March 18th - Dublin, Ireland
We committed my #1 sin for European travel...we slept in. I absolutely never, ever sleep in on vacation. Especially in a country that I have never been to before. I only have a few days to experience this country and there is so much to see, why would I waste time in the hotel room sleeping? Anyways, I did it. I broke my own rule. We were so exhausted from traveling and celebrating St. Paddy's Day, we just had to get some sleep.
Once we finally got our butts in gear, we set out to explore Dublin on our own. First stop, the Guinness Brewery. Apparently we weren't the only people with this bright idea because the place was packed.
Upon entry into the brewery, we received an interesting free souvenir in celebration of St. Patrick's Day. It can only be explained with a picture...
Inside the brewery, we went on a self-guided tour where we learned all about the history of Guinness and Arthur Guinness himself. Fun fact: the Guinness Brewery produces as many pints of beer in one day as there are people in the entire country of Ireland. After learning about the brewery and the beer-making process, we learned how to pour the perfect pint of Guinness. In order for a pint of Guinness to taste right, it must be poured a certain way. Pouring it incorrectly can affect the taste of the beer. So odds are, if you order a draft Guinness in America, it probably is not being poured correctly, this tainting the taste.
Once we finished our tour, we went to the top of the brewery for our free pint of Guinness at the Gravity Bar. This bar is made completely of glass so you can get a 360 degree view of the entire city. Nothing is better on vacation than a good beer and a breathtaking view.
In the afternoon, we had to meet up with our Globus group for an orientation to our tour around Ireland. We rode on the Globus bus for a little while seeing the sights and then we were given the option of staying on the bus for a driving tour around Dublin, or getting off the bus to tour the city on our own. Since we were already acquainted with the city, thanks to Ian, we chose to go off exploring on our own.
After stopping in a few shops to collect some souvenirs, we headed over to the Old Jameson Distillery. This famous whiskey distillery location has been turned into a museum, restaurant, bar and gift shop. Unlike the Guinness Brewery, the Old Jameson Distillery is no longer functioning as a producer and distributor of the product. There is a newer Jameson Distillery outside of Dublin where the whiskey is actually produced today.
At the Old Jameson Distillery, we were able to have a look around and even taste the different whiskeys that Jameson makes. The whiskey samples were very strong, so Jared did the majority of the tasting for us.
We spent the early evening exploring more of the old cobblestone streets of Dublin, enjoying the sights, sounds and culture of the city. In Dublin, there is literally a pub every 20 or so yards. I was told that there are around 1,000 pubs in Dublin. Each one is unique in its own way, and it's fun to just walk around taking in the scenery.
We met up with our Globus tour group that evening for a welcome dinner and drinks. We called it a night fairly early again because we had to get up super early the next day to begin our bus tour of the Irish countryside. Farewell Dublin!
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