All aboard for the last stop on this crazy tour

About 15 minutes away from the castle it was foggy.  It stayed foggy about the entire way across the country toward Dublin (only 2 hours drive time).  We returned our hired car at the airport.  After about 1000 km of driving this week Eric was relieved to be done with it - not a scratch on her in all that crazy driving.  We then hopped the Aircoach express bus to downtown Dublin to find our next stay in the Temple Bar district.

So, Eric's bag was pretty heavy and it was a duffel.  So we set it on my rolley bag as we rolled around Dublin trying to find our apartment for the next 2 nights.  SNAP!  The wheel broke.  Darn..... Well, it wasn't the end of the world, but we were glad it happened this late in the game.  We could roll the bag if we angled it just right (it was a 4 wheel bag) - so I had lots of strange looks as I pushed it carefully over the rough streets.  I know they were thinking "why doesn't she just pull it behind her, stupid American..."  Something along those lines. 

Anyway.  We finally arrived about 20 minutes late and our host was also running late, so we camped out on the sidewalk in front of the Olympia Theater on Dame Street.  None of the pubs around us were open to wait in (it was 11:30AM)  Things open up late in this country.  Bobby finally arrived.  Interesting guy...  we followed him down a seedy looking ally and into a more seedy looking doorway and up a flight of stairs to his apartment.  We had a somewhat clean room and somewhat clean bed to stay in with a somewhat clean shower.  We can't say he was overly friendly, but he did point out a few places on the map and gave us some ideas of where to go.  His wifi was down - which is why these posts are coming so late...  So.. Our stay wasn't the best one, but that's OK - it makes it easier to come home. :)

We had a 2:00 ticket for the Guinness Connoisseur's Experience at the Guinness Storehouse. 

We were nervous that we were wasting our money after reviews of the normal tour, but tickets were already purchased.  We made our way on foot since a Taxi wouldn't stop (how rude...).  We arrived in enough time to make our way through the self-guided tour before the connoisseur experience.  There were 12 of us ushered into a secret locked door.  Apparently 1/2% of all the people who go to the Storehouse participate.  It's a really good tour - you should!

The Connoisseur Experience Room

We are escorted into a very nice bar with a limit of 16 seats.  Our bartender, Darren, proceeded to give us a bit of history about Guinness and then showed us the best way to taste a beer.  The taps/kegs in this room are cleaned and changed out every morning and kept at the optimum temperature.  We tried half pints of the Draught, Extra Stout, Foreign Extra Stout and Dublin Porter.  We were then taught how to pour a perfect draft and we received that pint as well, along with a free draft certificate for one of the bars in the Storehouse.  THEN we were given a choice of one of the bottles to take from our tasting (I chose the Extra Stout - it's my favorite).

By this time it's 3:15.  And we've had 3 beers... We had a 4:00 ticket time for the Kilmainham Gaol tour...  Darren assured us we were only 10 minutes away.  So, we ran up to the Gravity bar to use our free pint certificate and a 360 degree view of the city.

Gravity Bar

OK... I was sure I understood where we were going.  After all, I had spent hours planning this trip, mapping out directions from one point to the next, etc.  Well, we went the wrong way.  By the time it was 4:03 and we were sure we were in the wrong side of the neighborhood we stopped a nice lady and asked her where we should turn.  She said, "Ah, lassie, yer on the wrrong side a town, ye are. Ye need to head back to Guinness and go the other dirrrection.":(  This did not make me happy.  We were already late.  And it was supposed to be a super good tour too - reviews were phenomenal. :(
We started back to Guinness in hopes that we could get back in so we could buy some merchandise.  We had spotted a few things we wanted.  In the end, we were able to get back in (by sneaking) and we did spend more money by buying shirts, openers, etc. and then had some soup, popcorn, and another pint to salve the indignation of being lost.  Hey, don't judge - we aren't driving. :)  Also, we did not drink our way across Scotland and Ireland as some people think.  Eric was driving on super tiny winding roads.  Drinking and driving don't mix!  And we know this.

OK, back to Dublin. :)  We left Guinness when they closed, which was around 6:00 I think.  Instead of walking back, we decided to take a taxi.  Our driver suggested we try the Brazen Head while in town and we answered with a "lead on".  So he dropped us there and it was very close to where we were staying.  We didn't realize until the next day that it was the oldest pub in Dublin - 1198!.  They had very good food.  We split a burger and a salad.

We then went to Temple Bar area (where we were staying).  It was a Thursday night, but still very busy.  We knew there was a webcam, so we texted Lori and my parents so they could see us online.  And they did!  Here's a pic that Lori took of us - sitting on the outside seat under the "R" in Bar - kinda grainy... It was fun to wave at people back in the states.

Our host told us about a pub named "Cobblestone" that did true traditional Irish music.  He said that most pubs say traditional music, but they don't.  He's right... We can attest to that fact after 2 nights.  So we walked quite a ways to the other side of the River Liffey, past the Old Jameson Distillery and finally found Cobblestone.  It was packed to the gills.  We did find a seat, but we couldn't hear the music very well :(  After about an hour, we gave up and grabbed a taxi back to Temple Bar area and listened to music there before grabbing a slice of Papa John's pizza and heading to bed.