We had another slow start this morning. After getting up and getting ready for the day, we left the hotel and grabbed a quick lunch. We decided the best way to see Dublin would be the Hop On / Hop Off bus.
But first of course, we stopped off at the Jameson Distillery. We opted out of doing the whole tour though. We visited the gift shop and found some good things (of course).
We caught the bus to stop number one. We somehow ended up on the multilingual bus so we got off at Trinity College. It is the oldest university in Ireland and was founded in the 1500's. Unfortunately because of the line and the entry fee, we chose not to visit the library and see The Book of Kells.
We hopped back on the bus and this time we were in luck. We had the best bus driver and his commentary was full of hilarity. For instance some women were trying to get on the bus and they were wearing obnoxious Irish hats (think American St. Patrick's Day). He said, "look at them wearing their Irish hats that were made in China. Bet they are going to get on the bus and say 'top of the morning to you, is your name paddy? ....no, no it's not. We are going to let them get the next bus". Then whilst driving past the Guinness Storehouse, he started swerving down the road to impersonate those who had just gotten on the bus.
The next stop we got off was at the Gaol (jail). This was one of the most historical and iconic sites of all of Ireland. I learned so much Irish history and was able to get such an experience there. I have included a picture of the inside. (I didn't take many phone pictures because I was busy with my big camera). Our tour guide was Holly who was very knowledgeable and really spoke to the atmosphere of the location.
After the prison, most everything else was starting to close. We were only able to see the outsides of the cathedrals and The Castle.
We got back off the bus and decided to just walk around. We started to get hungry so we stopped into O' Neill's pub for a pint and to eat. I decided to give another beer besides Guinness a try and choose the Blarney Blonde. It was an awesome beer.
At this point Jared wanted to find a bar that plays American Football to watch the OSU game. We wandered through Temple Bar to maybe find a place. And find a place we did, The Hard Rock Cafe. Are you kidding me, we really went to the Hard Rock? See, all was revealed as promised (I know you were dying of anticipation). The bartender from New Hampshire made fun of me ordering a black velvet, which is supposed to be Guinness and Champagne but seeing as it's the end of my trip and Champagne is always out of my price range, I wanted Cider. He jokingly told me I had to leave and refused to make it. So I poured it myself. However I messed it up and he had to fix it for me. I think it hurt his soul. Oh well, it was delicious. And in case you were wondering, the OSU game wasn't on, it was the Alabama and Arkansas game (I just realized Arkansas has Kansas in it).
At half time we decided it was time to head back to the hotel so we could pack and get ready for our early flights.
It's been a good trip and I'm sad to be leaving. But it will be nice to sleep and not live out of a suitcase.
I am posting this from the airport while I am waiting to board my flight back to the States.
Also, my total picture count for this trip.... 1503. They will hopefully be up shortly.
Time to board!
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