My longtime and close friend Julius is paying me a visit. We have known each other since we were 10 years old growing up in Midland, Texas and were classmates from fifth grade all the way through high school graduation. Although we have kept in touch consistently over the decades, our friendship entered a new phase when he relocated to the San Francisco Bay Area five years ago. He ended up moving to L.A. in 2020, a few months before I sold my house and decided to leave San Francisco myself.
Julius planned his visit to coincide with the long bank holiday weekend here in Ireland, and I also took today (Friday) off so that we could enjoy a few days playing tourist together. His overnight flight arrived to Dublin in the morning and by 9:30am he was Spranger’s Yard. After a quick refresh and some coffee we headed out for a stroll around Temple Bar, Grafton Street, and St. Stephens Green. The weather turned out to be better than forecasted, still chilly but the grey clouds burned off to partly blue skies in the afternoon to make for a crisp bright autumn day. We grabbed some lunch at a local burger place then headed to Trinity College Dublin where I had booked tickets for the Book of Kells exhibit at the old library. I had seen the exhibit before in 2007 during my first trip to Ireland with family, and it was enjoyable to see again after so many years. It was also the first time I’ve been on the Trinity College Dublin campus since moving here last year, since access has been limited to staff and students due to COVID-19 restrictions.
When finished with our visit to Trinity, we made the most of the good weather by walking along the Liffey out to the Docklands, stopping for a coffee break and catching up over conversation on various topics. The other activity I had planned for the day was a “Dark Dublin” walking tour in the late afternoon / early evening. This particular tour covered some of the city’s bloody and violent history, which I thought might be fun for the Halloween season. Over roughly two hours we stopped at Dublin Castle, Christ Church Cathedral, a section of the old city walls, and a street in the Smithfield neighbourhood where “Billy in the Bowl” (a legless serial killer) once preyed on women. Julius was a good sport, and despite the jetlag, managed to stay alert and awake until the end. The tour ended not far from Token, a part restaurant-bar / part video arcade parlour that I’ve been meaning to check out myself but never had an excuse to go there. Thankfully they had space in the bar area for us to sit and order a couple of beers, then we bought some tokens (hence the name of the place) and enjoyed playing a few classic games we knew from our younger years. It may not have been a particularly authentic Irish experience, but the nostalgia factor was too good to pass up.
Finally we walked back to Temple Bar, arriving to Spranger’s Yard around 9:30pm after a full day of activities and walking more than 18,000 steps. Understandably, Julius crashed soon after taking a shower. Hopefully staying out all day and a good night sleep will help him adjust to the 8 hour time difference.
Until next time….
