Guinness Storehouse

The Guinness Storehouse is huge! I starts at the basement and you slowly travel through the levels and end up at the bar with a 360 degree view of Dublin. The tour is about 15 Euros and took me about 2 hours to complete. Of course I am a bit of a dawdler, so I am sure that you could see all you want in much less time.

This is a photo of the gate to REAL brewery. We're not allowed in there of course. 

As you go on to the first level off to the left is the souvenir shop. Here's a tip: I noticed that the merchandise was going for about 20% more at the official shop compared to the souvenir shops around the city. You might want to step in to one of those before you head here. Of course, there was a greater variety at the shop but I stocked up on Guinness fudge at the other store for quite a bit less. MMmmmm! That stuff was good! 

Heading straight ahead the tour started at the bottom of the "glass" formed by the construction of the building. Imbedded into the floor is a copy of the original lease for the property. The lease was set for 9000 years and for only 45 euros a year! I had to take one quickly because people kept standing on it while I was trying to take the photo. It was somewhat frustrating/hilarious.

I love the handwriting of the 18th century.

The first 2 floors covered the the process of making the Guinness. As travel up the "glass" there were some interesting facts about the history of Arthur Guinness, evolution of shipping, and lots of Guinness memorabilia. At the top there are several bars and anyone that takes the tour gets a free pint of beer. I would suggest stopping here a little later in the day; I wish that I had known that before I decided to take the tour at 11AM. Of course I got my free pint anyway. It threw off the rest of my day, but at least I was able to try it at the source! 

National Treasure Yeast

Guinness yeast is a national treasure! It was bred from Arthur Guinness' original stock and has made its way through the generations. Of course this was prop yeast. Although, I guess all you have to do to find some of the original is to buy some of the beer, lol.

There was a whole section with some weird fountains.

Does anyone else get the urge to climb up on this?

I think these are hops. Are these hops? Does anyone know?

Beautiful! Sometimes I think that I am a graphophile.

Look at the clouds; its almost like they are waves floating on the blue sky.

I also took several photos while I was at the bar. Of course, it was overcast and gray that day, but it was nice to have an arial view while I sipped my pint.

Next stop on the tour: Dublina and the Viking World.

Dublin bus tour, Trinity College, and Guinness Brewery

Trinity College entrance. Houses the Book of Kells.

I have to start out by apologizing for the quality of some of these pictures. I was on the bus for a lot of them and because of weather conditions, movement, seating, people, randomness a lot of them did not come out very clear. Please bear with me and let me know what you think.

When I was finally refreshed and relaxed enough to travel I decided to take the Dublin bus tour. It drives by all the most popular tourist spots and it was a nice introduction to the city.

I think this is Leinster House. It is one of the government buildings.

Official Residence of the Lord Mayor of Ireland.

Dublin Castle Gate

This picture came out terribly but it gives you an idea of the only original remaining structure from Dublin Castle. Everything else has been entirely rebuilt.

Dublina

This is a picture of the Dublina; it is an exhibit of Dublin during the time of the Vikings. Apparently Dublin was one of the major trading posts during this time period. It is adjacent to the Christchurch Cathedral. I have some more pictures inside and out that I will post next time.

A modest proposal?

Marsh's Library. 

This is the oldest public library in Ireland and has some interesting connections to Jonathan Swift. Actually right now they are trying to organize a showcase of his works; Gulliver's Travels will be on display.

Ooo my first stop on the bus line and the subject of my next blog post. Check back next week for the history f the Guinness Storehouse.

Downtown Dublin

The main thoroughfare in Dublin is O'Connel St. and it is the center of the downtown. I features many museums, churches, galleries, and statues despite its small size. This was the lower portion of the statue for Daniel O'Connel, a 19th century patriot and nationalist that the street is named after. Sadly the photo of the top half of this statue came out blurry so you will have to imagine him for the time being. Actually while I was a passenger on the Dublin bus tour I heard that there is a legend that the angels are supposed to flap their wings whenever a lady of virtue passes the statue. The bus driver mentioned that in his lifetime he has never seen so much as a twitch, and that once again it appeared that the wings had failed to flap as our bus passed.

The downtown was actually much smaller than I thought it would be. There are plenty of interesting statues and history there of course! All in all, I thought it would be more like San Francisco but it is actually a much smaller city and reminded me of downtown Santa Cruz in a way that I can't really explain.

Maybe it was the weather. The first day I arrived in Ireland it was very foggy and started raining. The weather didn't improve much while I was there. I thought that the end of August would be early enough to miss the rain but I was wrong. Although quite a few Irish people told me that the weather has been getting much colder due to the effects of global warming. One cab driver especially ascribed the changed in the whether to certain choices that the US has made about global warming and environmental policy.

There are many statues of historical figures and it was fun to just walk around and read the inscriptions. It was also very cold! So I wasted no time getting a nice wool jacket. There were a ton of shops but eventually found a jacket in just the right style. It's funny but I haven't been able to find anything like it in the States. I guess no one makes jackets like they do in Ireland! I think that this building was a post office. They have a very cool automated stamp dispenser on the side of the building that I tried out.

The spire is by far the tallest sculpture in the downtown at a towering 390ft; officially it is the Monument of Light and it was put up to welcome Dublin into the new Millennium. Although technically construction didn't start until 2002, but I guess they figured it would be ready in time for the next one. 

I am going to have to cut things short here. Despite being in California the weather has taken a turn for the worst and my fingers are getting too stiff to type. Next week I will finish the description of O'Connel St. and start talking about the Dublin bus tour.

Interim between posts

I'm sorry for the long delay between posts. I have been working on getting my website up and starting a new business. I am starting an online business that sells drawstring bags. I'll put up the link the next time I get a chance.

I am going to write the piece on downtown Dublin tomorrow. Check back for updates on Saturdays. 

Non-Stoop to Ireland!

Non-Stoop to Ireland! This made me laugh :).

Now I actually haven't flown into another country since I went to Japan with my Dad at least ten years ago so I was a little nervous. I tried to read up on the immigration process and do my research before I left the country. Getting through security to leave the country was pretty easy. The hardest part was keeping an eye on everything because they make you lay out most of your things in separate trays.

I really love this silhouette. I took this while riding the escalator to my terminal. Man, it was the furthest terminal! I felt like I walked at least a mile and it was the absolute last terminal in the building. Although, SFO resembles a labyrinth so for all I know I was just lost.

 

I wanted to get a lot more than this for my trip but I have a $500 withdrawl limit on my card. I didn't know it would be processed like that. Anyway, my advice is to order traveling checks from your bank before you leave. Actually on my next trip I was able to overnight cash but that's only because I have an account at Bank of America. My mom uses a credit union and they are not able to order cash; they can still order travelers checks. Do sign your checks when you receive them! I haven't used traveler's checks before so I didn't know that you are supposed to sign them once, and then sign at the counter when you cash them. I wasn't an issue for me but you should sign them right when you get them just in case.

I hate to admit it but I love to play with foreign currency.

On the plane and ready to go! The flight was very long and this was exacerbated by who I was sitting next to. When I was first boarding the plane there was this really weird guy staring at the line of boarding passengers. Of course he was in the seat right in front of me so it was really awkward.

I sat down and settled in but I could not help overhearing his story. I guess that he was looking for his son who was a sort of troublemaker. I was not overjoyed to hear this, as the family was loosely grouped around me and the only free seat was the one right next to mine. Sure enough, this troublemaker was sitting right next to me.

Now he didn't act out or anything during the flight but the Dad would not stop picking on this kid. I would have felt bad for him, but he smelled really horrible so I just tried to ignore it. Gosh I guess I was spoiled because I grew up in a household of mostly girls and one very clean boy. It's not really his fault though so I just tried to get through it.

I made it to Ireland and through immigration! I guess I hadn't done my research as well as I had thought. At first I thought Ireland was  a Schengen country, but it isn't and the entry requirements are slightly different. Luckily my travel insurance proved that I wasn't trying to illegally enter the country and they finally let me on my way after standing in line for two hours and making me wait in the immigration box for an hour worried that I would start out my big trip by being deported.

Needless to say I was exhausted by the time I made it to town but I still needed to find a hotel. I went straight to the visitors bureau and found a room close by. It was very simple accommodation but it was very clean and that's all that I really ask for. Of course check in wasn't until 4PM so I spent the next few hours wandering around the downtown area.

There's a funny story about this statue that I will tell you next time!

Eventually I did make it back to the hotel room to get some sleep. I wasn't the only one that was exhausted. My friend the peep pointed out that while I was enjoying an economy seat he was crammed into a handbag. I apologized to Sir-peeps-alot profusely and offered him the bed as a compromise. By that time I was tired enough to sleep standing up anyway.

Next post: Downtown Dublin!

Hello and welcome to my travel blog!

I have decided to travel and see the world. I recently went on trips to Ireland, and then Australia. I really liked Australia and I have decided to settle there for a year backpacking and exploring the country. I have decided to go back in late December or early January.

Until then I have decided to blog about my trips. I had planned on posting pictures while I was abroad, but internet access is hotels is somewhat iffy and I had trouble making it work. Right before I left I bought a Canon Digital Rebel XT 8MP Digital SLR Camera. It's a bit of an older model but I got a good deal on it and I find it really easy to use! I did take a photography class online before I left to learn to use the manual settings but even if you don't know anything about photography there is a lot you can do with the automatic modes. 

I will probably start out posting some photos that I liked from my photography class, then chronicling my trip to Ireland, and then my trip to Australia. I am going to try updating on Saturdays so check back then for new posts!