Today is my last full day in Dublin. I decided I should at least head to some of the haunted places I so carefully mapped out. First stop, 13 Henrietta Street where an exorcism is rumored to have taken place and the ghost of the woman exorcised haunts the premises. There was no address on the building and that added to the mystery surrounding this house. Doesn’t it just look creepy? It certainly felt weird purposefully seeking out a haunted house in the middle of the day but it’s less scary that way – the surrounding neighborhood was not the nicest and I stuck out like a sore thumb. Oh well, on to the next haunted spot.
Next stop housed two of my favorite things: beer and ghosts. Yes, I found the oldest bar in Ireland, established 1198 and haunted by one of the former customers who was hanged in September 1803.
No ghostly sightings there either but I did have a fun conversation with the really cute Croatian bartender. It went something like this:
Bartender: You ever have a hangover?
Me: Have you met me? [flashback to a few nights ago]
Bartender: You definitely haven’t.
Me: You need “the hair of the dog.” [He proceeds to look at me like I have 10 heads]
Bartender: Hair of the dog?
[I begin to explain what it means – to keep drinking more alcohol to lessen the alcohol withdrawal symptoms].
Sitting there happy as a clam on my 2nd Guinness and he comes over.
Bartender: Dog hair??!
Me: No, no, no, not literal dog hair! [Laughing hysterically at this point]
He begins to laugh also because he was going to go search for a dog. Hahah. Look at me, teaching people of the world funny/confusing sayings. I definitely could have been a diplomat in a past life.
Speaking of past lives, I realized something on this trip, I think I was an old man in a past life. The only other person in the bar was a really crotchety old man who was pissed that the price of a Guinness in the pub went up by .20€. He made a point to tell the bartender he could get the same beer for less than that at the store and the bartender let him pay his 5 euro for the beer. I’m thinking he is a real regular. He also brought a crossword puzzle to the bar, so in someways, I think he might be my Irish spirit animal.
Well that’s it for Dublin. I would like to come back one day, rent a car and just drive the countryside. Until then, this was a good first stop on my “around the world” adventure and I can officially add Ireland to the “Countries Visited” list!
There She Goes... 