Found her!

After a protein packed breakfast, we boarded the bus for a tour of Dublin. Now we find all about the sights we’ve been walking by and admiring. The Guinness brewery takes up over a city block and is older than the country itself. who knew? We located the bronze statue of sweet Molly Malone, also known to locals as “the tart with the cart” or “the trollop with the scallops “. The Irish do have a way with words😉. She gets touched on a regular basis for luck, unable to defend herself with her hands frozen to her cart. Cheeky tourists! We knew the Irish were not overly fond of the Brits, and today’s history lesson made it quite understandable. The potato famine in the 1800’s caused both mass starvation and emigration. What we didn’t learn in school was that Ireland is very fertile and there was no shortage of food. Seems the British controlled the farms and produce, exporting most of the food back to England and elsewhere. The population plummeted from 8 million and to this day still has only rebounded to 7 million. Signs of rebellion continue to be visible though sometimes subtle. In the Georgian section of the city, beautifully symmetrical brick buildings have the most colorful doors. When Queen Victoria lost her beloved Albert and went into deep mourning, she wanted them all painted black. The Irish responded by painting them all ABB (anything but black). We visited St Patrick’s Cathedral in all its splendor. Turns out Johnathan Swift of Gullivers Travels fame was the dean here. He was noted for lengthy sermons, upwards of 4 hours. To discourage checking eyelids for leaks while he waxed eloquent, he had the pulpit mounted on wheels to move it close to any offenders. So much for the safety of the back row in church. There were many military commemorative plaques throughout the cathedral, but one side chapel was designated as the area of reconciliation for those lost in conflict. In addition to plaques and carvings, there was a tree adorned with leaves on which anyone could inscribe the names of loved ones lost to conflict. The leaves are retained in perpetuity in addition to the regimental banners for those regiments that have been deactivated, in the tradition that old soldiers never die, they just fade away. On a lighter note, we enjoyed a yummy lunch in a restaurant called “The Pig’s Ear”. Of course we had to try the Guinness bread… very hearty, bitter Allen, beef croquettes of Dutch street vendor origin, pork and lamb chops. Best meal we’ve had so far.Weiterlesen