Saturday was pretty tame compared Friday. We woke up a little after 8 to get ready. Breakfast at our hostel was pretty lame. They offered toast, some weird cereal, and more toast. Highly disappointing, but I guess we shouldn't have expected more. We had a pretty solid plan for the day; Guinness in the morning, lunch, city walking tour, anything else we want to see, and then back to London.
The Storehouse opens at 9:30 and we arrived around 10. It was decently busy for being so early. We flashed our tickets and they let us right in. It should be known that the Guinness Storehouse is a self-run tour. There are no tour guides, just arrows on the floor guiding you through. The tour takes you through the process of finding the ingredients, preparing them, and then eventually crafting the perfect pour. Each ticket (for people over 18) will get you one pint of Guinness. So it may have been 11AM in Dublin, but it was 5 o'clock somewhere, so I will let that justify my 1.5 pints. We took our pints in the Gravity bar, which is at the very top of the storehouse. The bar a 360 degree bar with windows everywhere, so you get the perfect panoramic view of the city. It's very, very cool. Basically you pay for your ticket that gets you into this amazing bar. It's slightly over priced, but I would pay it just for the experience.
Me enjoying a pint of Guinness in the Gravity Bar.
Me, Jessica, Abbey and Bailey
The wonderful view!
We spent way too much time in the Gravity Bar, so we had to breeze through the gift shop, and make our way to where the free walking tour begins at city hall. On the way we had a rushed lunch at a local pub. I got a chicken wrap and chunky chips, and it was delicious! So much better than the toast I had had for breakfast. We made it to the walking tour just before it was about to leave. Our tour guide was a young Irish man who knew a lot about Irish history and the city. I swear to you I learned more in those 3 and half hours than I would have in a classroom. There is something about being there, and seeing things for yourself that help them settle in. We didn't see quite as much of the city as I was expecting, but it was still a very good tour that took us all the way across the city, hitting some key areas. We of course tipped the man when the tour was through. He deserved it.
Dublin Castle
Trinity College
We ended at a park, but it was starting to get a bit nippy outside, and since the tour ran longer than expected, we made our way back to our hostel to rest and pick up our bags. It’s hard to describe how tired I was. I wasn't so much physically tired. It was that my brain was fried from being overwhelmed with the awesomeness that is this country.
We got back on a bus to the airport, and luckily had a little of importance happen on our journey home. I did acquire a Carlsberg glass to add to my glass collection. Now all I really need is a beer glass from Scotland and I will be happy.
All in all, I would have to say that Ireland is a lot like Iowa. It has a more interesting history, and some bigger cities, but it's the closest thing to home that I have experienced so far. That's probably why I enjoyed it so much. That's all for now. Stay tuned for my last week of classes and work before Spring Break 2010.
Pip Pip Cheerio!
Would you recommend the Guiness tour and surrounding area as a good day-trip from London?
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