Once Amma left the hall in Dublin after Devi Bhava, most of the tour staff headed by bus to a location in Dublin where we would spend our last night in Europe before dispersing to either the US, home, or Amritapuri.

We didn’t know much about the place where we were going, only that it was right in the center of Dublin. We were grateful that we would have a place to stay and ‘decompress’ for one last night after a long hard tour.

It must have been mid afternoon when we arrived. It was quite cold outside – the coldest yet on tour, but the streets were bustling with activity. We unloaded our luggage, and headed up the stairs to the building where we were to stay.
Those who were the first to ring the bell had quite a surprise. As the door opened, there stood a man holding a bale of hay in his hands. Now this was central Dublin, not the country or the outskirts of the city. Behind him were more bales of hay – stacked in the hallways and in the rooms where we were to rest. His first comment was, ‘Oh! We weren’t expecting you so early!”
Turns out that the place is actually a multipurpose art house of sorts and the night before they hosted an event related to the release of a new book about two people who traveled by horse across some part of the globe. Hence the ‘hay’ theme.
Shouts of ‘Hey’, and jokes about ‘Hay Fever’ broke out as we began the task of sweeping and clearing the rooms.
Lunch and Dinner were to be served downstairs. Many of us expected carrots and apples (in keeping with the horse theme), but we were lovingly treated to a wonderful vegetarian meal.
Many of us drifted off to sleep, others trotted out in search of laundry facilities or to explore the city. At three am, we were to leave for the airport – and the end of another European Tour.
Sri Pati