Today was my last full day in Europe. Tomorrow, I will fly
back to the United States through Canada. It is amazing that it is almost over.
I had such an amazing trip and it’s hard to believe that it is coming to an
end.
I hopped on the bus from Galway to Dublin in the morning and
checked into my hotel. I didn’t get a late start but it is a two and a half
hour bus ride to Dublin so by the time I was all checked into my hotel it was
already afternoon. So, I headed out to make what I could of the time that I had
in the city.
My hotel is actually located right next to Christ Church
Cathedral. I took the opportunity to take a photo of the church from the
opposite side than I did when I did the walking tour a couple days ago.
The biggest tourist attraction in the city is the Guinness
Storehouse. Here you learn the different processes of making beer and
specifically Guinness. Similar to my experiences at Heineken, the tour through
the Guinness factory was informative and interesting. They have a six step
pouring method for Guinness that includes a two-part pour. They pour the
Guinness part way and let it sit for about two minutes. After this they push
the handle on the tap back the other direction so that you don’t get any more
gas in your beer. They say that this is the only proper way to pour Guinness
and that’s part of the reason why the Guinness in Ireland is better than the
Guinness that has been exported. Also, they have the lease that Arthur Guinness signed for
9,000 years on the property that the storehouse is located.
At the top of the Storehouse, they have a bar called the
Gravity Bar. Here you get good views of the city while enjoying your
complimentary pint of Guinness that you got for purchasing the tour.
After I was done with the Guinness Storehouse I hurried over
to the Old Jameson Distillery. Despite the fact that I was there about an hour
before the final tour, they were sold out on tours. Apparently they sell out
fairly quickly. Maybe that has something to do with them being right next to
the Generator Hostel in Dublin. Anyways, I did take a couple photos of the
outside and the bar.
That was all I had time for today. I went back to the hotel
and went to a pub for dinner. When I walked outside later it was raining. It
seems appropriate that it would rain now after having amazing weather my entire
trip. It just seemed to fit and brought a smile to my face. I have had such an
amazing journey. This won’t be the final blog post, as I will post a couple
more. I will post a review of the Contiki that I completed as well as at least
one about my thoughts on the journey. Thank you to everyone who has read my
blog so far and I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I’ve enjoyed writing
it.
