Dublin

We left London the next morning and took the train back out to the airport. The lines were much longer than I had anticipated and we ended up speed walking/almost jogging through the airport. We arrived just in time and still got a seat next to each other. We flew Ryan Air the whole trip and they have first come first serve seating. We landed in Dublin and took a bus to our hostel. It was called the Four Courts and I think they guy at the front desk was a leprechaun. Lunch was the first order of business and we went to the oldest pub in the city The Brazen Head founded in the end of the 10^th century. Our first stop after lunch was Jameson Irish Whiskey Museum. It was a pretty good tour and they had a taste test at the end so you could compare the differences of whiskeys through out the world. The unique feature of Jameson Whiskey is that it is triple distilled. It is suppose to give it a smoother taste. I’m not a fan of whiskey, but you could tell a difference between it Jack Daniels and a Scottish Whiskey they had. They Scottish one had a smokey taste. You’ll learn why later. Then we headed to Guinness. This tour/museum had to much information and after seeing the Stiegel Brewery and the Whiskey and then Guinness they all start to sound the same. But Guinness did have a really good section on their marketing through the last few decades. At the very top of the brewery is the Gravity Bar and it is all glass and lets you have a great view of the city. We saw the city all lit up at night. We went down town and walked around and got our tourist shopping done and then got groceries from the Spar for dinner. I really like cooking in the hostels, because you meet all kinds of people and you get the opportunity to talk to people from all over. We made nachos and rice. Our room was all girls and has the capacity to hold 16, but there were only 4 other girls in there besides us.

            To give our legs a rest we did a Hop On Hop Off bus tour. This was nice, because the bus driver told you things while he drove around the city and he would stop occasionally and point out special places of interest and if you wanted to you could get off the bus and explore more on your own. A bus came about every 15 to each of the stops. It worked out nicely, but wasn’t as informant as the walking tours are. A main place rebellion actions took place in Dublin is the central Post Office. In some of the statues near it you can still see bullet wholes. Ireland only gained its independence in 1922. Next to it is a shopping strip with booths very similar to Hong Kong, but a lot more expensive and not quit as close together. Trinity College is the oldest university in Ireland and holds one of the oldest intact copies of the Gospels. It dates back to the 800s. It is beautifully written with calligraphy and pictures all over it. This was another place you could take pictures. There is also a library on the campus that houses some of the oldest books in Ireland and is full of old books from everywhere. We ate lunch in a restaurant called the Alamo. I found it a little bit ironic, but their Mexican really wasn’t to far off. Dublin Castle is located right in the middle of town. It also is right next door to the police station and a library. They don’t really let you see it without paying, but we did get some good pictures in the garden and next to the Cathedral. Our next stop was probably the most exciting in Dublin. Kilmainham Goal is a prison located outside of town. It was the most innovated of its time and has killed quite a few people. The people of Dublin feel it closely correlates with British control. The prison was built in 1798 and the British gained control in 1800. The last person to be executed was in 1924 and the British left in 1922. The original Italian Job has a few scenes from the prison. Dublin also has a park near the prison that is over 1000 acres and is called Phoenix Park. The inspiration for the book Dracula came from St. Michan, but we could never figure out how to get in. Dinner was sandwiches and more rice. I talked to a guy from Germany for a while, then me and Amy went looking for traditional music and dancing. There wasn’t a lot going on since it wasn’t tourist season, but we did get to hear so music and the people who danced were good and lived up to our expectations. They music was still a little too modern, but nice to listen too.

            Overall, Dublin is not anything special. I think the country side and smaller towns in Ireland have more to offer. I could be wrong, but Dublin wasn’t impressive at all and everything can be seen in 2 days.