On Tour – Dublin

I was anxious to find out what a Full Irish Breakfast looked like…….turns out it is identical to a Full Scottish Breakfast, except…………..it is served in Ireland dummy! It was a winner, and still to this day I can honestly say, I have never seen a buffet I didn’t like. Golf was just not in the cards today, and we decided to go back to Dublin and actually see some of what they have to offer, as yesterday was just a foggy brained slog around in the rain realizing most of the attractions required pre-booking. We corrected that this morning, pre-booking both the Guinness Storehouse, and then The Book of Kells at Trinity College. Another probably wise decision was to taxi it down to Guinness and avoid the hike over from the train station……..good choice! Actually nice weather today, and found wearing my waterproof jacked was too damn hot……..I’ll get this wardrobe thing figured out soon.

The Guinness Storehouse was a great tour and one I would recommend………once a fully functioning part of the St.James’s Gate Brewery, it has been transformed into a multi level audio visual experience that was really well done and easy to follow. Much of the old equipment was left installed, but clearly not in use anymore. The tour starts on the ground level and makes its way up through five floors, before ending up on the rooftop seventh floor (not sure what happens on six???). The seventh is a huge round glass walled bar offering 360 degree views of Dublin, the surrounding countryside, and the Irish Sea. This is where you get the free beer…….well technically not free, as it is part of the tour, but is the freshest Guinness you will ever taste…….they make it next door……….multiple taps and servers dishing it up as fast as it can be downed.

Interesting facts?……..tons……too many to mention, but there is one that was a jaw dropper……..Arthur Guinness II founder, married Olivia Whitmore $$$, and they had 21 children…..whaaaaaat…….true. However, mortality rate for children in Ireland at that time was around 50%………..they lost 11 of the 21.

It was a nice walk back towards Trinity College, passing through the Temple Bar District………great shops, and pubs everywhere…….everywhere. Having the reservation made our entrance to The Book of Kells a breeze……..on time, and walked right in. Not nearly as much fun as Guinness……..I though they might at least serve some mead, or a sampling of the holy wine, but not to be. Truly though we came here to see the Long Room Library……..65 metres long (213ft), housing over 200,000 books. A restoration project is underway to preserve the books and the building itself. A fantastic room.

Interesting fact?……..if you go through the process, and need to view one of the books for research……or just some casual reading hmmm………you would be shown the book by a person trained to handle it, and they would turn pages for you………you would not be allowed to touch it.

Time for shopping!……..not for Uncle Hugh……..I heard some music playing down the street behind H&M and decided that would be more fun than watching J&S trying to decide on the blue or the beige…..single breasted or double…….maxi or mini……..you get the picture. I parked myself against a wall across the street from a duo that were performing some really great tunes……this spot is used by buskers who perform for a set amount of time, I assume based on the license they get for this particular spot. This is a very desirable location as it is right next to the statue of Molly Malone………you know…….cockles and mussels alive alive’o. This was as much of a treat as the musicians, because it is legend that touching Molly’s breasts brings good luck………I heard there were girls like that in Vegas. It was a hoot watching the different moves people were putting on Molly, but the best was when this guy had his probably 12-13 year old son go in for a feel as he stood by with the camera…….the mother arrived grabbed her hubby and was about to stop the whole process, but in the end she just smiled and shook her head, realizing he was truly his fathers son…………Mum went in for a feel right after him!!!!

In true Irish form it began to rain once again, but this time, equipped with rain gear, we were more than happy to walk along past the shops to the nearest train station. Unfortunately we had just missed the commuter train that would have taken us back to Malahide, but the attendant informed us that if we jumped on the next train through his station, it would get us back to Connolly Station where we should catch the express to Drogheda…….stopping in Malahide we assumed!!!!!! A few tense moments in the next half hour or so, but all turned out well, and we jumped off in Malahide……….great dinner tonight in a little spot on the second storey of a corner building on main street. Still dragging a little from the trip over, so we called it a day to get some shut eye for The Island tomorrow.