It was time for meetings in England and, in between sessions, I had a weekend that I decided to spend in Ireland. I planned to go to Trinity College in Dublin and see the Books of Kells. So I made arrangements to spend two nights at a bed and breakfast in Dublin and took a train that, through connections at different stations, would take me to the Ferry station in Holyhead in Wales. It takes an average of six hours, 43 minutes to travel from Reading to Holyhead by train.

When the train was half way to my next destination, it was delayed for more than 20 minutes due to repairs on the tracks. I arrived late to the station in Chester where I had to change trains. To my surprise I heard my name called on the speakers, asking me to go to the ticket counter. There was a taxi driver that was hired to take me to the ferry on time. Not only did I have a “free ride”, but a nice sightseeing drive and wonderful information from the driver who knew very well that part of Wales. I even understood his accent!

The crossing to Ireland on the StenaLine Ferry was great. I took many pictures and I was surprised at the size of the ferry and the shops on board.

We arrived by night to Dublin.

I took a taxi and gave the name of the bed and breakfast. He said he knew where it was. A nice old lady opened the door and lead me to my room. She told me the time for breakfast next morning and left.

At breakfast, the lady noticed that I was wearing a cross pendant, and she hugged me and kissed me saying, “I knew you were a Catholic”. She was so exited that I only said ,”Yes, I am a Christian”.

Since I was going to be there only for one more night, I asked if I could pay my bill that morning. She said yes, and she quoted a fare that was quite below the price I had been told. She then said that she was not expecting a guest the night before and that my arrival was a blessing.

I was quite puzzled with that and I said, “But I contacted you and made the reservation”. She said “I do not have email”.

When I paid, she said the name of her b&b and I realized that the name was so similar to the one I had contacted that I thought the taxi driver had been confused.

Later, I walked to the other b&b, and I explained the confusion. The owner listened carefully, and when I asked if I had to pay a fee for not showing, he said no, they only charged when the client stayed with them. With a little bit of a smirk he added, “I want you to know we saw the taxi that brought you last night, he is a Catholic”.

I decided not to say anything to my host, and I continued to see the Books of Kells at Trinity College created in 1592.

The Book of Kells is at the Long Room of the library. The room is 65 meters long, has dark wooden vaulted ceiling and its walls have double story bookcases containing an amazing collection of 200.000 volumes.

The Book of Kells is a manuscript made of vellum (treated calfskin). It contains the four gospels of the Christian New Testament. It is in Latin, and the text is based in the Vulgate version of the Bible. The book was probably created in the 9th century, in 800 AD, at a Columban monastery. The work is famous because of the intricacy and detail of the medieval illustrations.

I was delighted and spent hours at the incredible Long Room. My trip back to Reading was quite uneventful, but I enjoyed remembering what had happened with the confused b&bs.