Wednesday, March 17th
Wow! I spent yesterday at one of the biggest celebrations one could ever imagine. I'm in Dublin where I arrived late on Tuesday night by plane from Paris. I'm staying at the Carlton Hotel Dublin Airport for 3 nights.
I talked with a few people at the hotel concerning "Paddy's Day" events on Tuesday night. The parade started at noon - so I panned to get there around 11am. I took the #41 bus into town - toook about 30 minutes. Right from the get-go, the atmosphere was electric. Paddy's Day is a national bank holiday in Ireland - basically meaning everyone is off work. On the bus, there were both young and old fired up for the day. It was a double decker bus. The crew on top were doing Irish chants and stumping the floor as we drove into town. My nearest example of this is at the Ryder Cup in golf - when the Europenas would beat the Americans and celebrate afterwards.
I got dropped off and just followed the people. 600,000-700,000 people that is. It wasn't too difficult to find the parade route. There were people 10-20 deep lining the entire parade section. I couldn't see great - but neither could anyone else. I looked around me and watched the crowd. Paddy's Day is like a rite of passage for the Irish folk. The young kids sitting on the backs of their dads as well as the older couples standing back and watching. I was particularly amazed of this. How many 60-70+ year old people would stand for 3-5 hours to see very little. They were not there because of their kids, they were there because they could be there. It was like everyone wanted to be part of the celebration. Also, the number of Irish flags and shirts were amazing. That's awesome to see the pride the Irish have for their country and culture. The parade itself was good. I'm not a big parade-guy, but I can appreciate the time and effort put into the day's events. I heard a figure that the parade cost $3 million dollars to put on. The parage last for about 2-1/2 hours, with green everywhere.
The after parade is when the real stuff goes down. The 600,000-700,000 people filter throughout the city at easily the largest collection of bars I have ever seen. It was Mardi Gras - just with green. I headed to the Temple Bar area - the popular spot I've been told. It was crazy. I went into the actual Temple Bar itself. This bar is legendary. I went in and drank a frosty Heinekin and than got out. I couldn't move - but it was fun to see everyone. I looked up and saw a sign that read - 600 people capacity. I'm pretty sure this may have been exceeded slightly. I then hit the streets and mingled around a bit. The greatest was seeing the Irish songs being played with people dancing and singing. I bar hopped for most of the day. I basically took it all in. it was a very fun day.
My take away is that the Irish are really good people, very proud of their culture, have strong traditions, and don't mind a pint or 2 of an adult beverage every now and again. Now that is the Irish dream.
Wow! I spent yesterday at one of the biggest celebrations one could ever imagine. I'm in Dublin where I arrived late on Tuesday night by plane from Paris. I'm staying at the Carlton Hotel Dublin Airport for 3 nights.
I talked with a few people at the hotel concerning "Paddy's Day" events on Tuesday night. The parade started at noon - so I panned to get there around 11am. I took the #41 bus into town - toook about 30 minutes. Right from the get-go, the atmosphere was electric. Paddy's Day is a national bank holiday in Ireland - basically meaning everyone is off work. On the bus, there were both young and old fired up for the day. It was a double decker bus. The crew on top were doing Irish chants and stumping the floor as we drove into town. My nearest example of this is at the Ryder Cup in golf - when the Europenas would beat the Americans and celebrate afterwards.
I got dropped off and just followed the people. 600,000-700,000 people that is. It wasn't too difficult to find the parade route. There were people 10-20 deep lining the entire parade section. I couldn't see great - but neither could anyone else. I looked around me and watched the crowd. Paddy's Day is like a rite of passage for the Irish folk. The young kids sitting on the backs of their dads as well as the older couples standing back and watching. I was particularly amazed of this. How many 60-70+ year old people would stand for 3-5 hours to see very little. They were not there because of their kids, they were there because they could be there. It was like everyone wanted to be part of the celebration. Also, the number of Irish flags and shirts were amazing. That's awesome to see the pride the Irish have for their country and culture. The parade itself was good. I'm not a big parade-guy, but I can appreciate the time and effort put into the day's events. I heard a figure that the parade cost $3 million dollars to put on. The parage last for about 2-1/2 hours, with green everywhere.
The after parade is when the real stuff goes down. The 600,000-700,000 people filter throughout the city at easily the largest collection of bars I have ever seen. It was Mardi Gras - just with green. I headed to the Temple Bar area - the popular spot I've been told. It was crazy. I went into the actual Temple Bar itself. This bar is legendary. I went in and drank a frosty Heinekin and than got out. I couldn't move - but it was fun to see everyone. I looked up and saw a sign that read - 600 people capacity. I'm pretty sure this may have been exceeded slightly. I then hit the streets and mingled around a bit. The greatest was seeing the Irish songs being played with people dancing and singing. I bar hopped for most of the day. I basically took it all in. it was a very fun day.
My take away is that the Irish are really good people, very proud of their culture, have strong traditions, and don't mind a pint or 2 of an adult beverage every now and again. Now that is the Irish dream.
I'm "green" with envy, Kyle! : )
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