Anyway, we then headed further down the street to a bus stop, where we could purchase tickets for the "Hop on, Hop off" bus, which would take us around to various tourist attractions all day long. We took our seats, and listened to the recording that described the places we would be visiting. We realized as we got off, that the "recording" was actually our driver, who spoke into a microphone as he drove. We would choose some favorite drivers later in the day, who spoke with wonderful Irish accents, and tried to pick up the lingo from them. Ben had already adopted the pronunciation of the word "Kearney's" (bar), and to that he added "Parliament." I'm not sure why, but "Kearney's Parlaiment" ended up being our favorite line, which we would quote to each other throughout the rest of the trip.
Our first stop was the Kilmainham Gaol (or Jail). Cole chose this spot, and said he felt guilty imposing his interests on Ben and I, but really we had come to Europe with no plans at all, and having Cole around would be invaluable to make sure we got the most out of each location (love you Cole!) The jail provided tours, which turned out to be a surprisingly good lesson on the history of Dublin. This particular jail is where they incarcerated the leaders of the first Irish revolutionaries. At that time, not all of Ireland was behind these men. Some people wanted to stay under British law. The first uprising was unsuccessful, and many men were incarcerated at this jail. Britain had the leaders of the campaign executed, which actually caused more Irish people to come over to their cause. They would win the next battle, freeing all but Northern Ireland to become free Ireland. We found out that the Irish flag represents Southern, free Ireland, Northern Ireland which is still under British government, and the white stripe between them representing the peace they are working towards. It was a moving tour.
After a long wait, we got back on the bus and headed towards the Jameson distillery. We had a delicious lunch there and photographed parts of the beautiful facility, but skipped the tour due to timing (we also wanted to head to the Guinness factory) and the surprisingly high price of the tour. But Ben still did a tasting of their whiskey. Despite the fact that he enjoys sipping on Jameson and water, he didn't seem to really enjoy much past the first shot. He was pretty much choking it down, and no wonder, since he was drinking about 3 shots of straight whiskey!
Next, we got back on the bus with the intention of hurrying over to the Guinnes brewery to fit in our tour. However, we were delayed by a march on the streets, protesting a race-related stabbing in which a 15-year old boy was killed. The marchers seemed to be mostly members of the socialist party (according to their signs), and the bus driver was kind enough to tell us the story.
This particular bus driver had a great Irish, gruff voice, and a lot to share with us passengers, but I was so exhausted I fell asleep, until he decided to make up some time taking back roads to the Guinness storehouse. As we raced over bumps in the road, and careened past people and cars that seemed only inches away, I woke right up. Before that, we drove past the Millenium Spire, but I had to ask what the driver was saying, because he pronounced it "Spar." This would be another favorite Irish term.
We weren't sure what we'd be in for, since the tour of Guinness isn't of the actual production line, but was more canned. We expected it to be cheesy, with some old casks and kettles, but the actual experience was really amazing. They took us through each of the brewing steps, with examples of hops, barley, and water used. We tasted the roasted hops that created the flavor of porter. After a tasting demonstration, we viewed the Guinness advertising through the years. It's funny how so many old products used to advertise that they were "doctor recommended." Guinness used to print "It's good for you" on every product. After 7 floors, we were at the "gravity bar" at the top of the building, which had a 180-degree view of Dublin. Here, we received a free pint of Guinness. And yes, it does taste different in Ireland. So smooth and frothy - the foam is like frosting. Yummy.
We bought souvenirs at the shop, then headed home by taxi since the tourist bus was no longer running. We took a nap, limiting ourselves to only an hour even though we probably could have slept for much longer, and then set out to find dinner. It was probably 7:00, and we weren't feeling picky, however we kept running into high prices, or the wrong menu, or one particular restaurant where they brought us upstairs and tried to broil us with heat. We eventually found a nice place, where we enjoyed our first fish and chips meal of the trip.
On our way back to the Hostel, we decided to enjoy one last Guinness at a pub where you could pour your own pint. By that time, we were all pretty tired of the drink, but there was a particular method of pouring that we wanted to try. What you do is (and we had a little placard telling us in case we didn't know), pour about 2/3 of the cup down the side, then let the glass sit for a minute while it settles, then fill up the rest pouring straight down. Then, exhausted, we turned in for the night.
