Guinness is Good For You – Day Six

 

Following our travel escapades it was time to get down to some sight-seeing.  Sarah, our European adventurer, recommended that we take the free walking tour, which was something she did in Berlin and Amsterdam.  After a great breakfast at our B&B we headed out walking about three miles to the City Hall to meet the tour.  The tour guides are in the red tee-shirts and our particular guide was Gavin, who has long red hair and is holding the Free Tour sign.  Because of the group size they split us into three parties, one in Spanish and two in English.  The tours are free because the guides work only for tips, so they are entertaining and helpful.  Gavin is originally from Northwestern Ireland and has a degree in Medieval History and Gaelic History—he can probably deduce that 3 x 1.6 is 4.8 rather quickly.

We started out at the gates to the Dublin Castle and Gavin filled us in a little on the Easter Uprising of 1916.  The tour did seem to come back to this story multiple times, but it was helpful in understanding the move to Ireland’s freedom.

The collage below is a collection of some of the pictures within the castle—more of a palace than a castle.  The last remaining portion of the original structure is the Tower of Records (where police records are kept).  Justice is shown over one of the entry gates, but interestingly she is facing in towards the rulers instead of out towards the people.  In addition the sword is in an aggressive position.  In the background is a small park which was originally a landing pool off the River Liffey which runs through the middle of Dublin.  This pool is where the Vikings took control of Dublin and Ireland on several occasions.  The castle like structure behind the park is actually the Coach House.  When Queen Victoria was making her first visit to Ireland, the protocol party preceding her did not want her to look out on the poverty and slums or Dublin, so this Coach House was built to shield the view.  The other two pictures are just because I like them.

We went by some of the tributes to the Vikings settling into Ireland and being assimilated into the Irish people.  Some great archeological finds have been made regarding Scandinavian settlements, but the City Council has been less than active in preserving or developing the finds—at least according to Gavin. We wound our way back and forth over the river and then Trinity College—the protestant college of Dublin.  Then up to St. Stephen’s Park where we ended the tour with Gavin.  It was three hours well spent and it gave us a good background on the City and the history of Ireland.

Next on the tour was a stop at Christ Church.  Gavin indicated that this was the site of Handel’s first performance of the Messiah—further research found that although the Messiah was first performed in Dublin, it was in a Music Hall on Fishamble Street across the street from this church…so much for a Gaelic History degree.  However, the church is beautiful and the stonework and buttresses impressive. After working our way through the City we stopped near Cow’s Lane to have a quick lunch break.  Then it was down through the Temple Bar area—named for Lord Temple and designating an area not a drinking establishment, although there were many drinking establishments in the area. On our own we headed across the City in a quest of our own.  With all the walking we did decide to stop by St. Patrick’s Cathedral and sit in the garden area for a break.  When on our feet again we twisted and turned down several streets until we came to the Guinness Storehouse—home of the Guinness Museum.

 

Likewise, I had a taste of Guinness as well—after all, it was included in the tour price—and my end results are the upper right hand picture above.  When I sent this photo from my phone to a couple of people, James Morris responded with, “AHHHHhhhhhhhh”, and Jessica’s response was, “I hate you guys!!! :( “  Our next stop was the Brazen Head Pub, which is Ireland’s oldest pub dating back to 1613 and it is built on the site of a tavern dated back to 1198 Sarah and I both tried the Harp Lager here, Ireland’s only lager and you can see the result below.   We traveled back across the River Liffey, made our way to King Street where we caught the correct bus—after one slight misstep getting onto bus 13 instead of 13A, but quickly corrected.  We got off at the right stop for Fagan’s Pub (which was recommended by the B&B) for a great pub meal—fish and chips, fish chowder, marinated mushroom caps.

Although I am sure you noticed in the collection of photos above, Cheryl does have a Guinness in her hands while standing next to Sarah.  Just to show this isn’t an aberration or that she was just holding my Guinness while I took the picture here she is enjoying—okay at least taking a sip while in the heart of Guinness—a taste.  She may claim that the Guinness in this picture never passed her lips, an earlier quaff did. As we headed out for our next stop, I caught a shot of Cheri and Sarah on the cobble-stone streets surrounding the Store House.  Another one of those shots that I just like.

Then it was to our B&B where we ended our one full day adventure in Dublin.  Our next travels take us to the coast of Ireland and into a more countryside setting.  A great adventure to date.