A Pint A Day Is The Irish Way

December 19,2008

This was my final day in Dublin before I was to leave on a flight to Glasgow Scotland. This time I’d woken up with ample time to get ready and get to the meeting point for the free tour and so that is what I did. I woke in the morning, showered and went down to enjoy a nice breakfast of cereal and toast. (Breakfast was included in the price of the 10 euro hostel thus I can’t complain about the lack of substance.) After sitting around for a while I met three people from Canada and the four of us chattered happily about our travels where we were headed, where we were from, and our adventures through the different customs check points along the way. After sitting around for a while I decided it was time to head out to the meeting point and maybe grab a coffee along the way. As I ventured to the spot I quickly realized that I’d arrived rather early. So instead of sitting around I decided to venture through the area once more and take more pictures of things I’d not taken photos of the day before. After wandering around for several minutes I decided to return to the site and wait. So I waited... and waited... and waited... and finally I saw two other girls wandering around with the same little flyer for the free tour I’d had stashed in my pocket. Stopping them I asked if they too were searching for the guide to the free tour and the affirmed my assumption that they too were on the hunt for the free tour.

So together we waited a little longer realizing that after about ten minutes or so that the guide wasn’t coming. So the girls kindly offered to allow me to go along with them but they were venturing through things I’d already seen yesterday so I thanked them and we parted ways with well wishes for our travels. I headed back to the hostel to look at the map and figure where I would venture for the day. As I arrived I noticed the Canadian woman I’d met earlier that morning sitting outside the hostel to the door waiting for someone or something. I greeted her and asked what she was up to. She told me she was waiting for an Irish man she’d met last night to help her get to another hostel as she’d only booked one night in Abigail’s (the hostel where I’d stayed during Dublin). She then asked what I was doing back so early having known I was going on the free tour since I’d spoken with her during breakfast.

I then explained what had happened and she asked what my plans for the rest of the day were to be. I explained that I really didn’t have any having seen all the tourist attractions (for the most part) that Dublin had to offer. I’d had thoughts of maybe going to the whisky brewery but two breweries in one city seemed a little on the alcoholic side in my mind so I told her maybe I’d go get lost again today since there was one side of the city I’d not gotten lost in yet. She chuckled and asked if she could tag along having no plans for the day either. At first I was enthralled to have a traveling companion as talking to myself was beginning to strain what sanity remains with me. I said yes and we parted with plans to meet up in a few more minutes so that she could check in to the other hostel and I could check my email and facebook page.

Less then moments later after I’d finished checking my email we looked through the little rack of business cards hanging in the common room of the hostel looking for special events and discounts on local attractions. I found a discount to the brewery as well as the local zoo and aquarium. Then we headed out and across the bridge to the other side of the river that parted the city. She explained that she needed to purchase a camera first as the one she’d brought broke upon arrival. So we went to the camera store and she bought a new digital camera while I waited. Afterwards we went to a cafe to sit around and possibly make plans for our day. While at the cafe I enjoyed a chai latte and she told me of a castle on the outskirts of Dublin in another county of Ireland not too far away that was supposedly the most haunted castle in all of Ireland. My interest was instantly struck, maybe today would be the day for an adventure was the first thought that entered my mind.

She explained her interest in going to the castle and asked if I too wanted to go see the wonders of other worldly beings. I nodded excitedly at a loss for words and we began our search for a way to get to this city. First we asked a travel agency how we could get to this place. They explained which county it was in, and where the bus station was. So then we walked for several minutes around ten or fifteen to the bus station and tried to order tickets. First we went to the ticket counter and the man explained that this county was large and there were several busses that went to several parts of it and asked which part we were headed. Having no idea we went to information. Information was little help and told us where we could go look up the exact address of the castle.

So we walked several more minutes down the street to an internet cafe where we searched for the address. After it was in hand we once more went to the bus station and back to information to check on the time table for the buses headed to that area. We were then told that there was one bus that left in an hour the trip would take close to two hours. We both had our hands on our wallets ready to purchase the tickets until she then told us that the only return bus was the next day and I wouldn’t make it back in time to catch my flight to Scotland. And just like that the excitement of an adventurous whim slipped steadily away.

So we spent the rest of the traversing the city and I showed her the castle I’d seen earlier that morning, the Cathedral I’d seen yesterday and afterwards we ventured to the very edge of Dublin to take a tour through the old mysterious jail that lie there. The disappointment of not being able to see this glorious castle lingered quietly through out the day but I did not allow it to hinder my time in Dublin. A few drinks at some local pubs ended my last hours in Dublin and I returned to the hostel to sleep and prepare for the adventures that lay ahead on my next journey into Scotland.