Ireland - Part 2

We arrived to Dublin on October 3, bright and early in the morning! Upon arrival we were excited to find that the weather was perfect! We checked into our hotel, The Morrison, and got settled in. Since we didn't get much rest on the flight over, we took a quick nap and then headed out on the town! The location of our hotel was perfect (thanks to H for doing the research and planning for our accommodations in Dublin). Our hotel was just over the bridge (Ha'y Penny Bridge) to the Temple Bar district. On Sunday, we roamed the city to get our bearings, had lunch at "The Quay's Bar", walked through the Dublin Castle, St. Stephen's Green Park and had a few pints at local pubs (which wasn't a challenge since there was one every corner!). That evening, Bob & Karen stayed in to get some rest and H and I ventured out to have some dinner and enjoy a bit of the night life. Much to our surprise, we ran into Jay, Karen and Jayson Schmitt walking down the street at the Temple Bar area! They were also in Ireland for the wedding, Jayson was the officiant for the ceremony. Running into friends in Ireland is quite surreal. We stopped at the "Temple Bar" for dinner and drinks with the Schmitt's. Unfortunately, H and I had to cut our evening short due to the exhaustion which was creeping up on us from our trip.

On October 4, day 2 in Dublin, we woke up well rested and ready to do some sight seeing! Again, we had another beautiful day! We started out our day by taking the train to Dun Laoghaire, a seaside town about 20 miles from Dublin. It was beautiful and had a much different feel from Dublin. We had lunch at a local restaurant and then walked down the pier. It was breathtaking! After our relaxing morning, we headed back to Dublin to see some of the hot spots.

We began our tour through Dublin at Trinity College to see "The Book of Kells". It was amazing how the book had been created, preserved and displayed. Next we headed to St. Patrick's Cathedral. The original St. Patrick's Cathedral was founded in 1191 and then restored in the late 1800's to the building it is today

After a educational day, we decided we needed a Guiness Break (these were needed every few hours). We stumbled upon a bar in the Temple Bar district which had live Irish music and cold beer on tap (and walking distance from our hotel).

On October 5, day 3 in Dublin. Being that this was our last day in Dublin, we saved the best for last - Guinness Storehouse and the Jameson Distillery. Our hotel was centrally located, which allowed us to walk most places. Our first stop was the Guinness Storehouse. The Irish are very proud of Guinness and hold it at a very high regard.

We began with an introduction of Guinness and background about the company, which has been around since 1759, from there we proceeded on a self-guided tour of the Storehouse, at the end of the tour we enjoyed a nice lunch at the 7th floor restaurant and a complimentary pint at the Gravity bar with a view to die for!

A few fun facts about Guinness. In Ireland, Guinness pouring is a process, actually a six part process:
1. Guinness is to be served at 6 degrees c
2. The glass - must be a 20 ounce tulip shaped glass, washed meticulously and dried.
3. The glass must be angled 45 degrees under the tap.
4. The pour the glass 3/4 of the way, set it down and let it settle. The color of the beer will change and it will have the dark body and white top as we have all grown to know.
5. Once this is complete, fill the glass up to where the white top is above the rim of the glass. The proper pouring process takes approximately 119 seconds.
6. Enjoy your perfectly poured Guinness!

Another fun fact, Arthur Guinness signed a 9000-year lease for the St. James Gate Brewery for 45 pounds. That was in 1759, and the lease is still valid and in affect.

Next, we wandered over to the Jameson Distillery. The original distillery, which we visited, is no longer the home of where Jameson is now produced, but it is where it all began. The building was rustic and full of history. Here we went on a guided tour of the distillery and at the end enjoyed a refreshing drink. I enjoyed a Jameson with Ginger, which was surprisingly refreshing! I am not a whiskey drinker by any stretch of my imagination, but this was a drink I wouldn't mind to have every now and then!

For our last night in Dublin, we took a car to the highest point of Dublin to "Johnnie Fox". A few of our neighbors frequent Ireland and this is one place they said we must go! It is one of hte oldest restaurants in Dublin and is located on top of one of Dublin's mountains and is the highest pub in the whole country. Here we enjoyed a wonderful dinner and traditional Irish entertainment. It was the perfect end to our time in Dublin.