Europe 2016 - Jetlag, Guinness, Jameson & Vikings

After my 24 hour layover in Chicago (see Europe 2016 - Off to a Slow Start) it was good to finally board the plane for my flight. I was excited when I found out that I had been upgraded to Economy Plus. I had never been upgraded before and I never mind extra leg room. Then I saw I was also in an exit row, even more leg room! One downside, exit row seats don't recline as much as other seats do. And since other seats don't recline much, that meant sleeping would be hard to come by.

 

And it was. I tried not to watch movies or TV and to get some sleep, but between the no reclining, being in an aisle seat and the stress of the day before starting to get to me, there would be no sleep for me. When we landed in Dublin, I had a decision to make. Because I had lost a day should I just go to the hostel and relax or do all the touristy items that I had planned to do that day.

I'm afraid to say that the plan maker Natalie won out on this one. I still planned to take day trips to other parts of Ireland, which meant this was my one day to explore Dublin. So I grabbed my bags, found my way to the tourist shop and bought my one day Dublin City Pass.

*Side note: I highly recommend looking into city passes whenever you travel somewhere. You can get great deals and are usually able to get some transportation as well.

I don't know why but this mural catches my every time I go by it.

After dropping off my bags at the hostel I knew the first place I wanted to visit was Dublinia. I had seen the outside of this museum the last time I was in Dublin and wanted to go in so badly, but didn't have time. It is a museum that shows the history of Dublin including the Viking periods. That is what I most wanted to see.

As I walked through the middle of the Viking Ship I realized that late spring is prime time for field trips. The museum itself was good, but geared quite a bit more towards families than I thought it would be. The kids on the field trips seemed to enjoy it and loved the interactive displays. Especially dressing up like a Viking.



Looking up the tower

While Dublinia wasn't quite all that I hoped it would be, it did offer me a couple of gems that I didn't expect. The first is that the museum itself is situated in an old church, so it allows visitors climb up stairs into the medieval St. Michael's Tower and see the city skyline.



Looking out toward Christ Church Cathedral

Viewing Dublin's mountains

 

Looking back at how high I had climbed.

The second gem is that it is connected to Christ Church Cathedral by an archway over the city street. I fell in love with the looks of this archway two years prior, so getting to walk in it was exciting to say the least.

My next stop would then be Christ Church Cathedral. It was founded in 1030A.D. and the Cathedral Crypt is the oldest structure in today's Dublin. I was in awe of the architecture.

 

Headed across the Arch

These are medieval floor tiles (the oldest ones of the cathedral).

Costumes from The Tudors



Of course I find a bit of Messiah history here. :)

 

Strongbow's Tomb

By this time it was well after noon and I knew that while I wasn't hungry, I did need to eat. While looking for something small, I decided a classic meal was just the ticket.

The restaurant I ate at, Beshoff Bros. These are also the busses that I was able to take a tour on.

Really good Fish & Chips

City Hall

After a quick stop at City Hall, it was time to make my way towards the Guinness Storehouse. The Guinness district is extremely large. The museum itself is 7 stories tall! It is a self guided museum, which I normally don't prefer, but with that big of a place I was glad I could go at my own pace. It was interesting to see how it all came about. And how Arthur Guinness basically built himself a city in order to make sure his workers had what they needed close at hand. And that they were close at hand to the Storehouse.



City Hall

My exhausted, jet lagged selfie

The water they use for making Guinness

 

I am not a fan of beer, but I knew that I couldn't pass up the opportunity to drink free Guinness at the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin. They did give me a free ticket for a drink after all. I also knew that the jetlag was setting in and that I wasn't starting to feel well. Lucky for me there was a demonstration that was for tasting Guinness. First they ushered us into a white room with different smell tanks. Each one had the smell of one of the ingredients. Then they had us go into a dark, man cave looking room where they told you how to properly drink Guinness. For a girl that doesn't like beer, it doesn't matter how you drink it. It's still gross!

One of the ingredient tanks you smell before you taste.

My baby Guinness

*Tidbit for those that know me. I didn't even get the alternative to the free Guinness, which was a free glass of pop. That's how out of sorts I was.

*Interesting fact: The harp was a symbol for Guinness before it was a National Symbol of Ireland. Also the National Symbol hap is a mirrored image of the Guinness Harp, so as to not infringe on the registered trademark.



A view from the Sky Bar

Had to take this pic of the Sodexo truck (the company I work for) driving through the gates of the Guinness factory.

By the time that I made it out of the Guinness Museum, I was worried that I wouldn't be able to make it to the Jameson Museum in time. As this is the drink of choice of my brother-in-law I decided to try my best to make it there. So on the bus I went. It was really starting to hit me that I was tired, and I had to try everything in my power to stay awake.

 

I made it to the Jameson Museum just in time to get into the last tour group. They did a good job of describing what makes Jameson and other Irish whiskey's different from American or Scottish whiskeys. I must admit that I was so tired that I had to sneak a few snacks to stay awake during the talks.

 

 

 

When it came to the tasting, I discovered that I'm not a huge fan of whiskey either. They first had us taste the Jameson. Then they had us taste a scotch and back to the Jameson. Lastly they had us taste an American whiskey. To be more specific, Jack Daniels. After that one I flew back to the Jameson and swigged the rest down. There is no comparison between those two!

The 3 whiskeys

 

Once again, I passed on the free drink of Jameson. If I was tired before the tour, I was definitely exhausted now. I made a beeline to my hostel and gave into the fact that I wouldn't be going on a day trip out of the city the next day. I wasn't even sure I was going to wake up before noon.