Yet another tour of Dublin

Another weekend was upon me, and without having any big trips planned yet, where else was there to go, but to Dublin of course! Kathleen had found a free walking tour of Dublin on the internet, so we decided to give it a whirl. Our tour guide was a tiny, young Argentinian woman named Alita, who had married an Irish man and was now residing in Dublin. She was full of energy and ready to get the tour underway. We began our tour by walking towards Dublin Castle and then to a garden behind it with stone paths that symbolized the geography of Dublin. I wouldn’t have known about this small green space in the heart of the city without going on this tour. As we passed the Christ Church Cathedral and made our way into the Temple Bar area, the narrow, cobblestone alleyways harvested the cold harsh wind, and as it continually slapped my face I could not wait for our tea break. We stopped in one of Dublin’s first tea shops across from where U2 used to play on the street corner and hid from the cold winter air.

Garden behind Dublin Castle

Christ Church Cathedral (not Catholic by the way)

After our quick break, we continued through the bitterly cold, and now wet streets of Temple Bar area, and then hurriedly made it into the grounds of Trinity College. Although I had already been to Trinity College to see the Long Room and the Book of Kells, I learned that George Lucas wanted to use the Long Room library as a set in Star Wars, but was not given permission by the college so he built a replica set. Our final stop on the tour was the National Library, where Alita told us the story of the 1916 Easter Rising and its importance to the city. With chilling bones after three plus hours of walking, I was glad to be finished with tour, and ready to find some dinner.

Found my Whiskey!

And Kath found a cheeseburger hat!

As it was a Friday during Lent, we had to find a seafood place, and since Kath and I had not tried fish and chips yet we set off to find a fish and chips joint. Little did we know that the fast food fish place we chose would not be the most pleasant experience. There were three young guys working the restaurant (if you can call it working, it was more like goofing off) and one of them seemed to have just fired another employee on the phone, so they asked us if we wanted to work there for free. Shaking our heads, and trying to order, we got harassed yet again by the staff as they brought our food and I asked for ketchup. Their behavior was simply odd and inappropriate for the workplace if you ask me. Anyway we ate as quickly as possible and then left. With the night still young, Kathleen and I strolled up and down Grafton Street, popping in and out of shops, while listening to the various street performers that serenaded the crowds, until our feet grew tired and we decided to catch the bus home.