Dublin, Day 1

Upon arriving at Drury Court Hotel (no relation to the Drury we know in the US) we were allowed to checkin early (which we ended up switching rooms - bit of a modly smell in the hallway of our original room- 2nd room was very nice). We took a baby powernap and then went a walkin to Guinness Storehouse, where our free tour pases awaited(Courtesy of Bill, the BEST Scotchguy ever).
On our way, we saw some sites.....

Dublin Castle:

Christ Church....

We stopped at a random pub (after getting a bit lost- details on Dublin's streets later) to have our first Authentic Guinness in Dublin. True to tradition, the bartended poured 2/3 of the pint, let it sit for 5 minutes, then filled the rest and we took our part in tradition and waited until everything had settled. It was yummy - although I will admit that I am not quite the fan that Mr. Lush is.

With our Guinness we had some soup and potato pancakes, a sample of a local made just for that pub beer, and went on our way.

The Guinness Tour.......

was not that impressive. Our passes were FREE and we were dissapointed - actual price is 15Euros. The tour is through a 7 story storehouse, with screens and pictures and its SELF GUIDED. No actual production facilities - video screens try to simulate production, but its not very effective. Of course, we compared the tour to that of AB(InBev) but it didn't even compare to Boulevard in Kansas City. It was overall anticlimatic. The Gravity Bar at the top, does have a lovely view, but the immediate surroundings are rather industrial and bleak so its not even that great. They didn't even bother painting the Guinness Production facilities with any zest or beauty - just bleh.

All that being said.....it was a nice time and more of piece of a nostalgia for Mr. Lush, as he is quite the Guinness Lover. A good tour of the website and a nice pint of Guinness at a local pub will do just fine - otherwise your love for Guinness must make it The Graceland of Beer.

It was sprinkling so we took a cab back to the hotel - it was a good 2 mile walk - we went back and took a nap, went to a local pub for some non-local fare (Penne Carbonara and a Ceasar salad), a Smithwicks and a Bulmers (which ended up being a hard cider - a good one, just not what I was in the mood for). We then hit a local brewery, called Porterhouse, who's beer menu is both fun and informative (we brought one back....shhhh), had a couple half pints and then headed back the hotel.....for some blogging before bedtime.

Note about Dublin streets - hard to navigate - signs are not consistently at the same place. Makes for long walks and I can only imagine how frustrating it would be driving on the wrong side of teh road not knowing if you should turn or not. Also, it was like 10:30 before it was dark and most pubs closed a midnight! Huh????

Yawn...having some tea now...unwinding.....it was a long day. See you tomorrow.