Today was a big day for Aaron as he made his pilgrimage to his homeland... the Guinness Brewery!
We started the day early (10 a.m. local time) and made our way to the brewery. On the way we had breakfast at the Queen of Tarts bakery where I had planned to have a muffin and coffee -- I indulged with a buttery croissant, bacon (thick ham) and a pot of tea with cream. Oh my, I'm figuring out everything is expensive because the exchange rate of 1 euro to 1 U.S. dollar is 1=1.5. Yikes!
Queen of Tarts where we had an ono breakfast
After that lovely breakfast, we continued on and stopped at the Christ Church Cathedral. Aaron wanted to check out the inside but there was a service going on and other tourists were blocking the entrance door.
Me outside Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, Ireland
Across the street from the Cathedral was Dublinia, a heritage centre with exhibitions exploring life in the medieval city and the world of the Vikings. Aaron was stoked to go until we found out it was closed for renovations. Boo!
Aaron outside Dublinia, Dublin, Ireland
St. Audeon's Church was the next site we passed. It's the only remaining medieval parish church in Dublin. It was closed.
Aaron videotaping St. Audeon's Church, Cornmarket High St., Dublin, Ireland
Hey, our first hint that a film festival was going on, only this wasn't near a theatre or event -- it was displayed at a busy intersection at High and Cornmarket Sts.
There was also another church on the way to the brewery, only we don't know what the name was. We managed to go inside and admire the architecture, vaulted ceiling and stain glass windows. I've never seen so many confessionals in one church! They literally took both side walls! [It's St. Catherine's Church on Thomas St.]
We finally made it to the Guinness Brewery. Thank goodness I bought our tickets online. We not only got them discounted - we got to bypass the long ticket line to get in! It was impressive! We spent a good three and a half hours at the brewery. We stopped at every informational display so Aaron could read everything on almost all 7 floors! He lost some steam on the 5th floor so we stopped at their restaurant for lunch then went to the top floor's Gravity Bar to enjoy the 360 degree view of Dublin with 300+ other pilgrims. We ended our tour shopping for everything Guinness memorabilia. We figured we'd buy a case of Guinness at the airport - duty free!
A happy, happy man outside the Guinness St. Jame's Gate Brewery, Dublin
The 9,000 year lease signed by Arthur Guinness in 1759. It's the 250th year in 2009. Just 8,750 years to go!
Hey, there I am! Haaaaawaiiiiiiian!
All that Guinness information has made my husband a very happy man! Slainte to the Foreign Extra Stout!
We trekked back toward the Temple Bar but along the Quay or river. We stopped in the Brazen Head Pub, the oldest pub in Ireland, for a pint -- no Aaron had 2 pints. As if the 3 others at the brewery wasn't enough. I had a pot of tea to warm me up - the weather cooled down during the evening.
Me outside of The Brazen Head, Bridge St., Dublin, Ireland
One our way home, we passed by a pub with a tap right at the tables! We suspect they charge patrons by the amount they drink. But what a great idea! If we can only remember where this pub was...
If it wasn't so late, we would have walked north across the Quay to St. Michan's Church, the Jameson Distillery and perhaps the Cineworld Theatre for a film festival movie, but our bed was begging us to come back and take a nap. My hubby's snoring up a storm right now and my eyes are starting to hurt.
Hopefully I'll take a short nap and get up in time to have dinner at a nice restaurant, then make our way to a pub or two. Aaron wants to listen to some traditional Irish music. It is Friday so the weekend rush in the Temple Bar should be kicking in. I'm not sure I want to tackle the younglings in the bars, but we'll see. It's still cold so it's hard for me to dress up to go out. I'm all about comfort right now.
Aaron outside of the Turk's Head, the pub we want to check out tonight
Hey, look at what we discovered waiting at the elevator!
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