On day two we woke up bright and early and walked from The Westin to Queen of Tarts. This cute little cafe came highly recommended and did not disappoint. Plus - what an adorable name.
 |
| Zach, still a little tired |
 |
| Enjoying my morning cup of joe |
 |
| The Full Irish |
After we were good and full we hopped on the bus to St. Patrick's Cathedral. For once I didn't plan to take a tour, but when we arrived there was a tour about to start. Meant to be. I love tours!
Ireland is not known for cathedrals, but St. Patrick's is magnificent. Our tour guide was knowledgeable, interesting, and he was the Irish version of Christian Bale crossed with Michael Sheen.
None of the stained glass windows are original, but some date from the mid 1800s. Each window tells a story.
During the tour we stopped by this door and two actors in period costume appeared. They acted out a scene from the history of the cathedral when two feuding families reconciled by shaking hands through the hole in the door and "chancing the arm." It's now known as "The Door of Reconciliation."
This is The Lady Chapel. It is located behind the alter and dedicated to the Virgin Mary. Lovely.
Jonathan Swift is buried in St. Patrick's, next to his number one mistress.
Then it was back on the bus and onto the Guinness Storehouse. Finally something Zach wanted to do.
 |
| The Famous St. James's Gate |
In the 1930s and 40s John Gilroy developed this popluar add campaign. There are still John Gilroy signs all over Ireland. I especially love the ones with the toucan even though it doesn't make a lot of sense with Ireland's climate.
There was even a place where you could be in your own John Gilroy ad. Zach made me pose like the man in the original. Not my finest picture.
We decided to take our complimentary pints in "The Gravity Bar." The bar sits on top of the brewery and has 360 degree views of Dublin.
Yes this picture took me multiple attempts, but it was worth it. Artsy.
 |
| "It does taste different in Ireland!" |
Look at that view! It seemed as if Ireland's rolling hills were enclosing the city. This was also the first time we saw the true green of Ireland. Unfortunately, it doesn't come through in these pictures.
A snapshot of some of those famous Guinness harp glasses.
From a famous brewery to a famous distillery. Zach was very pleased to be among his favorite green bottles.
We had a bit of a wait before our tour so we grabbed a quick lunch in the restaurant. We enjoyed our first and only Irish Coffee.
An awesome chandelier made out of Jameson bottles.
Yay, the first of the many scary mannequins from our trip.
Each room was a different tableau. It's not a working distillery, but we learned about the history of Irish whiskey and the triple distilling process.
This is one of my favorite pictures of the trip. When we saw it we said, "Look, it's Scooter's grandfather." It was so nice to have another reminder of our little buddy.
Being shy and not wanting to bother anyone we had to be creative to get pictures of both of us.
At our final hop off of the bus route stood the Spire of Dublin. These pictures demonstrated the perfect weather and beautiful blue sky.
For dinner we went to Bobo's Gourmet Irish Burgers. The reason behind this restaurant was twofold. One, when I searched the menu it had the best selection of veggie burgers I've ever seen. Two, "Bobo" is Zach's pet name for me. Feel free to throw up now.
Our only curry fries from the trip, which is strange because we order them all the time on this side of the pond. My burger was called "The Veggie Dame"...falafel topped with veggies, tzatziki, and creme fraiche. So good I can still taste it.
I think Zach liked his too.
After that we had a bit of an awkward experience at a bar we happened upon, after which I told Zach, "That's what happens when you don't stick to the itinerary." The bar we were supposed to go to, The Merchant's Arch, had the best live music of the entire trip.
The bar was a little crowded, so we shared a table with this lovely couple from Australia. Zach bought them a round and they returned the favor in true Irish fashion.
It was a long day and we had another big day ahead of us, so it was off to bed with sweet dreams of Irish music.
"We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars." - Oscar Wilde
