Travel, TripAdvisor, Walking Tours, and...the President of Ireland (pt.2)

     Welcome back for part 2 of "Travel, TripAdvisor, Walking Tours, and...the President of Ireland." (Part 1) Given my past post, I am thinking you are all wondering, what does any of this have to do with the President of Ireland, and how freakin long is it going to take him to get there? Well, let's get started.

     I already wrote about TripAdvisor, and what big fans Day and I are, we are also fans of the walking tours. What are they? Go to TripAdvisor, "your destination city," "things to do," and find, "walking tours," there are tons of them. Tour guides who walk the city with you and others, showing you the sights, relevant to whatever theme you chose for your tour. Don't get overwhelmed, first decide what you are interested in. Do you just want a general tour of the city, or some history? Day and I recently went on a WWII tour of Prague, what a great tour, and a fantastic way to see the city and learn about the history. After photographing the crap out of Prague, I later searched the web for WWII photos of Prague, the (Google Album) or (FB Album) are worth a look. If you are a photographer and are interested in getting that one great picture, a "photography tour" may be for you. I haven't done one of these yet, but I am looking forward to it. A local photographer spends a half a day with you, and others, bringing you around to the best photo opps, at the right time of day, and shows you tips and tricks with your camera. These can be a little pricey, so do some research. Our favorites, the "food tours," yep, a tour about eating. We have done a number of these and have yet to be disappointed.

     We recently went on the "Eating Prague Tour." To be honest, this was one of the best we have been on. Our guide Jan, was fantastic, in no time, he felt like a friend that was feeding us in his kitchen, like he had done it a hundred times before. Jan was friendly, smart and funny. We spoke on many topics, the history of Prague, politics, and even Trump. Most importantly, food, you could tell he had a passion for food and loved talking about it.

And, the food was amazing

So, if you are in Prague, "Eating Prague" is a must.

     "Sights and Pints," the "Presidential Tour" with Garvan is a can't miss if you are in Dublin. We had just gotten in, and needed something to do for a few hours before we could hit the sack. Jet lag is a killer, so if you're getting in at mid day, book an afternoon tour. Yes you're tired, but if you took a nap instead, you'd be up all night and never get through the jet lag. Well that's just what we did, we scheduled an afternoon tour of Dublin, with Garvan. We booked a private tour, so it was easy and low key, Garvan was the perfect guide for four tired travelers. He was fun, friendly, knew a bunch of stuff about the city and the "1916 Easter Rising," but kept it pretty light, up until, the President of Ireland showed up!

     It's obvious Garvan made "sucky face" with the Blarney Stone because he has the "gift of gab," and as he's going on and on about this bookstore we are standing in front of, a car with two flags on the hood pulls up. "Hey Garvan, who's in the car," I asked. He looks for a second, and replies, "uhhh, that's the President." "The President of what?" "The President of Ireland, dude!" Well crap, I gotta get me a picture then, don't I? So I followed the President inside, against the wishes of my friends.

So in I go, I muscled my way through the crowd and introduced myself, as Curly of course. I told the President of Ireland the story, "we are from the States, here on vacation, bla, bla, bla," and asked if I could get a picture. Mike D. (that's what we call him) was more than happy to humor me, we chatted a bit, seems he made "sucky face" with the Blarney Stone also. Then he asks, "Curly, what's the story with this Trump fella?" "Mikey," I said, "You know you shouldn't be talking politics without a Guinness." "Ah, yer right there Curly, I dunno what happened to me manners. What d'ya say ya round up yer crew and we'll throw back a couple of pints at the pub then!"

     Ok, all that didn't happen, but it could have, if I followed my heart and hadn't listen to my freakin friends. The President did show up though. I did follow him into the bookstore and got his picture, and that's pretty funny. So, if you're in Dublin, book the "Presidential Tour" with Garvan, tell him I sent you.

     Regardless of where you are going, look into booking a walking tour. Day and I like to do them in the beginning of our trip, you get a good lay of the land and the guides are full of information that might help you plan the rest of your trip. Ask them tons of questions, they love talking about their city and all the cool things there are to do there. They make the best restaurant recommendations and they can tell you what to stay away from. So for your next vacation, book a walking tour, and follow your heart, and enjoy!

Mentions: +Eating Prague Tours +Dublin Tour Guide

Luv ya,
Curly