I can likely say with confidence that I will never read the rest of James Joyce’s Ulysses – at least voluntarily – but participating in Bloomsday was an absolute blast. Starting off with lunch basically right on the water was a wonderful start, not to mention the delicious food! The walk to James Joyce Tower was gorgeous and I was surprisingly very interested in the tower itself! The layout of the room as it is described in Ulysses, the windy staircase, and the lovely reading at the top of the tower all gave a new appreciation for Joyce and Ulysses itself. It’s always powerful to visit places where people live or work or mention in their writing, and we killed two birds with one stone with the Tower!

It was truly a memorable experience to hear the reading of Ulysses: I’ve found that the experiences that stick with you the most are the unexpected ones, so stumbling across the reading was a pleasant surprise! The weather was perfect, the breeze was blowing and the man performing the reading was excellent – plus, most everyone was in their Bloomsday attire which really set the scene! I wish I knew more about Ulysses to comment on the reading that he chose (I don’t remember specifically what passage he chose, and it was of course hard to keep track) but I could tell he was passionate and well-read in Joyce’s works. The museum was wonderful, but the reading topped it all in my opinion.