I had trouble sleeping in the night. Our bed is probably a bit wider than a twin bed but not as wide as a full. Normally I’d guess it is made for 1 college student, not a married couple. Also initially our room was too hot and there was no air conditioning. Our only solace is opening up a window to let the cool air in.

There is a green night light which shines directly in my face during the night. So I got out my eyemask which I normally use on planes. i felt somewhat of a diva needing my beauty sleep, but in reality it was blocking an annoying light.

After getting ready we had breakfast – 2 chocolate muffins for me and some type of generic multigrain Cherrios for Sharon….which she said tasted nothing like Cheerios.

We were running a bit late for the bus to church so we had to book it. Fortunately the bus was late and empty. We officially started our 72 hour tourist Leap card, which should expire by the time we make it to the airport on Wednesday.

We rode a enormous amount of stops to get to our stop. The bus didn’t even stop most of the time because there was no one waiting. I guess people were still sleeping in from being up late on Saturday night.

After getting off the bus we walked a few blocks to Knocklyon Church of Christ. The church building was in the suburbs and had its own parking lot. A taxi pulled up while we were walking inside. It was two British tourists who came to worship too.

We were greeted by Angela who asked where we were from and got our names and addresses. We were greeted a few more times by members and their preacher, Steve. Knocklyon Church of Christ, like the rest of Ireland is a melting pot. We saw native Irish and emigrants from Africa and India. Worship started promptly at 10:00AM. Sharon and I knew most of the songs and the congregation singing was full for around 50 people; much fuller singing than my home congregation of 1000.

The congregation stood up to pray and there was a loud “Amen” said by the entire congregation at the conclusion of the prayer. Steve’s lesson was on Acts 3 about the lame man being healed at the gate beautiful. Alot of scripture references were given. Steve even made comment that he was a former Catholic but was able to study to find a much truer way. The congregation was led in worship by capable men. Sharon pointed out to me that the congregation was established around 30 years ago so it has had time to grow and mature.

In front of me was a young boy playing with his dinosaurs and army men (G.I. Joes?). I thought to myself, this is what I did 40 years ago, and in a few hours more children will be playing with their toys in church in America as well. Seems to me that no matter where you go some things always stay the same.

After the message we partook in the Lord’s Supper. Sharon and I wondered if they used real wine but I guess we’ll never know.

Angela who we met early walked us to the bus stop and rode the bus to the tramp stop so we could go to the National Museum of Decorative Arts and History. It was very kind of her to do this as she lived in the other direction away from the city.

After riding the bus we decided to stop and eat at O’Briens a sandwich shop. I got a ham and cheese while Sharon got a chicken sandwich.

We then rode the tram to the National Museum of Decorative Arts and History. The tram stop was easy to figure out as it was named “Museum.” These National Museums are somewhat like the Smithsonian in that it is free and houses alot of Ireland’s historic artifacts. We saw several different things from other countries. We learned about Irish soldiers involvement in World War I, British Wars with other countries and the American Civil War. There was even an exhibit on an Irish American named “McGavock” which is who the school and road was named after.

We could have spent hours in the museum, but decided to move on to the other churches. We rode the tram back to Four Points and walked up the Christ Church. It was 7 EURO each to get in. The interior is not as impressive as other Cathedrals, but impressive in its own right nonetheless. The positioning of the roped off areas and non roped off areas allowed us to get up close and personal with almost all areas of the cathedral.

By the time we got out it had started to rain softly. We decided we didn’t have time to visit St. Patrick’s Cathedral. We briefly looked for something to eat before deciding to head back to the dormitory but not before stopping at the local Spar for a pizza and other snacks and drinks.

Tomorrow we visit the book of Kells and Trinity college. Looking forward to it!