My Goodness My Guinness

If you would like to see pictures from this trip or Budapest, please click on this link. 

Day 1: Dublin

I landed in Dublin around 7 a.m. their time (2 p.m. EST).  I actually slept more on the plane than I expected, and felt fairly refreshed.  Upon landing, I tried to check-in to my flight with Aer Lingus but was told I would have to wait until 1 p.m. (the plane left at 3:30 p.m.).  So . . . I decided to explore the city.   It took some doing because I didn’t want to lug my whole bag with me all day, but I found a place near the airport where I could leave my luggage, and then I set off to find a taxi.

The taxi I found was already reserved.  He said he was waiting for some diplomats returning from the U.S.  However, he was very excited I was spending a few hours in Dublin and set about to draw me out a little itinerary of everywhere he recommended I visit.  He also pointed to me to the best bus to get downtown, explaining it was cheaper than a taxi, and wished me luck.

I took the bus downtown and walked a bit in Dublin to see the sights.  The city was pretty empty.  After all, it was 9:30 on a Sunday morning.  I decided that my best bet to use the few hours I had was to head to the Guinness Storehouse, which I knew was open, and make a morning of it.

It took about an hour to walk to the Storehouse, which was fine since I had been cooped up on a plane for 6 hours previously.  I used my little map from the cab driver and found it pretty easily.  Inside there was a great tour all about the history of the Guinness Company and the process of making their beer.  Apparently, Arthur Guinness (founder of the company) signed a lease for the location of the brewery for 9000 years.  They have it framed at the entryway to the exhibits.  They really emphasized the high quality of the water in the mountains nearby Dublin as an important factor in Guinness beer.

I didn’t realize that the Guinness Book of World Records had its roots in the Guinness beer company, but apparently it began as a way to settle disputes in bar conversations about which bird was biggest, which gun was fastest, etc.  They also had a whole exhibit of Guinness advertisements through the years, which was pretty neat to see.  Apparently Guinness has been instrumental in lobbying to make Saint Patrick’s Day an official holiday in the U.S.  Who knew?

At the end of the tour I received my free pint of Guinness and drank it in the Gravity Bar.  The bar is awesome – it’s a circular room surrounded completely by windows.  I had a fantastic view of the city, which was really nice.

After I finished my Guinness I walked a few blocks to the bus station and caught a bus back to the airport.  I made it right on time.  It was a quick visit, but the Guinness Storehouse was a great way to spend a few hours of my very long layover in Ireland.