A Grand Day Out

Today was another great day, and I was able to make even more of Ulysses come alive, at least for me. I was thinking on the train to Howth that a Joyce pilgrimage was a sort of nerdy thing to do, but then someone sat across from me carrying a "Big Bang Theory" shoulder bag with "Ba-Zinga" written on it in huge letters and wearing a Gryffindor scarf, and I felt fine. 

 The highlight for me was the hike to Howth Head: my search for the spot where Bloom proposed to Molly (in a book, I know, but whatever).  The village was beautiful,

and I even made some friends when this couple wanted to see my clapping camera timer app in action.  It was windy, so we all three had to clap at once to trigger the shutter. 

It would have been nice to stay in the pretty fishing village,

as the hike was certainly difficult. At least I thought it was hard until I kept being passed by eighty year-olds, families with small children, and even a guy with a spaniel puppy that basically had to learn to walk from scratch with every step.  The Baily lighthouse (which I just misspelled as the "bialy" lighthouse and which would be awesome) hides from the hiker until the end, revealing itself at last, much as Molly reveals how she feels only at the end of Penelope.  As I climbed, looking out over the sea, I could hear her words in my head:

God of heaven theres nothing like nature the wild mountains then the sea and the waves rushing then the beautiful country with fields of oats and wheat and all kinds of things and all the fine cattle going about that would do your heart good to see rivers and lakes and flowers all sorts of shapes and smells and colours springing up even out of the ditches primroses and violets nature it is as for them saying theres no God I wouldnt give a snap of my two fingers for all their learning why dont they go and create something I often asked him atheists or whatever they call themselves go and wash the cobbles off themselves first then they go howling for the priest and they dying and why why because theyre afraid of hell on account of their bad conscience ah yes I know them well who was the first person in the universe before there was anybody that made it all who ah that they dont know neither do I so there you are they might as well try to stop the sun from rising tomorrow the sun shines for you he said the day we were lying among the rhododendrons on Howth head...

I finished the loop and ate at a lovely fish place my photo friends had recommended. Either I looked tired and the waitress was giving me time to recover or they ignored me for a really long time before giving me a menu. In any case, I was full, tired, and happy as I took the train back to Dublin.

Once I was back in the city, while a lesser man might have put his feet up and rested,  I decided to play in traffic. For those of you who don't have the novel memorized, the penultimate chapter is a series of questions and answers that document Bloom and Stephen's walk across the city and Bloom going to sleep. Here's how it starts:

WHAT PARALLEL COURSES DID BLOOM AND STEPHEN FOLLOW RETURNING?

Starting united both at normal walking pace from Beresford place they followed in the order named Lower and Middle Gardiner streets and Mountjoy square, west: then, at reduced pace, each bearing left, Gardiner's place by an inadvertance as far as the farther corner of Temple street, north: then at reduced pace with interruptions of halt, bearing right, Temple street, north, as far as Hardwicke place. Approaching, disparate, at relaxed walking pace they crossed both the circus before George's church diametrically, the chord in any circle being less than the arc which it subtends.

Clearly, I had to do that, with the challenging part being at the end. As you might be able to tell from this photo,

it would indeed be shorter to cut across in front of the church, and cut across I did, as you can see in this very brief YouTube video:

I made it easily.   Indeed, I've been a very safe pedestrian in Dublin, since I'm so confused by cars driving on the left that I look every way possible, including up and down, when I cross streets. 

My concluding destination was, as it was for Bloom that day, #7 Eccles Street.

 Here's the "Ithaca" chapter a few questions in:

What action did Bloom make on their arrival at their destination?

At the housesteps of the 4th of the equidifferent uneven numbers, number 7 Eccles street, he inserted his hand mechanically into the back pocket of his trousers to obtain his latchkey.

Was it there?

It was in the corresponding pocket of the trousers which he had worn on the day but one preceding.

For me, "Was it there?" had a different answer today as the house was torn down years and years ago. There's a plaque on the wall of the hospital that was built on the site.

On Thursday, I'm planning on visiting the door, which was saved during the demolition.  

I finished the day at a pub

with my new old friends, Laura and Robert,

who live in Sandycove, just a few blocks from where Ulysses begins and at whose home I'm spending the night. 

Thanks for reading!

dml