Hop on, hop off

Jill says...Yesterday we took the hop-on/hop-off bus tour of Dublin. It takes you to all the sights of Dublin. The driver is also a resident of the city and offers commentary while you travel along. We hopped on/off at several sites through out the day, so we had the chance to have several different drivers each time we got back on a bus. The first driver we had was a funny, older gentleman who had a wonderful Dublin accent you could actually understand. The second driver was a female, and you could tell she was not reading a script. She sang during different parts of the tour (my favorite song was Molly Malone), told different stories, and gave historical facts. As we were taking the tour, it occurred to me that she is not just a tour guide, but a storyteller. I was mesmerized by the way she used her voice and the obvious way she loved her job. I did not want to get off the bus because I wanted to keep her as our tour guide all day. Later in the day, we had a new tour guide, and this is when it really hit home about why we are here. Yes, we are enjoying seeing the sites, but we are also learning how not to tell a story. This tour guide was obviously talking directly from the script, in a monotone voice, with a lackluster attitude. He did not add anything extra, and I did not want to stay on his bus. I really want to think about this experience this next school year when I have 20 four-year-olds sitting in front of me. I could read the words in the story, or I can captivate them and share my passion for reading with them.

Today we are going on a bus tour into the Wicklow Mountains for the day. I am super excited because this was one of my favorite parts of Ireland last year. I would be even more excited if the weather would reach at least 55 degrees. It is chilly! After the tour, we are heading straight over to the Brazen Head to hear a historical storytelling of Ireland and fairies (for adults) over a four course dinner. We won't get back to our hotel until midnight, so I will try to post about it tomorrow, which is when we will be leaving Dublin. Sniffle, sniffle.

Bethany says: The Hop-on Hop-off is an excellent way to get to all the spots you need to see while you are in Dublin. As Jill said above the guides all had different styles. On the tour we talked about how we can see the importance of passion in teaching. Just like to guides, the ones that were using song and humor were able to get across the facts with our full attention. (Note to self humor and song works.) And, I have to say that the accent also adds to the experience.