Quintessential Dublin Experience

This morning, the weather is looking like the country of Ireland has caught the measles - there are spots of rain just about everywhere, but never at the same time, and with no chance of letting up. It's a good morning to drink, so off to the Guinness Storehouse we go!

Views up into the centre of the storehouse	Old barrels and fermenters
Mario poking at the yeast bubbles	Animated waterfall room

I think this is the number one attraction that you read about when planning a trip to Dublin. For a time, I was seriously thinking of giving it a miss. If it's this popular, it must be super-touristy, and therefore not for us, right? Yes, it is touristy, but in the best possible sense. It's a feast for the senses, a full 6 floors of audio-visual exhibitions perfectly wedged into the shell of one of the old warehouses, with most of its historical architecture and machinery intact. As we are walking through a round room where a fountain of water spells out how Guinness is made with 100% water from the nearby Wicklow Mountains, we are passing under solid steel beams, pipes that once brought water in to cool barley roasting tanks, past walls covered in centuries-old ceramic subway tiles, chips included. 

Tiny tasting glasses	Guinness airship advertisement
A seal balancing a Guinness	Classic Advertising artwork

Our attention is grabbed from the moment we enter the building, and is wound tight around every aspect of the making of Guinness, from the lease signed by Arthur Guinness for a period of 9000 years, to the partnership with barley farmers all over the country, to the copyright of the harp symbol that forced the REPUBLIC OF IRELAND to have to flip their National symbol, lest they get sued for infringement by a beer company! We smell the malt and the yeast and the roasted grain, we learn how to gulp and properly taste the beer, we see the menagerie of fantastically animals that starred in some of the most iconic advertising campaigns in history. Guinness, like Tabasco, gained in popularity through quality, but also through a stellar marketing scheme throughout its history.

Drinking Guinness on top of the world

View of Dublin from the Gravity Bar

Our final stop of the tour is on the top floor, at the Gravity bar, with the best views of Dublin, and get to enjoy a perfectly-poured, creamy rich glass of Guinness beer. They say it's the best in the world when served here - Mario is not convinced, and he's enjoyed a pint in a myriad of locations all around Ireland, and has enjoyed them all. I am not a fan, but was convinced by the bartender to try a "Black and Black", a Guinness with a dose of black currant cordial added in for sweetness. It also goes by the name "Lady Guinness" - regardless, I do enjoy it.

We pause a moment at the hotel so we can check in for our flight(yes, it's already that time), and find ourselves dashing through the streets of Dublin while eating take-out toasties so we can make it to our appointment at Trinity College. Even on the go, the toasted sandwiches from Griolladh, a spicy brisket with jalapeno and crisps tucked into malted sourdough for Mario, and roasted chicken, local ricotta, and honey on wholeseed sourdough for me, were absolutely delicious, as well as very portable!

Next up, we are visiting another of the top attractions in Dublin, the Book of Kells at Trinity College. You are probably asking the same question I was when planning for this trip: What exactly is the book of Kells, and why do I want to see it? Well, it's an illustrated manuscript of the four gospels of the New Testament, written in Latin, dating back some 1200 years. The artwork is exquisite, and heavily inspired by the Celtic arts. Only 2 pages are visible at a time, and the pages are turned every 12 weeks, so you see a new part of it with every return visit(plus it's good for the preservation of the book). You cannot photograph the book, but the entire thing has been digitally scanned, and is available online via Trinity college. These are the two pages Mario and I got to see today: 

Folio 202

Folio 203

Leading up to the visit, there is an exhibit explaining the origins of the book, as well as examples of other books found, believed to be works created at the same time. It gives us perspective on the complexity of the work involved, with each chapter beginning being illustrated, some index pages and such, how the scribes might have indicated errors made, or passages to be omitted. I think the better part came after, when we were released into the Old Library.

Bell tower in Trinity College	Spiral Staircase
Close-up of the shelves	Old Library and "Gaia" art installation

What an amazing, fantastical place - imagine the most magical, mystical old library you can, and that's what we walked into. Arched ceiling, spiral staircases, dark wood, marble busts, floor-to-ceiling shelves filled with thousands of leather-bound books...except they aren't full of books. Trinity College is doing a much-needed restoration of the Old Library, because it is old, but also still in use, and the whole place is in much need of some love. Only the first 4 bays are still full of tomes, the rest have been cleaned, catalogued and scanned into the digital library. The feel of being in such a historical place is something else - knowing so many literary personalities have walked these halls, sat in these bays, searched through these tomes...it's heavy.

After the Library, we tour a newly-opened audio-visual exhibit next door, on the renovations, the Library and the book of Kells. It's interesting, but in one area, some plaster busts of notable historic figures begin telling a story of the library, and the whole thing feels a little like the talking statues in Disney's Haunted Mansion ride. It's cheesy and unnecessary, if you ask me. We would easily give this portion of the visit a miss next time. The rain starts up when we finally exit the college, so besides a quick stop at the post office, we head straight to the hotel for an afternoon break and cup of tea.

This evening, our last in Dublin, and in Ireland, we head out to a pub on the outskirts of Temple Bar, the big touristy, bar district in the center of the city. Mario's hunted down a place that sounds good, with live music every night, great food reviews, and likely to have some space as they don't take reservations. So just before dark, we find ourselves pushing through the doors of Darkey Kelly's and hoping a table frees up so we can sit down and have a bite to eat. We grab a drink at the bar and, just like the night in Doolin, we barely have one sip and someone is coming to get us. He leads us to the table right next to the front door, but also right next to the live music! What luck! We toss comments back and forth with the Irish gentleman picking away at his guitar, Mario enjoying yet another Guinness, and I with my glass of Falling Apple Cider. I do so love that Ireland makes such great ciders, all crisp but not too dry, and that so many of them are avalable on tap, alongside the ales and stouts in the pubs. The musician plays Irish classics, and funnily enough, we recognize some of the music from the CDs we had playing on repeat in the Stonecutter's cottage in Doolin. 

Scene in the pub	Our dinners
Enjoying the music	Round two!

It doesn't take too long and our meals arrive, Mario ordering the lamb shank, and I get the bangers and mash. The food is hearty and comforting, and we eat while the next band is getting ready to start their set. Again, being right next to the band, we get an intimate view of the set-up process, trade banter with the fiddler as he waxes his bow - it's still probably a very touristy experience, as likely 90% of the people in here are, but somehow it feels just a bit more authentic. The music starts up again, and we bang the table in rhythm, or tap our toes to the beat or the lively music. Mario orders us another round, but we don't stay out too late. We are flying home tomorrow, after all, and there's always the issue of the last suitcase pack, when you finally realize just how much stuff you bought!