The real Irish breakfast was no different than the Scottish or Welsh breakfast except there was some brown bread included with the toast. We still had the choice of cold cereal, and then eggs with bacon and sausage with fried tomato. Actually, the tomato was probably broiled so that was different. We discussed the tour that we wanted to take tomorrow and then asked Patty to book it. She is very accommodating and pleasant.
It was raining out. We have been so lucky with weather since being in
We hopped on the same bus in the same direction to go back into town that we took coming in. Going into town is a much shorter trip. We had thought about taking the Hop On Hop Off Tour bus that we had used in Edinburgh and Glasgow, but when we looked at their brochure, we decided it might not be worth it. There were fifteen stops, but among them were one church, one college, and other stops like the salmon spawning ground, the first McDonalds in
With Mr. Map with a map of
There really is not much to
We walked down to the bay and partly around it.
In the city center we found a “heritage pub” called Tis Neactain –Through the Ages, Est. 1894, but the building is from the 16th century. Since it was time for a pint, we felt a sense of obligation to report back on heritage pubs. In order to convince the bartender that we were truly interested in the history of the building, we bought a pint of beer and sat in the corner acting like nonchalant tourists before pouncing with questions. Then Ron hit him with the big question, “What is a heritage pub?” Being the twenty-something that he was, he had no idea, but said he would look around and see if he could find something to explain it.
The inside of the pub is multiple rooms of a corner building. In each room, there are dark wood cubicles where people can sit in private little cluster and converse or there are bigger areas where you can be more social. These cubicles are called ‘snugs’ and were considered the only place for ladies to sit in a pub. Now, anyone can sit anywhere, but only those over eighteen are served liquor. We sat in a corner cubicle that was open to the rest of the room we were in. Right next to me was a piano that was dust covered with a tarp. The piano was in the cramped corner of this little cubicle so our assumption was that it is never played. You know what they say about assuming!
We were drinking our beer observing the other patrons and their interactions when in the blink of an eye, this little leprechaun of a man comes whizzing into our little wooden walled in space and asked if we minded if he played the piano. We assured him that we would enjoy it. It was difficult for me to take my eyes off of him, because he looked like an older version of one of my clients. He was all of five foot five inches, with graying, thinning hair with a bald spot in the back. His ears were too large for his head and his nose was his own share plus more. Within seconds he raped the piano cover off and started massaging the ivories with the song “Sunny Side of the Street”. As he played, he sang along and his voice was not difficult to listen to. He continued with the Beetle’s song “will you still need me, will you still feed me when I am sixty-four” during which Ron kept poking me in the ribs. Then he switched to a Bach piece. The whole time he played, he hit the back heel of his right shoe on the floor. He was using the pedal, but the clicking was distracting me.
When we applauded he turned to talk to us. He was so hunched over in discussion, I was sure you could fold him up and stuff him in an envelope, having the type of body that was more pliable than most. He had more facial expressions than most actors we have seen and was very interesting. But again, the entire time he is talking, I am thinking about my former client and thinking this is what he will look like when he is older. Jerry, our music man friend, then said that he was forty-seven or forty-eight, he has lost track. That took me aback. I studied his face then thought back to my reflection that I saw in the mirror that morning. After repeating this action a couple of times, I could not help but hope that I did not look as weathered as Jerry did. If one were to color in the lines on his forehead, around his eyes and his mouth, it could pass for a map of the
Jerry said that he had not played for three days and need to have some play time. When we asked how long he had been playing, he said since he was very young, but his older brother and sister were the real musicians in the family. He did not take it seriously until his twenties.
He then went on to tell us about the ten years he spent working in
Stopping in another shop down the street looking at Irish crafts, I heard this voice coming through the open door that sounded like an angel singing. I am not the most avid appreciator of music so when I notice something melodic, it is a major event. I needed to see where this voice was coming from and hear more of it. When we walked out of the shop, in the cobble stoned street that is closed to traffic was a medium length red haired, pale skinned, thin angelic woman with a cello playing and singing her heart out. She had a beautiful voice and I was mesmerized. We had to stand against a wall and I needed to hear more. She drew a crowd. A child of about nine years old stood in wonder, reached in her pocket and threw a coin into the musician’s case. The number of people who followed suite corroborated her talent. She switched from accompanying her cello with her sweet voice to playing classical music with equal ease.
We walked to the cathedral and could not find the door that was unlocked, so we walked completely around it. Then we realized the door we had started at was not blocked with the donation box for the
It has been interesting to notice that the majority of the people we have seen in
Interestingly enough, being the land of the pagans, the Druids and such, we have seen less evidence of Halloween here than in
Finally, I broke down and went to a chemist, the Irish version of a pharmacy. This is where people go to get solutions for their problems that cannot get into a doctor. I told them about the Chinese medicine that I had been taking that worked wonders for my post-nasal stuff, but my taste buds never returned. She suggested I try Baconase, a nasal spray, which I could get over the counter. Our friend Bruce had told me about this while we were at their place for dinner in
We wandered into a pub that advertised authentic Irish music and sat down to wait for it. I asked Ron if he was sorry that we booked seven days in
The e-mail cafés here in
Later in the evening, we were speaking with Patty the B & B owner about her children’s schooling. She told us that they have to learn Gaelic from the first grade through the twelfth grade and how the kids hate it. She said they have to pass it on their graduation exams or they will fail their ‘forms’. That is a concept I have not quite gotten clear, but anyway if they fail any subject on their final exit exams, they don’t go on to University. She and her husband send their children to a Gaelic camp during the summer for tutoring. There is a section of this county where Gaelic is the only language spoken and some people still dress in the traditional outfits. This is where the Gaelic summer camps are located. Patty complained that she wishes the government would change this since the kids only learn it for the sake of passing their exam and then never use it and forget all that they learned. When they enter seventh grade, they also take French, Spanish, or German. It is interesting to see all of the signs everywhere in English and in Gaelic. It does look like a difficult language to learn. The letters have a number of ‘ makes over them.
Tomorrow we are going to the
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