The American Triangle, Ireland Part 1

We last left our invigorated travelers on a train from Inverness back to Edinburgh, but only briefly, before they hopped an afternoon flight to Dublin. Just as in all previous cities to this point, the skies opened up and cried for the loss of these two Americans as they waved goodbye.

Bye, bye Scotland I WILL see you again.

I was completely fascinated with taking this flight. I wondered what might be different. I thought how cool it was to be taking a flight NOT in the US or coming FROM said country. That being said...

Things that weren't any different:
1) We walked on the tarmac to get to the small plane (been there, done that)
2) It was an older plane (looking at you, United without TV screens in the back of the headrest)

We flew through the grey rain and suddenly the deep blue sapphire waters of the Irish Sea, though I think it goes by many names, were there for us to see. It was incredible, though it still didn't defeat my reverance held for Inverness' waters.

The flight was short and uneventful and landed not long after takeoff, hooray short distances! The sun was flying high when we got there and it felt great not only because it was IRELAND but because it was our last country destination and this is where we were to conclude our trip. THIS was the land I have longed for over 20 years to visit and which I thought would prove to be a powerful place for me. Again, throwback to the last post, Scotland won this trophy by a landslide.

Bright and sunshiny daaaay!

Can I haz plate for souvenir, please? Airport food winning!

Evening walk along the river that splits the city.

We took an airport shuttle to the metro nearest our bed and breakfast and walked the 1/2 block to it. I was immensely surprised at how close it was because on a map it didn't seem that way. Growing up in Texas has its perks and its pitfalls, ha.

The owner of the bed and breakfast was a very entertaining older, greying Irishman who somehow within minutes had engaged Tanner in a very thorough discussion of Seinfeld and all its glory. I do not agree with this so Tanner was quite thrilled to have someone to talk to about their shared love of "great" TV. Ironically, this was the one place on our trip where we did not watch TV at all, not the entire time that we were in Ireland. I am excluding Netflix binge watching the many TV shows I discovered while abroad, of course.

For our first evening, we strolled down the river and ended up at a nearby pub for some grub and a Coors on tap. I had to. I was in Ireland and it was on tap all the way from Colorado. I was also treated to an entire conversation between four people held in Gaelic and only Gaelic. It was mesmerizing.

The next day was our day to explore Dublin so I was pretty excited. We bought tickets for a tour of the Jameson distillery immediately followed by a tour of the Guinness factory and then planned to wander the rest of our time. The weather was a mix of sunny, chilly and grey at different times. We started with a tour of the Jameson distillery and found out that it was just a storefront now....the REAL factory was moved to Cork many a moon ago. Thankfully, it was still interesting and we got what became my new favorite drink, a Jameson and ginger ale.

I was a little obsessed with this light.

Really interesting learning about the distilling process and why whiskey's are so different.

The reason Jameson is so clear as compared to Jack Daniel's and tastes so different from Scottish whiskey is because it is distilled three times whereas America does it once, Scotland does it twice and they roast their malt/barley/whatever with PEAT. Yeah, old school, makes a ton of smoke, PEAT. Suffice it to say, Jack is meant for shots or an old fashioned (as I learned just recently in New Orleans) and Jameson is meant for Ginger Ale and Scottish whisky is not meant for me.

Whisky at 11am following a full Irish breakfast? Why not.

Favorite new drink.

We ended up chatting with another American couple there and before we realized it, we were all wandering through the streets on our way to Guinness. Apparently we were being good tourists and capitalizing our drinking freebies all at the same time.

Guinness has a fascinating history that started with signing a 9,000 year lease. Yes, thousand. This was for 4 acres of land next to the river (and just down the street from our B&B) that eventually was bought out by the company and expanded to 50 acres. Really cool facts about Guinness, I tell you. Today the building is constructed like a pint glass and you travel each floor learning about the entire process from ground to glass. My favorite part, however, was getting to practice pouring our own pint and realizing that most bars in the states ain't doin' it right.

Successful graduates of the pour program!

Please note: the harp on the glass is VERY INSTRUMENTAL (pun!) in the proper pouring of a Guinness.

45* angle, check.

Go only to the harp, check.

Let rest for up to 2 minutes until all of it is dark, check. CHEMISTRY IS COOL!

Straight pour just until foam hits rim, surface tension!

After indulging in mostly just alcohol for our morning/afternoon, we determined we needed proper food. We walked down towards Christ Church Cathedral, following the river, to get in a little sight seeing as we hunted and foraged for food. We ended up at a burger place that was pretty tasty in a highly trafficked area down the way from the church. It was an intermittent sky day so sometimes you were chilled and sometimes you basked and purred like a kitten. Dublin is a great city, very walkable and pedestrian friendly, but it is absolutely an urban jungle. It is cobblestones, brick buildings, tight streets and densely populated. With Dublin's general history, I understood that but I was ready for greenery. I was ready for rolling grass and blooming flowers and an old Irish pub.

Thankfully, that's what I'll post on tomorrow! And what an incredible day it was, luck abounding with the weather and drivers and photo opportunities and good conversation.