We Took a Tick to Ireland: Ireland Part 1

Four Ticketed Humans and One Stowaway

Here we are — four happy travelers heading to Ireland. (I’m behind the camera.) During the  trip, I noticed a tiny dark speck on Mike’s neck. As I reached to brush it away, it disappeared down the back of his shirt. I assumed it was just a bit of dirt or debris and thought nothing more about it.

The next morning, though, Mike discovered a tick happily attached to his knee. We carefully removed and killed it, and fortunately there was no later infection.

But on to our travels. As you can probably imagine, we arrived in Dublin in a bit of a stupor after the long flight to Europe. As tempting as it was to collapse into bed at our Airbnb, we decided instead to store our luggage and walk across the River Liffey to the National Museum of Ireland.

 

The museum was filled with fascinating exhibits, but the most jaw-dropping by far were the Bog Bodies — human remains dating back 2,000 to 4,000 years. They were discovered by people cutting peat (turf) for fuel. Remarkably, the bodies were preserved for centuries by the acidic conditions of Ireland’s wetlands.

The museum's antiquities range from the Mesolithic Age (8000-4000BC) to Post Midieval. Here are two items from the Viking Age.

As our attention span had drained, we had a brief discussion and came to a unanimous decision to head back to the airbnb.

 Here are a few pictures of Dublin taken as we walked back to our airbnb.

So what is Ireland famous for? Pubs!!

The Ferryman Pub, built in the 1780s, had a cozy and quiet basement where we enjoyed our first — but definitely not our last — Guinness on draft. At first, the atmosphere was calm and relaxed. But once the Dubliners got off work, the pub quickly filled with locals enjoying the other thing Ireland is famous for: the “gift of gab.” Soon the room was buzzing with laughter, conversation, and the warm energy that makes an Irish pub unforgettable.

The next day we got on the train to Galway. Stay tuned.