Travelling Worm

This is the blog of Mark Wordsworm, the travelling worm. I’m a 40-year-old bookmark (give or take a few years) and I proudly boast my own Hallmark serial number, 95 HBM 80-1. You’ll probably want to read all about me and my Travelling Companion (the TC).

Today’s travel notes

Me and the TC spent a couple of days in Dublin this week. In addition to our encounter in the park, in which Oscar Wilde got a new green carnation, we cruised around Dublin Castle and a couple of cathedrals. The TC had a go at translating some Latin, which led to predictably humorous results. And I coined a new phrase: whimsy-driven sightseeing.

The book I’m in

Darknet, by Matthew Maher. A rollicking tale of murder and mayhem in the world of high tech.

Travel tips

Instead of trying to see all the sights, it can be more enjoyable to stroll around and look at whatever catches your eye. I’m coining a new phrase to describe that way of being a tourist: Whimsy-driven sightseeing.

Recommended restaurants

Cornucopia Wholefoods Restaurant, Wicklow Street, Dublin. The bakery goods are delicious. In particular, the TC went “Mmmmm” over the gluten-free banana bread. The coffee is probably worth passing up on, though.

The photos

Me with Leonessa in the courtyard of Dublin Castle:

Leonessa is a bronze sculpture of a lioness by contemporary artist Davide Rivalta.

From on high, another lion peers down into the courtyard. It accompanies the soldier above the further archway in this picture:

Stepping back, the full grandeur of the castle courtyard becomes visible:

This shot shows the outside wall of the castle and the Chapel Royal on the left:

On the right of the above picture are three archways. The middle one leads into the courtyard. In a room above this archway, Dublin Castle was formally handed over by the last English Lord Lieutenant of Ireland to the Provisional Government of Ireland, led by Michael Collins, on 16 January 1922.

The other side of the Chapel Royal:

Moving away from the castle, you might find yourself drawn to Christ Church Cathedral. This ancient and lovely building was founded in approximately 1030 by the Norse King of Dublin, a Viking with the romantic name of Sitriuc Silkenbeard.

Here’s a front view of Christ Church Cathedral:

If you follow the green bus down through the archway, you can examine the other side of the cathedral, which is equally striking:

Stroll a few blocks south down Patrick Street, and you’ll come across St Patrick’s Park and St Patrick’s Cathedral:

Evidently the tomb of Jonathan Swift, author of Gulliver’s Travels, lies in the nave of the church.

It’s believed that, in the fifth century AD, St Patrick baptised the first Irish Christians in a well situated where the cathedral park now lies. The first church was built on the site to commemorate the event.

Me with the coat of arms outside St Patrick’s Cathedral:

The TC, bless her cotton socks, had a go at translating the Latin on the coat of arms.

First she tackled the wording on the light blue banner. Her initial reading was this:

noli allium sapere

Which translates to:

don’t taste the garlic

Ha! Actually, it’s “noli altum sapere“, which means “don’t be too wise“, or “don’t be high-minded“.

Now for the longer bit:

sigillum commune capituli ecclesie cathedralis sancti patricii dublinie

Translation:

the common seal of the chapter of the cathedral church of saint patrick in dublin

That’s all for today, folks.