The Tour That Should Have Been

In the world we left behind, before a global pandemic changed our lives and made them unrecognizable, I would have just returned from another set of tours. 

I was scheduled to fly to Dublin ahead of this year's Edinburgh research tour. I have never been to Ireland so was really looking forward to seeing the city and learning more about the history. 

I was booked for a two night stay at the Temple Bar. I was also booked for a night of Irish Storytelling  and was really looking forward to this. I had plans to visit the archives at Guiness Storehouse. I first blogged about the archives many, many years ago. 

I had hoped to see Kilmainham Gaol, Glasnevin Cemetery, the Jeanie Johnston, the Famine Museum, Epic and many other sights that were of interest to me as I was planning my time in Dublin. 

From Dublin, I was flying into Edinburgh ahead of the tour group and was looking forward to catching up with colleagues, visiting family and getting settled back at "home". 

The Edinburgh tour was going to have a bit of an early start as a few of us had registered for a class at the Scottish Genealogy Society. In addition to 5 full days of research, we had 5 full evenings scheduled as well - 2 evening talks by local archivists, a tour of the Anatomical Museum and a guided historic tour of the Canongate. And we were to wrap up with a group dinner at the Dome. 

I had my research list ready for both the NRS and the NLS. I had plans to visit cemeteries, make a quick side trip to Fife to get some photos for a friend with ancestral ties to a coastal village and, most importantly, get caught up with my clan - the tour participants who have been with me time and time again, and were coming back for even more. I was looking forward to hearing about their discoveries, discussing research ideas, enjoying points of interest in the city, sharing laughs and creating memories. 

I would have blogged every day to keep those of you unable to join us up to date with our adventures. I would have posted to Facebook to share my journey with family, friends and colleagues. And by now, I would be basking in the wonder of it all while creating a scrapbook to hold those memories dear. 

The Edinburgh tour has been re-scheduled to April 2021, with a back up date in Sept in the event we are once again under travel restrictions. Stay tuned....