Ireland - Dublin - The Quick Tour

We basically had 1 solid day in Dublin, so we hit most of the sites with the exception of the Guiness Storehouse in that one day.  Dublin is a beautiful old city filled with history and all of the major sites are situated on a big traffic loop serviced by a tourist "Hop On/Hop Off" bus.  We purchased a 2 day pass, which we used for the time we were there.












Our first stop that morning was St. Patrick's Cathedral.If we were to visit one church on this trip, this was the one to see.  It is a beautiful atmospheric cathedral housing the remains of Dublin's favorite son, Jonathan Swift, who was Dean at the cathedral for many years.












From there we visited the Kilmainham Gaol, but after that we needed some libations, so we stopped in to try out the national drink of Ireland, Irish Whiskey, at the old Jameson's Distillery.

Tony was selected to be a whiskey taster, and sampled whiskeys from Scotland, America, and Ireland.  He learned to recognize the difference, and surprise, surprise, he liked the Irish Whiskey from Jamesons best.   I discovered that I liked a Whiskey London style, which is Whiskey and Gingerale.  Very tasty.

I learned how to make an Irish Coffee, which involves placing some sugar in the base of a cup adding some hot coffee to dissolve the sugar, then add a bit of Irish Whiskey, then floating a layer of fresh cream on top.  It resembles a glass of Guiness.  It was a perfect drink to have on a cold wet Irish afternoon.

For our last evening in Dublin, we went to a dinner at the oldest pub in Dublin, The Brazen Head, where they were having an evening of Irish History and Storytelling.  It was a great evening where I had a chance to learn a bit more about the Irish, the Potato Famine, and Fairies.  I'd highly recommend it to everyone.

I had the chance to try the national dish, Irish Stew, which was very basic and good.  As they explained that evening, the Irish have never been known for culinary flare, but they do have a history for homey stews. 

Ireland - Dublin - Kilmainham Gaol (pronounced Jail

 Kilmainham Gaol (pronounced Jail) is the most famous jail in Ireland, as it was here that many of the political prisoners were held during the early days of the Irish political upheaval. 

It was originally built in Victorian times and was designed by a quaker to be a place of rehabilitation for prisoners.  Unfortunately, the potato famine hit, and the prison was pressed into service with far more prisoners than originally intended, and later became a jail for political reasons. 

It remains a fantastic example of Victorian architecture, and is fascinating to see.  It was used as the filming location for "In the Name of the Father" starring Daniel Day Lewis.  Great film. . .

Ireland - Dublin - The Guiness Storehouse

 Ever since coming to the UK, I'd wanted to go visit Ireland.  We booked the flights and hotels, and took the train out to Gatwick Airport.  It was the day of 2013's big snow storm.  Luckily, we weren't flying out of Heathrow, which always shuts down due to snow.  We arrived in Dublin, and made our way to one of the top sites:  The Guiness Storehouse.

 Though now owned by the large conglomerate Diageo, Guiness has a long history with Dublin, and the original 9000 year land lease is on display in the lobby.   For 45 GBP a year, Arthur Guinness got use of  almost 4 acres of land in what was, at that time, just outside the St. James Gate to Dublin.  Pretty amazing deal.

 Arthur Guinness created the recipe for the porter style of beer that ultimately became the famous Guinness beer known all over the world.  1.8 billion pints are consumed annually made at over 50 Guinness breweries world wide.  Pretty amazing success story. 

 At the top of the storehouse is the Gravity Bar, which offers an amazing 360 degree view of the St. James Gate Brewery and Dublin. 

The views are awesome.  And so is the beer.  They told us we were having some of the freshest Guinness available as it was only 10 days old. 

There was a place at then end of the tour where you could enter your thoughts on Guiness.  All I could think was that "Guinness Beer is Ireland in a Pint."