Guinness and Whiskey

First stop of the day was to Trinity University for a tour including a visit to their library which contains over 250,000 books – including the Book of Kells. Written in about 800 AD, it is highly decorated (sometimes at the expensive of grammar) with colour and gold-leaf. 

Gravity Bar

We got soaked as we made our way across town to the Guinness Storehouse for a tour. At the very base of the tour is a copy of the lease that the founder Arthur Guinness signed for the site – a 9000 year lease. Seven stories of history, interactive exhibits and even a tasting session!

We finished off the tour with a pint of the black stuff in Gravity Bar – Dublin’s highest bar with 360 views of the city.

Dodging the rain we made our way across the other side of the river to the Old Jameson Distillery – Irish Whiskey time! While the actual distillery has moved south to County Cork, there is still a tour of the old factory, which ends with a glass of the ‘Water of Life’ (Irish whiskey).

After some recovery time, we had dinner at a local restaurant that I can only describe as sublime.

Coast to Coast

Galway Street

We took a walk around Galway dodging the weather (inside shops). Parts of it were exactly what you’d expect from a typical Irish town – winding cobbled streets filled with tiny shops.

Then we drove from the wild west coast across to Dublin on the east coast. The hotel had a good central location but this meant that parking was a nightmare, plus we arrived in peak hour afternoon traffic. 

Eventually we sorted it out before heading off to a movie.