Hunter's Visit Day #2

Written By: Amy in her kitchen in Bettystown

It was COLD today.  The coldest it has been since we’ve been here.  Sunny, but cold.  It makes me grateful that we had the heat fixed before Crys and Bry got here. 

On today’s agenda:  Downtown Dublin.  The girls had to stay home because they had to go to school.  Heehee.  Ker took the week off.  Adults off, kids in school muah hahaha!

The first order of business was to get Crys and Bry a Full Irish Breakfast.  So, we parked the car in our favorite car park next to Steven’s Green and Grafton Street.  We found a pub open right off Grafton Street and serving breakfast so we dragged them in out of the cold.  While they did serve a Full Irish, it wasn’t as good as some of the other places we’ve had breakfast.  We’ve spent a bunch of time raving about the coffee and breakfast here and I was disappointed that they didn’t get a good one the first time out.  But, it was food and it was quick.

I was looking at the menu trying to find something relatively healthy and Crystal declared that since it was vacation, we were to eat what we wanted, not what was healthy.  So that’s we did all week!

At Kilmainham

After breakfast we headed to Kilmainham Gaol which Ker and I decided was a must-see in the Hunter’s short time here.  Unfortunately, the main part of the gaol was closed while repairs were being done on the roof.  But, the tour was still impressive.

But, enough history. It was time for lunch and what happened to be nearby?  The Guinness Storehouse!  Ker and I have not gone to the Storehouse since 2004—we have saved ourselves for Bryan and Crystal.  It was totally worth waiting to experience this together.  Gift shops and history started off the self guided tour. 

There was even a section the tour that showed us how to taste the different flavors of Guinness. 

Taste the Experience.

Having just an ounce was just teasing us because around floor 4 of the tour, I had developed a mighty thirst.  So, we quickly headed to the next floor where we were promised our complementary pint of the yummy stuff!  And, it was yummy.  Crystal and I decided to get the medium strength while Bryan ordered the West Indies variety (impossible to find outside the Storehouse) and Ker got the Foreign Extra Stout (can be found at other pubs around the island). Bry and Ker had it right!

Their beer was thick, dark and just plain ole yummy.  It made Crys’s and my beer taste like bitch beer. We had lunch at the Storehouse and popped our heads up to the top floor of the building where all the cool people hang out with a 360 view of Dublin.  It was cool up there, but LOUD as people were trying to talk over each other.

Well, we couldn’t just stop there, we had to visit Jameson’s too!  So, off to the Jameson Distillery we went.  We went on the tour (Bushmill’s tour was WAY better) and Bryan even was selected to taste test different types of whiskey’s.  He even earned a certificate.  I experienced my new favorite drink—whiskey and ginger ale with lime.

Unfortunately, with the heavy traffic, leaving the city took longer than anticipated.  Colleen had to miss her TaeKwonDo practice because we didn’t get back to the house in time to get her to her practice.  Instead we had leftover Thanksgiving dinner, yakked a while and went to bed because we had to be at the airport EARLY tomorrow.

Us and Dublin from the Storehouse

So, for all my mathy friends, did you know that one of the Chief Brewer's was a mathematician?  Math is EVERYWHERE!!!