I can't believe that we are already coming to an end of our time in Ireland. This is really an amazing country and I can't wait til I may be able to come back and visit it again. Until that time I'll have to fit in as much as possible.
Today was fairly productive, well sort of. We slept in until 9:30ish, which is good because if I went another night with no sleep I may have ended up in an Irish prison. We started out the day with breakfast at the hotel, and then got ready and went to the Guinness Storehouse. It was actually really great. Yesterday on our train adventures to the west, we met this family (the Barb's) and had a really great time chatting with them. Well then today, coincidentally enough, we saw them again at the Storehouse. We toured together, poured our pints together and then enjoyed a beer with them at the top of the Brewery in the Sky Bar. My mother really enjoyed their company, and I agree it was nice to have some diversity in conversation. The Sky Bar is what makes the Guinness Storehouse different from other breweries that I've visited in the past. It is this lounge at the top of the Storehouse with panoramic views of the Dublin Skyline. The views were incredible, but, unfortunately, it was very packed with people up there so there are no pictures really. Sorry, but you'll just have to go an see it for yourselves, it's much better and more fun going there in person rather than just looking at a picture of it.
The storehouse took us about 2 1/2 hours (longer than expected) and by the time we had left, it was raining outside. FINALLY! I was worried I was going to go to Ireland and not get to experience their rain. We walked up to the River Liffey and followed it to Fitzgerald's Pub. We went in and had their special (Fish & Chip + Pint 14.99 Euros) and watched a soccer game. There were locals and tourists alike in the pub and it was really an experience. Afterwards, we had just about dried off from our last walk in the rain, we went back out and walked up to the Temple Bar District. This is a 'touristy' district full of pubs and clubs and shops. It's all cobblestone roads and old buildings and bustling with all different types of people.
As we walked and watched the events happening around us, I couldn't help but to think about how traveling with different people yields different experiences. Now, I am stating for the record, I love this trip and traveling with my mother has been an incredible experience. Having said that, while we walked up the Temple Bar District all I could think was that if I had chosen to do this trip with friends rather than family, I would have: A) spent a LOT more money on going out and partying, B) not seen the same places that my mother and I have seen together, & C) had a completely different take on Dublin. Honestly, who you travel with makes all the different on the experience you have... and that's all I'll say on that topic.
After touring the area a little bit, we decided to try and go to a few things that we'd missed on Friday due to Good Friday closures. So we went to go to the National Museum, except when we got close, we realized that it was now after 6 pm, and it was already closed, and that it wasn't open on Mondays, which means that I will not get to experience the bog people this time. Ah well, there is always next time. So instead, we changed direction and did a walking tour of Medieval Dublin. It wasn't the exact walking tour that I had originally planned on, and due to the hour, many of the attractions were closed, but we went anyway. We walked around the Christ Church Cathedral, which dates back to 1038, and it's grounds. We went to Dublinia, an exact replica of Medieval Dublin, and looked through the fences and windows to see what we could see (which wasn't much). Finally, we walked to Dublin Castle (built in 1204), and walked around the grounds of the castle. I still struggle thinking about how old some of these buildings really are, and being very fond of history, I appreciate and am excited to see it up close.
After our walk we returned to the hotel, had another pint at the hotel bar and then decided to call it an early night. Tomorrow marks our last day in Ireland, before taking the ferry over to Wales to start our next big adventure in a new country. For tomorrow, we plan on visiting the Jameson Distillery, doing some last minute souvenir shopping, and possibly going into some churches here in Dublin (since they've all been closed every time we've tried so far). And then for dinner we have an Irish Folklore & Storytelling Dinner booked at The Brazen Head, Dublin's oldest pub (1198). It should be an excellent conclusion to our first adventure in Ireland. Until then...
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