We're Baaaaccccckkkkkkkk!!
After far too many years, the Mancub and I finally took another trip. This time we went to his home country, well at least that's where his passport is from. I had three goals for Ireland:
Luckily, I had 11 days to accomplish said tasks. I arrived in Dublin, and had the easiest Customs Officer exchange ever:
Him: How long will you be here?
Me: 11 days.
Him: Thank you. Next person!
So...that was nice. The only problem it presented was that Prash was on a Ferry that wasn't scheduled to arrive for another hour. So, I sat and waited. I waited by the door to make it easier to find me and realized that even in August it is MUCH COLDER there than it is in North Carolina. His boat took forever, so I ended up sitting there for about 3 hours and ate almost all of my snacks. I was hanging out with Debbie the night before...so you know she loaded me up on the snacks. Dill Pickle Popcorn, get in my belly.
He finally arrives and we get down to business. By that, I mean we go to the Guinness Storehouse for Guinness and lunch...and Guinness. I was blown away by how massive the operation is. I mean, I guess they do make A LOT of beer...but it was still enormous.
The museum/explanation of how it's made was pretty cool, pretty pretty cool. However, we were both starving so we more or less skimmed that part and went straight to the restaurant. It was here that I was introduced to Irish Brown Bread...and I just don't know where it has been all of my life. I'm literally sitting in front of a pan of brownies right now, but I want this bread.
Approximately 7 floors up, there is a panoramic bar where you receive your complimentary pint of Guinness. From that bar, you can see pretty much all of Dublin. Here is the evidence:
After dinner, we had a new mission: Irish Beer and Whiskey tasting in Temple Bar. We were not disappointed. There were live bands playing nearly everywhere we went and for some reason, they really loved Johnny Cash and Wagon Wheel...I didn't hate it. Please note that the Leprechaun picture definitely happened before the whiskey. My favorite was a Redbreast 12 Year Old Pot Still Whiskey...it was essentially amber heaven. That beer you see there is a Galway Hooker...another of my favorites - and not just because I think the name is FAN-tastic.
After this place, we visited several others around Temple Bar. The Bad Ass Cafe was my favorite...everyone sang along and the girl singing did all of my favorite songs. It's no secret I wish my life were a musical...this was pretty close. About the time we were ready to leave, a lady came in who had perhaps overindulged in both spirits and drugs. She sat there for a while trying to blend in, then casually walked over to another table of strangers, picked up one of their brand new drinks, then strolled out of the bar with the stolen beverage...while being chased by the drink owner and her friends. I can honestly say that's the first time I've ever seen that happen, but that lady just did not care. She was strolling around sipping like it was no big deal.
- Pet a Sheep
- Eat the Blood Pudding
- Go on that scary rope bridge in Northern Ireland that might have made me pass out and fall over the rope-rail
Luckily, I had 11 days to accomplish said tasks. I arrived in Dublin, and had the easiest Customs Officer exchange ever:
Him: How long will you be here?
Me: 11 days.
Him: Thank you. Next person!
So...that was nice. The only problem it presented was that Prash was on a Ferry that wasn't scheduled to arrive for another hour. So, I sat and waited. I waited by the door to make it easier to find me and realized that even in August it is MUCH COLDER there than it is in North Carolina. His boat took forever, so I ended up sitting there for about 3 hours and ate almost all of my snacks. I was hanging out with Debbie the night before...so you know she loaded me up on the snacks. Dill Pickle Popcorn, get in my belly.
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| The best cure for a long, red-eye flight. |
The museum/explanation of how it's made was pretty cool, pretty pretty cool. However, we were both starving so we more or less skimmed that part and went straight to the restaurant. It was here that I was introduced to Irish Brown Bread...and I just don't know where it has been all of my life. I'm literally sitting in front of a pan of brownies right now, but I want this bread.
Approximately 7 floors up, there is a panoramic bar where you receive your complimentary pint of Guinness. From that bar, you can see pretty much all of Dublin. Here is the evidence:
After the Guinness Storehouse, we went to try and find the hotel. After driving past it twice, we found the hotel. I went to check in while he tried to find the off-site parking.
- Problem #1: I didn't have a data package on my phone, so I could only communicate with him from inside the hotel via WiFi.
- Problem #2: It was rush hour in Dublin.
- Problem #3: We could not find the car park to save our lives
We got settled in and then went to dinner at Bach 16. It was here that I had possibly the best pizza I've ever had. It was right on the River Liffey and they had pretty great wine too. As we're looking out over the river as the sun sets...we see a homeless man who, Prash claims, was just scratching an itch in an inopportune location...hunched over...very vigorously. Prash has since changed his position because that man was not scratching. He walked a few steps then continued doing his thing...it was a train wreck, really. I couldn't look away.
After dinner, we had a new mission: Irish Beer and Whiskey tasting in Temple Bar. We were not disappointed. There were live bands playing nearly everywhere we went and for some reason, they really loved Johnny Cash and Wagon Wheel...I didn't hate it. Please note that the Leprechaun picture definitely happened before the whiskey. My favorite was a Redbreast 12 Year Old Pot Still Whiskey...it was essentially amber heaven. That beer you see there is a Galway Hooker...another of my favorites - and not just because I think the name is FAN-tastic.
After this place, we visited several others around Temple Bar. The Bad Ass Cafe was my favorite...everyone sang along and the girl singing did all of my favorite songs. It's no secret I wish my life were a musical...this was pretty close. About the time we were ready to leave, a lady came in who had perhaps overindulged in both spirits and drugs. She sat there for a while trying to blend in, then casually walked over to another table of strangers, picked up one of their brand new drinks, then strolled out of the bar with the stolen beverage...while being chased by the drink owner and her friends. I can honestly say that's the first time I've ever seen that happen, but that lady just did not care. She was strolling around sipping like it was no big deal.
After that, I bought some cheese fries (of course) and we went back to the hotel. It was then that I realized why such a great location was so cheap. Our room was directly over a heavy metal bar. In case you were wondering, the heavy metal music will make your bathroom vibrate, and will continue playing at an obscene volume until 3AM. Which is the opposite of what a tired traveler needs. Given the music, still not even the worst place we stayed, but that's a different story.
Thus concludes day 1 of the trip - Dublin is both the most fun and most exhausting city I've ever been to.
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