes tht the doners were all Chinese, but I think the executed comes from the fact that some councils etc banned the exhibit.

After having lunch we headed for the key attraction (at least as far as Ciaran was concerned)- Forbidden Planet. After at least half an hour he couldn't find anyhting he wanted enough to spend his money on so came away empty handed.

We headed up the north quay and decided to take the open topped bus tour. Once we got our tickets and found the bus we stared off up towards Trinity College. Once we got there Ciaran remembered about the "Infection" exhibition at Trinity (http://www.sciencegallery.ie/infectious). When asked earlier about going he said he didn't want to - he still hasn't learned about planning - he wanted to go to Forbidden Planet. So we got off the bus and headed into Trinity.

"Infectious" was really cool - better then the Bodies anyway. It was a simple enough exhibit - just some info about how viruses spread, microscopes, etc, and a simulator where you could control a virus outbreak and specify what type of response there should be and see the impact on both infection and recovery. There was an edge - When you arrive they give you a unique RFID wafer to wear. The hall was in the middle of an infected zone - a bluetooth virus had infected one of the RFID and was being passed onto the other visitors. You could check your health by the flashing light on the wafer or by displays on the wall. Basically as you moved about the exhibit you stood a good chance of being infected with the computer virus. There were disinfection points which weren't always effective. It was really cool to look at the live wall maps of who was where and if they were infected.
I got infected and Ciaran wouldn't come near me.
Apparently this was all real research. They had tried it before at seminars, but the nature of those meant everyone was infected quite quickly.

Back onto the bus for the rest of the tour. I had hoped to get to the Jameson Distillery but when we got to the Guiness Brewery Ciaran asked to go in, and who am I to argue with that type of request? We did a quick tour and then headed up to the "Gravity Bar" for its views and a pint.
By the time we were done and back onto the bus it was too late for any more visits. So we just continued on the bus as it made its way though Dublin, up around the Phoenix Park and back t O'Connell street where a short run had us back on the old 41 for the trip back to Swords.

While we were over it was my cousin's 40th so we headed out for that. It was good to see some cousins who I hadn't seen for a while and the porter was great (That's at least 3 times I've had beer at the Guinness brewery and not enjoyed it as much as in normal (non uk) pubs!)

Flew back on Monday night. Almost shoplifted from the gate side shop - a ryanair steward with a thick eastern european accent paged virtually my name. It was only as I told Ciaran we were being paged that he said I couldn't take those things!