Walks and Tours, Tours and Walks

 Feb 23, 2023

Today I did one of my most favorite things to do when visiting a new city. I went on a free walking tour. I always get so many fun tidbits of information otherwise never known to travelers and sometimes even locals. For instance, did you know, when the Brits were trying to create maps of Ireland the Irish folk would purposely translate their street names from Irish (Gaelic) incorrectly. Not only are there lots of duplicate streets, but anyone who knows even a bit of Irish will tell you that many of the English translations posted underneath the Irish signs are wrong. Translating maps was almost impossible. Google is still struggling because of this. Another outrageous bit of info- The English used to charge the Irish a daylight tax. It was based on the number of windows the residence had. Residences with more windows, aka homes that allowed more daylight, were taxed higher. One of the banks of Ireland protested against this ridiculous tax by being completely windowless. To this day the bank still exists and it's completely vaulted- no windows (or daylight) to speak of. Of course we talked about some of the beautiful cathedrals, (pictured below)

and about the Kings and Patron Saints. But we also talked about Darky Kelly, a prostitute who ran a brothel. She was known for keeping her women safe and if any man tried to cross them he'd usually wind up buried beneath the brothel.  Eventually Darky became pregnant and when she demanded support from the man he accused her of witchcraft and she was burnt at the stake. There's now a bar in her honor. 

Not only did I learn a lot on this tour (and make an annoying friend who asked me for photos every 4 minutes) I also got a fabulous lunch recommendation (another reason why I love these tours). I ditched my photo obsessed friend and walked until I came to Sheehan's. It had every feel of an Irish Pub and the brown bread, soup and glass was the perfect combo. 

Next it was time to visit the Book of Kells and the Library at Trinity College. Seeing the old manuscripts and learning how the monks used colored oils to transcribe them by hand made me reflect on just how far we've come since then. I was listening to a digital guided tour- someone talking through a device that was available to everyone, instantly, while these men worked 13 hour days to write one book that was the ONLY copy available. 

My day wouldn't have been complete without a street busker sighting so I stopped to enjoy the music one last time. 

That night I met a lovely German girl in my dorm. She invited me to go out with her. We started at a sports bar with live music, then made our way to Temple Bar and finally to a smaller pub up the street with a 3 man band. It was there I recognized some girls who had been in the hostel Ben and I stayed at in Cork. They joined in our fun as we continued to search for live music. Our next stop was a club so I politely bowed out and headed home for the night. 

In the morning I'd be homebound. Slaintè Ireland, for now. 🍻