Europe 2012 - Day 2

Well, I broke the schedule.  I think I finally know what this so-called jet lag feels like.  I watched every hour go by last night 1a…2a...3a…tv on – sex & the city, score…4a…5a.  Then finally dozed off.  Alan let me sleep until 9:30.  However, like I said, I broke the schedule since we were supposed to be out the door at 8 am!

We scooped up coffee & muffins at the local market down the street, and then ventured down to St Patrick’s cathedral.  The history was cool, but the commercialization of the church is a little disappointing.  We did a self-guided tour and found ‘looking’ at things was way more enjoyable than ‘reading’ about things.  Stained glassed lined the building – breathtaking.  Old flags hung high on the walkway to the main alter, as if they have been there for hundreds of years.  Knight’s helmets dangled from swords.  I felt like I was in a different century.  Well, I guess we really were.  Afterwards, we went to explore the ground surrounding the cathedral.  Big red tulips filled the grounds. 

[St Patrick's Cathedral]

[St Patrick's Gardens]

[St Patrick's Gardens...keeping warm with my scarf!]

Following that we went to the Guinness St. James’s Gate – the brewery.  Skeptical that this would be a standard tourist trap, I was pleasantly surprised with the experience.  We would highly recommend this to future Ireland visitors.  The self-guided tour is lovely; we learned so much about Guinness tradition from the early 1700s.  We saw the deed that Mr. Arthur Guinness signed in 1759 for NINE THOUSAND years, paying 45 euro/year.  The distillery lies on 55 acres on the edge of Dublin proper.  The process of making a pint of Guinness is impressive and hasn’t changed at all even today.  The secret ingredient, yeast, has been duplicated from the original since Mr. Guinness created it in the beginning.  The original yeast stays locked away in a vault, only the head brew master has a key, just in case anything ever happens at the brewery…they have a reserve to maintain the original Guinness taste.  The most impressive part of the whole tour was learning about the barrel making (or your present day keg).  The amount of work that went into making one barrel was unreal.  They made 1000 in a week, which after watching a video of them make one was pretty incredible.  Toward the end of the tour we picked up a few Guinness inspired recipes that we plan on making in the near future.  We enjoyed our free pint of Guinness at the Gravity Bar (the highest point of Dublin, also with the best views) and were on our way for lunch.

[a little Guinness foam]

We stopped for lunch at Brazen Head, the oldest pub in Ireland.  Got a snug table by the fire and dried off from the rain.  We shared plates of mussels and fettuccine.  Afterwards, we headed to the Dublin Castle.  The tours were booked for the day, boo, but we walked around the buildings, through the town square, and through the gardens.  Then we headed back to the hotel for a much needed mid-day nap!

We awoke, bundled up again (it was a REALLY rainy day) and trekked to S Great Georges Street.  We fit right in – yuppie land.  Welcome to the Royal Oak of Ireland.  First stop was Fallon & Byrne.  Think Eataly in New York (if you don’t know it, look it up!).  We perused aisles of foreign fruits and veggies.  Then we headed to the basement Wine Cellar.  I was expecting a quiet bar, dark, wine by the glass.  But we were pleasantly greeted with a room filled with happy Irish young adults and post work happy hour goers…sipping wine, eating cheese, loving life.  Found us a stool right in the middle of the action, and opened a tab!  After a bottle of wine accompanied with a nice cheese and cured meat plate, we headed onward for dinner.  We walked down the street to The Market.  Delicious tapas, in a contemporary, restored sausage factory.  How Alan found these gems, I have no idea! 

So now we end the night.  Once again reminiscing the day…in our hotel lobby bar.  Enjoyed a few conversation with other travelers from other parts of Ireland.  Got some recommendations for restaurants & pubs for the second part of our trip.  Tomorrow we head to Copenhagen.  Michelle greets us at the airport.  And I am sure there will be a whole weekend full of 'hygge' good times!  Shelly will love that Danish reference :-)