Black and White Trip Photos

Here are a few of the black and white images from my trip:

Day 7 - Saturday - Dublin

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!

Day 6 - Friday - Dublin

We had to be at the crack of dawn to make our flight to Dublin. We took the bus, the overground train, a plane, another bus and the tram to make it to the hotel.

At the airport Kendra met her perfect man. His name was pronounced Owen but spelled in gallic and meaning "well endowed" (good for her). Our plane was late because they couldn't turn off the engine. Then our pilot was named Llyod Christmas and our first mate was Harry Dunne as they announced over head (from dumb and dumber). After landing, we made our way to the hotel. We checked in, freshened up, and grabbed lunch. Then it was off the Guinness Storehouse.

We checked in and took the self guided tour to learn everything about how to make Guinness. We also got a ticket for a pint. Now was decision time. Did we use our coupons to learn to pour the prefect pint or to enjoy a pint in the sky bar where there is an awesome 360 view of the city. Kendra and I decided to choose to learn how to pour the pint, whereas jared choose the skybar. I included a picture out the window of the city and my certificate for the perfect pint.

After the storehouse, we headed back to the hotel to shower and get ready for dinner. A nap may have happened in there too. We headed to the Brazenhead which claims to be the oldest pub in all of Ireland. For dinner I ordered the bangers and mash, an authentic Irish dinner.

We moved into the bar area and waited for the live band to come on. The bartender was Gary (I love all bartenders named Gary). Then an older Irish man came up and I asked him about Arthur's Day, which had happened the day before. He told us all about the Irish and how much they love Americans. Then Sean (I call him Connery), told me I was a leprechaun. After that I told Gary about how I learned how to pour the prefect pint that day and got my very own certificate and everything. Turns out the Brazenhead had their own certificates too!! So guess who poured another perfect pint, that's right, this girl. We ventured outside to listen to the band. Heard a couple of songs and they told Kendra and I to come on stage and sing and dance with them. We didn't know the song at all! I caught on towards the end and attempted to help out (it was not very good). From there we set off for another bar that was still open.

We walked through Temple Bar area and then over Dame street. We came across Dame tavern and decided that was the winner. We sat outside to people watch and drink our beers. Nile (like the river, as he informed me) came out to clean and I asked him how much he'd sell me a pint glass for. He gave it to me for free!

While we were sitting there a random Irish man decided to start talking to us. He told Kendra, Jared and I that we were all beautiful people and it was our responsibility to populate because, and I quote, "us Irish are one ugly motherf**king race of people, we need people like you guys to help out". He said a lot more, but well leave it at that.

We jumped into the Mercedes cab that was waiting outside for us. Eddie, our cab driver, was one of the funniest people I've every met. He was bluntly honest and maybe slightly biased to some people over others but it was one of my best taxis ever.

We made it home and went to sleep. Full day of touristy stuff the following day.

(Unfortunately I have to wait until I have wifi again to post this).