You’ll see them, clad in their green cassocks enjoying the craic, with St Paddy’s vital accessories, his crook or crozier staff… and a pint of Guinness.
It’s the St Paddy’s Day procession only, in fairness, there is very little proceeding… unless it’s to the next pub.
St Paddy’s staff, or crook with cross on top, is a symbol of his high status but probably not the best walking aid.
It’ll turn your beer green
I’ll get onto walks around Ireland with IrelandWays www.IrelandWays.com but first a walk around the houses.
My Dear Old Dad, a doctor, and perhaps a sainted figure himself by now would always advise people use walking sticks.
Candles… in cartons for the night-time vigil, in the shops, giant ones at €60, and ones inscribed by everyone in the village in which they were carved.
The helpers wheeling the disabled, pilgrims quietly queuing in front of the baths.
St Bernadette hiding in the gardens around the model villages in Lourdes Castle and the interdit sign which a disobedient Scot will always ignore.
You’re either a cat person (and my kind of human being) or a dog person (and probably not).
No doubt if I google it I’ll be able to find out what a cat person is and what constitutes a dog person.
Equally there’s bound to be some kerching mug, plate or tea towel saying why dogs are better than men and also cats. In fact I know there are.
Now don’t get me wrong I love dogs (most of them) but it’s just their owners.
Have you no respect?
Let me kick off with their extendable leads.
What was wrong with the small leads? They didn’t stretch far enough I hear dog owners scream.
But then what are you meant to do when you’re walking along the pavement?
Minding your own business, and you get your way blocked by Fido or Rover?
You’re forced into the road where you step on Fido’s do-dos.
Puss in books
OK, there’s less of that now, but the sight of dog owners earnestly and smugly gathering their pet’s poo in an outpoured plastic bag (and don’t get me going on plastic bags).
Or using that pooper scooper.
Cat’s litter
I mean why can’t they do like cats and do it in a tray or in someone else’s flower bed (I know I do, the last bit anyway, or at least I used to as a student).
And then you can’t get past two dog owners who meet in the middle of the pavement and start pawing each other’s pets.
And again you never get that with cats.
Spot the human: In South Africa
I was reminded of cats’ superior place in God’s choir by an old pal and fellow felinophile.
He was responding to my recent review on Istanbul by lauding the Turks, not least for their love of cats.
Bazaar cats
And yes, I was taken by the cats sprawling over the book stalls in the Grand Bazaar…
Something you definitely wouldn’t want a mangy old dog doing.
Although I will give the dog who photobombed my pic of a Camino cross by piddling on it an A+.
Although I doubt it would have helped him getting to doggie heaven.
And my fur is growing… on the Camino
And, of course, I’ll always purr at the memory of our beloved First Born, our cheeky, too brave for his own good tabby Celtic.
He incurred the wrath of a particularly menacing crow – I think he was eyeing up her baby bird.
My cuddles
But the most majestic of all animals are the big cats and I will treasure getting this close to these pussycats on safari in the East Cape in South Africa.
That reminds me. I will bring you my review from Barcelona with Celebrity Cruises on the FlowRider on Oasis of the Seas. http://www.celebritycruises.ie
Now this one’s got legs and will run and run… it’s Spanish pulpo, or octopus!
Walking the last leg of the Camino with www.caminoways.com involves you getting a car ride from Santiago airport to Sarria 100kms away.
My driver speaking little to no English and me poco Espagnol it was a long journey.
Ole: Spanish cooking at the Cook’s School
Broken up only by looking out onto lush Galicia and the roads I imagined I would be trekking.
In truth they were more forested and open plained and even more beautiful.
And the couple of Spanish words I did pick up from the driver.
Albergo and pulpo.
Horsing around: On the Camino
Albergo I figured out was ‘hostel’ from the driver pointing at them on the journey.
But ‘pulpo’ I had to figure out for myself.
Pulpo is octopus and is a specialty of the Spanish region.
Made it: Santiago
I still lick my lips at the memory of sitting up on a tall stool in Santiago de Compostela at a round bar table.
Picking my way at the pulpo and its tomato sauce… no Heinz or YR this.
Pulpo was my reward for completing the 118km stretch from Sarria to Santiago which entitles you to your certificate.
You get a stamp in your Camino passport at every 15km or so stop-off.
Where you will stay in a hotel and have your luggage taken to the next accommodation.
Even the animals are friendly
I walked on pure adrenaline, fuelled on sardines and cerveza (beer), water, home-made sandwiches from the supermarket, Starburst sweets and Garribaldi biscuits.
Show me how pulpo is done
And the good will of my fellow peregrinos who will greet you at every step with a hale and hearty Buen Camino which gave me an extra spurt.
I got a chance to see how pulpo is made when I attended a Spanish Tourist Board sponsored cookery class at Cooks Academy in Dublin http://www.cooksacademy.com.
Best leaving it to them. And they’ll talk you through how to make it.
If nothing else you’ll look the part in your natty apron and you can even borrow the chef’s hat.
I walked again with www.CaminoWays.com from Viterbo into Rome and will take to the Tenerife roads in a couple of weeks.
It was the only seat left
Camino Ways is offering €50 off per person for your next walking trip in October, a quieter and cooler time to walk.
Rome wasn’t built in a day… if it was there wouldn’t be so much to enjoy.
But if you’ve only got one day and maybe the next morning then what to see and what to miss out?
An how to do it for less than €50 spending money.
Obviously you have to sleep somewhere, and I do recommend the welcoming and economical Hotel Trastevere although remember there’s a €4 a night city tax.
Walk the walk
Of GodS and Men
It’s free and it’s fun to people watch, window shop, and you can take pictures at your leisure.
You’ll also come upon piazzas you wouldn’t if you were on a public or hop-on, hop-off bus.
Eat al fresco
Step this way: The Spanish Steps in Rome
You’ll pay for the privilege of eating and drinking near St Peter’s Square and the Trevi Fountain.
Instead grab a pezzo (a slice of pizza) on the go for about €3 andfill your water bottles from the ornate water taps that proliferate around the city.
Rather than buy it from the shops.
Or just go into a grocery, or supermarket, and buy a picnic of bread, cold meats and fruit for about a fiver.
You’ll get a decent bottle of wine for about the same (there’s also the Campo di Fiore food market for a more authentic experience).
Book an audience with the Pope. It’s Mass but he plays to the gallery and the backdrop of St Peter’s can’t be beaten.
It you can’t get an audience, you need to book in advance, then attend Mass in St Paul’s Basilica – you’ll be in there anyway.
Or any of the churches in the city. They double as art galleries.
Other frescoes
Look up: The Pantheon in Rome. Photo by Kyle Killam on Pexels.com
The Sistine Chapel is a true wonderful work of art but frescoes can only really be enjoyed if you’ve got time, space and quiet.
Besides every church in Rome has a stunning fresco.
The best fresco, of course, is in the Pantheon, the 7.8m diameter hole in the dome,.
Because God made the view.
It changes every day.
When it rains on Rome, stop whatever you’re doing and rush to the Pantheon.
Spend a penny at the Trevi Fountain
Water, water everywhere: At the Trevi Fountain, Rome
No, not that penny, although I can recommend the toilets in the oh-so English Barrington Tea Room, near to the Spanish Steps.
Byron, Keats and Shelley all lived around here.
More Babington Wee Room, if you like.
No, spend a penny by throwing one over your shoulder into the Trevi Fountain.
It’s a cliche and a superstition but it’s everything that people say it is.,
Of course, they know you’ll come back to Rome.. how could you stay away?
This way: There’s no shortage of statues in Rome
Skull and bones
When you’ve seen everything else – and definitely make time for the Castel Sant’Angelo (€10.50) next to St Peter’s Square where rich Papal history was played out.
And it also adorns the walls.
Before you head for the Capuchin Crypt (€8.50), Piazza Belerini, and join the monks at prayer.
I walked pas a real-live Capuchin monk on my way in before being reintroduce to some real dead ones.
You know, the 3,700 whose skulls and bones were used to build the Crypt’s four chapels.
There’s even a clock made out of a monk’s bones, although the twist is it doesn’t have hands.
Time stands still in here. But not for us.
They have left us a message: ‘What you are now, we used to be. What we are now, you will be.’
Que sera, sera!
Save your money
King of the Castel: At the Castel Sant’Angelo
€10.50: Castel Sant’Angelo. €8.50: Capuchin Crypt. €5: Picnic or pezzo (€3 and €2 for a Peroni beer). €5: Bottle of wine. €1: Souvenir fridge magnet (it’ll cost you much more at the airport). €0.50: For the Trevi Fountain. Listen, it can be a one-set bit, but I’m just keeping it at a nice round number. €7: For an al fresco spaghetti carbonara (it’s a local Roman specialty) deal with Peroni in Trastevere. €2.50: For sweeties for the family/work… they’ll suss out though if it slips your mind and you try to bluff it and get Haribos back home. €10: For the disfigured and displaced around St Peter’s Square…. they deserve it. = €50.
Travel Facts: Flights: Aer Lingus and Ryanair both fly to Rome. Visit http://www.aerlingus.comwww.aerlingus.com.com and www.ryanair.com for best offers. Where to stay: I found Hotel Trastevere, Via Luciano Manara 24A, Trastevere on www.booking.com with a 15% reduction, down from €121 to €103. I spent the day and night at the end of a Via Francigena pilgrimage, 100kms from Viterbo into Rome with www.ViaFrancigena.com
I’ll need a bigger spoon: The Italian Hot Chocolate
Mardy Martina’s face broke out into a smile when I ordered Hot Chocolate on the hottest day of the year in Barcelona recently.
Not such a loco idea though as beer is dehydrating, water makes you go, and besides Hot Chocolate, when it’s done well, is a treat and one I usually reserve for when I’m away apart from Campo de Fiori Rosto Market which I sorely miss from my neighbouring town of Bray.
My follow up of ‘It’s too hot’ was met with a que? and a curled lip from Maria. And me. It was a bit calido.
Follow peaceful paths through ancient forests and open mountain trails to Glenmalure, Ireland’s longest glacier valley… and finish in Dublin. 
