First full day in Dublin, Ireland
Before you start reading, I wanted to let you know the * are a side note. I inserted a couple of events that were happening around me while I was writing or editing this post.
*Side note. I think someone just ripped a good one next to me and got up and walked away. It spells like some spoiled eggs over here.*
Today I spent the day exploring Ireland. I first checked out of my hotel and then made my way down to The Old Storehouse bar & restaurant. This is where my "free" walking tour started.
Nothing is ever free because you have to pay the guide after for his time. I have to give it to the guy because he did deserve it. He was very funny and loved to curse. Right off the back, he stated that it would not be a traditional tour because he did not want to tell us the boring history. Instead, he wanted to tell us all his favorite stories/historical pieces and the slang he grew up with. He definitely does not like the British, well, more like their ancestor, which he is rightfully so after hearing all the things they have done. He is also a stunt double in a famous Irish Netflix TV show. I wish I could tell you which one, but I never heard of the show before…so I kind of forgot what the name was. A couple of funny stories/ fun facts that were told to me.
1. All signage is written in Irish and then English, but most people do not speak Irish. Even people who work in the government do not speak Irish, which is interesting because all governmental papers are in Irish. With this being said, there were two major mix-ups when translating English to Irish. The first mistake was that they accidentally legalized magic mushrooms, ecstasy, and crystal meth for 24 hours. My tour guide called it "National Yokes Day." He would not tell me if he participated, but I have a good feeling that he did. I am almost sure he did because this is the guy who also made the government turn down the water pressure in one of the fountains because his friends and him put dish soap in the fountain and made a bubble wall. The government quickly changed the law after that. The second incident was when they wrote the referendum to legalize gay marriage. The person in charge of translating the referendum to Irish did so incorrectly and instead wrote to illegalize heterosexual marriage. A week before they were about to vote, they found out the person had translated it wrong. So they almost banned heterosexual marriage. How funny would that have been!
Another fun fact about the same-sex marriage referendum. After it passed, the Westboro Baptist Church took and burned Irish flags to show their stance on their decision, but little did they know that they had the Ivory Coast flag. So they accidentally burned a bunch of Ivory Coast flags, which made the Ivory Coast mad.
2. You should bring your guy to the 40 steps if you come to Ireland. After walking up the stairs, tell me if he felt a punch or not. If he does, let me know, and I will tell you the tail. Guys, if you are messing around with someone else, watch your back.
3. There is a street called Ship Street Little, which is on the street where they used to sell sheep. When the British were naming their streets, the locals kept telling them to call it little sheep street, but the British kept thinking they were saying Little Ship Street, which is why it's not called Ship Street Little. Even though the Irish on the top says, it's Sheep Street Little.
4. The person who wrote Dracula had an office right here. I have never read it before, but just in case someone has and is a fan, this is where it all started.
5. There was a big heroin crisis in the mid-1990s that targeted the younger generation. Since no one was doing anything about it, this woman named Veronica Guerin decided to find out the source of the problem. Veronica's news articles revealed the distribution centers, methodology, and the people behind importation. Because of her news articles, police used them as leads and arrested people based on what she wrote. Shortly after, there was a hitman that was meant to kill her, but instead, she was accidentally shot in the leg. After that incident, she took a break for two years. Once two years had gone by, she got sick and tired that no one was doing anything about the crisis, so she went back on the streets to get the inside scoop. Unfortunately, she was shot and died instantly by a motorcyclist while she was in her car. Once news got around that Veronica Guerin had died, the citizen demanded the government do something about it. Shortly after the crisis ended.
Another funny/not so funny thing I learned is that people in Ireland hate the Spire of Dublin. This is because it looks like a big giant needle, and it sits right where the heroin crisis took place. To me, it's just ironic that the government put that there, and no one said anything about it.
*Some Uni students are sitting in front of me and are interviewing the hostel owner. It is interesting to hear why he opened up this hostel. He is talking about how rent and mortgagees, hotels, and Airbnb are becoming more and more expensive, and he wanted to help out with the situation.
Right before dinner, I moved my stuff from the hotel to the hostel, and oh man, did I realize that I had packed way too many clothes.
For dinner, I went to a little coffee shop because I did not want to break the bank. Everything I was looking up for dinner was €25+, not including the tip. So I looked up what was around me and I found this little place called Roasted Bean Coffee Company. I think it might have been a family-owned business, but I do not fully know. I asked the man working there what their top seller was, and he told me the Irish Pork Sandwich. I have to say it was pretty good and also for the price I would say it was worth it. I did not have time to have breakfast or lunch and that dinner filled me up. I think I was there for an hour trying to finish all of it. After dinner, I decided to come back to the hostel to figure out other logistics and write this post.
*I think someone at the hostel is getting their heartbroken by another traveler. I know I should not be smiling right now, but I kind of find it funny how loud he is because I can hear all the deets.
Write to you next time,
SK
*Oh my plot twist that guy also have a girlfriend back home. Ok, I really need to butt out of their convo.
My learnings so far are:
Public places are not required to provide drinking fountains. I walked around all day today to try and find one, and there is no way to get free water. So my water bottle is slightly useless.
Act confident and no one will question you. People kept stopping me to ask me for directions until they heard my voice; they immediately knew I was not from Ireland.
I look/ seem approachable to older women and men. I can't even count on my figures the number of people who asked me to help them. I thought this was funny because my friends back at school tell me that I have a resting, you know what face.
