[October 3] Dublin, Ireland: What a Lovely Day For A Guinness!

On October 3rd, Sunday, me and a group of people went to the Guinness Factory in Dublin. We didn't see any actual beer being made, but it was a really well-done museum that showed the process and whatnot. I was looking forward more to the 360-degree view on the top of the building to be quite honest...

We got a cab there because it was easiest and possibly even cheaper than riding the bus. The cab driver was really nice and had a fantastic Irish accent but honestly he was really hard for me to understand and I'm worried he thought we were rude but I just didn't know what he was saying for most of the ride!

Hops. Whoopee! I think Ezra Meeker (one of the first settlers in Puyallup) made his 'fortune' growing hops, right?

There was a waterfall and it looked like some grains from another exhibit had gotten into the water and a lot of them were sprouting!

And finally, the Gravity Bar at the top of the Guinness Factory with a 360-degree view of Dublin! Fantastic! I was still having a hard time grasping 'what' Dublin is. As for London, I've seen pictures and portrayals of it constantly beginning with Disney films such as Mary Poppins, Peter Pan, 101 Dalmations and later on seeing films such as Parent Trap, Winning London, Oliver Twist, A Christmas Carol, Harry Potter, My Fair Lady, and countless others I can't think of! But with Dublin...? Hmm. Perhaps you'll have to remind me? Well, there you go.

Honestly, 11am is too early for most things in life but you get a pint of Guinness for 'free' with the purchase of your ticket. I 'only' finished half. It's yummy but it just tasted like normal beer to me! Frothy lips:

Some of the other ladies with their Guinness:

[October 2] Dublin, Ireland: Hanging Out, Sandycove, & Temple Bar Area

[Before I start in on this post about my second day in Dublin, I have to complain about this new Blogger formatting business! I have A LOT of pictures for this blog of course, and I've already used 1 GB of my online space I'm allotted for this blogging account, so now it's saying I have to pay $5 for a year of having 20 GB. I am NOT being friendly to change!]

Okay! A post about Saturday, October 2nd, in Dublin that is long overdue!

We started out the morning going to an Irish Writer's Museum. Although I'm an English major and quite interested in writing indeed and these are writers writing in English, I was awfully disinterested. I hadn't heard of most of them besides Oscar Wilde, so I didn't have a whole lot of context. Oh well, maybe one day I will better appreciate it? I did appreciate some of the design inside the museum though:

After a quick walk through, Emily, Anne, and I went to try out a chocolate cafe called the Sweetest Thing. Its name does not lie! The guy working there was so nice.

Here's the three of us with our deliciousness... I got chocolate with a shot of espresso and hazelnut syrup... half a cup full of this stuff is dangerous and almost sickening but I happily finished all of it of course!

While we sat by the riverside, we noticed something really strange hanging under a bridge... It looks like a person hanging there... It was probably just rope or nets or something but it reminds me of the ghosts from Pirates of the Carribean...

A snapshot of Dublin...

Waiting for the train to go to Sandycove!

Alas! The Irish seaside! Below you see a stretch of cement that I walked out on and climbed onto the rocks at the end of it. It was really really slippery.

Our main purpose for visiting Sandycove was to visit the tower that James Joyce wrote the beginning of Ulysses in. I've never read it but will eventually I am sure.


Some of the town, cliffs, and a castle in there... Not a very good pic.

A lovely view from the tower:

The three of us all go to University of Puget Sound and we happened to pick the same program:

The staircase to get to the top of the tower was very steep and narrow:

Frolicking on the rocks was, as far as I gathered, everyone's favorite part of the trip:

Jenna and I were frolicking in the grass but it looks like I'm going to attack Jenna and I don't know why I look like this...

It was pretty but honestly I'm spoiled going to college minutes away from basically the same thing.

Do you see the arm? Someone swimming! Ahhh!

And the classic jumping picture... I'm on the very left in case you couldn't tell. 

We had some free time so what else to do but find a bakery...

My scone I bought. It was simple and subtly sweet with some berries inside.

AND
we were blessed with a rainbow! And surely since we were in Ireland there must have been a Leprechaun with a pot of gold on one end!

And then we returned to Dublin too soon. It was a gray and sometimes-rainy day.

There was an interesting building with some fantastic quotes on it:

Gray sky. = Washington.

This is me at dinner with my first Irish coffee ever. I've always wanted to try one and what better place than in Dublin? As far as I know it has coffee (or espresso?) and Bailey's in it, and of course whipped cream and coffee flakes on the top. I liked it! It was really strong and it's one of those things I have to drink with a tall glass of iced water nearby.

Then, it was time to go out and discover some more Dublin nightlife. This is us being silly in our hostel room beforehand:

First, we went to an 80s club called Madonna which was fun for about 20 minutes:

Then I checked out a few other places, danced a lot, and met some very nice people!