I thought long and I thought hard and I came to the conclusion that I haven’t even been to a parade. I have seen a few on TV, but never stood on the side of the road as one marched by. If I were going to have a first parade, the Dublin St. Patrick’s Day parade would be one of the top ones to open up with, right?
Well, the weather forecasts were correct, I did get colder and windy. It was spitting snow and right about freezing with a stiff wind. My new hat was the difference between a small Irish head cold and certain death by pneumonia. Best €20 I have ever spent.
After figuring out that the buses were on a Sunday schedule due to the holiday, I got down to Temple Bar a little later than I had planned to, which in the cold weather was probably a good thing. I grabbed some coffee and was able to find a good spot to watch with only one shorter spectator in front of me. Not bad for getting to the site about 1 hour before the start. Over the next hour my spot got over 6 deep.
The grand marshal came early in the parade in a vintage Rolls-Royce.
And there were pipes and drums
And then the bug-people came out
I have to give much respect to the color guards and baton twirlers who marched the whole route AND smiled the whole way. Especially those from Stephen F. Austin University in Texas. They looked the coldest.
There was a high school band from Minnesota who looked like they were enjoying the warm weather compared to what they left back home 🙂 I was freezing after being out there for a few hours. It was worth it, but I would like to come back and see another parade when it is warmer.
