Travelogue Dublin A Rainy Day

It often rains during my travels because of the time of year that I tend to travel during. Today the rain begann to fall lightly in Dublin. Weather like this makes me less inclined to go exploring and more inclined to find a bowl of soup and or soup noodles. But, before that, its time to get some breakfast. A few blocks from the hotel is Slattery's.

Breakfast is similar in vein to what I had a few mornings ago, a full irish breakfast. This version is augmented by a piece of hashbrown, mushrooms, and black pudding in addition to the white

Despite the weather, I jumped onto the bus towards Howth. Howth juts out into the Irish sea and borders the north of Dublin Bay. The bus passes a wet Customs House

We pass through some residential areas of Dublin. Kind of interesting to see how their homes are designed in comparison to the ones that we are used to. A few random pics along the route

With the gloom and cold, the harbor area is deserted. I was hoping to sample the local seafood that websites and tour books rave about. I hopped on the first bus back and decided to hunker down at the room for the rest of the day

For some reason, I opt for fish and chips again. Instead of Beshoff, I head up O'connell to Parnell where Kingfisher is located. They have an eat-in area but I wanted to take it back to the room so I could finish off the packing and turn in to get some sleep. And, I have a knee-jerk reaction to onion rings, to buy them when I see them.

The fish is the same, cod. However, some places in Dublin offer a smoked cod or other smoked fish along with the chips. The texture of the fish toughens up a bit from the smoking process. I prefer the non-smoked fish. I dont think the smoke makes the fish that much better

The next day I would fly out to London in pre3tty much the same weather. Once I land and get to my room, Im not up to going out yet. I settle in and finalize plans for the next day

Travelogue Dublin Old Jameson Distillery

The next stop is the whiskey distillery exhibit in Smithfield for Jameson.

The beverage is no longer made at this the original location.  That has since been moved to Cork.  They also have a tour there as well

This guided tour starts at set times during the day.  Much like Guiness, the focal point of the early part of the tour revolves around the ingredients

Many of the same things that goes into Guiness and beer can be found in whiskey

The next portion concerns getting the raw materials into the primitive base liquid

Distilling the liquid three times is their trademark process.  American whiskey like Jack Daniels is distill once

As it ages in the barrel, it picks up flavors and color from the wood while some of it evaporates out at a rate of 2% a year.  The bottom left is a year old while the top right is 15 yeasr old.  The colors deepen, the flavor matures, and loss increases over 1, 3, 5, 12, and 15 years

The end of the tour rewards one's patience with a sample of the end product.  You can opt for a shot or, like me, mixed with ginger ale and a squeeze of lime.

This combination was quite tastey.  As I imbibed, volunteers were picked to do a tasting of 3 whiskeys.  Each whiskey having gone through various times through the distillation process.

Dinner time finds me in Temple Bar at Gallagher''s Boxty House.  The place feels quite small.  The floorboards creeked and warped under the weight of the friendly but burly wait persons

I started with the boxty sampler.  The top right are potato pancakes with a cheese filling.  Next we have boxty dumplings in a blue cheese sauce.  The dumpliing were dense and doughier than gnocchi.

The main is a bowl of coddle.  Ham, bacon, or pork broth with potatoes and chunks of ham, pork, or bacon and pieces of sausage.  The sausages had the wierd consistency of large vienna sausges.  Apparently, coddle made on the north side differs from those made in the south

Travelogue Dublin Guiness Storehouse

The start of this day needs to be a hearty one as I will be partaking of different alcohols today.  The thing to do is have a full Irish breakfast.  Below is an over-easy fried egg, 2 pieces of toast and butter, 2 sausages, baked beans, 2 rashers of bacon, fried tomato, black pudding, and a cup of tea.  I rather liked the pudding.  Its got a bit of liverwurst taste to it

After fueling up with something to absorb all the alcohol I will be having, its on the bus and a short ride to the storehouse.  Admission is 16.50 euros.  Toward the end of th tour, you are given the option of redeeming your ticket.

A short intro is require before the self guided tour may commence

The first exhibits talk about the main ingredients like hops, water, and barley

The remainder of the text speak to the origin of the word beer from the anglo-saxon word for barley

To whet your whistle, Guiness provides samples.  They are very generous and I have seen a few take more than 1 sample

After the static displays of the ingredients and processes on the making of the brew, you have two options.  You can go to the Gravity Bar on the seventh floor and recieve a pint poured by a professional

Your glass of stout is accompanied by a near 360 degree view of Dublin.  The storehouse is located on the westside of the city

The other option is to learn to pour your own perfect pint.  As you queue up, 12 at a time, instructions along give you a primer as how one goes about pouring perferction.   Videos below will provide the crash-course

After the initial pour, it is left to sit while much of the carbonation and nitrogen is left to gurgle out of the beer and into the foam

Such is the time, when the beer has regained its dark hue, a final push on the tap fills the remaining space in the glass and a bit of the head hovers over the brim.  This is my perfect pour

Finally, we recieve our certificate that we have passed the course.  Now I be employed at any pub in Dublin or the world to serve Guiness

Videoes

Trvaelogue Dublin Day 1 continued

 After taking the hop on-hop off bus for a loop around the city, it was time to put boots to the ground and take a look around.  I could have hopped on the bus again but it was a quick 15 minute walk.  Grafton St has a number of shops that line this pedestrianized street

 
There are boutiques and name-brand stores.  Little cafes are situated next to fast food chains.  Im not much for shooping so I didnt really pay attention to what is available but you can check it out for yourself

There were a number of people shopping and walking about.  However, it did not feel frenetic and it didnt have the energy I come to expect in areas like this.  But, thats just me

Temple Bar is just west of Grafton and borders the river.  A bar is an area along the river or body of water.  In this case, this bar has alot of bars.  The drinking type bars

Pubs are abundant   Many offer food and/or music, traditional and otherwise.  Its fairly early so no drunkards falling over themselves or puking in the streets.  Afterall, the sun i still up

 As I leave the area, it gets dark.  But not just dark from the setting sun but from the closure of stores.  This is Monday evening.  Alot of store close early by 7pm.  Bars and restaurants still ply their businesses after this hour.  Convenience stores can help fill the gap.

It started to get dark and I opted for some cod and chips at a place near the accommodations.  Nice flaky fish in a crispy light batter.  Damn, forgot the tartar sauce and ketchup

Travelogue Dublin Day 1-revised

12 hours on 2 planes, 3 hour layover, another 12 hours since I landed=no sleep.  Some random pics for the first post

O'Connell St

This is The Spire

Trinity College

Along Dame St in the Temple Bar area

Dublin Castle

Christ Church

Guiness Storehouse

Looking north along O'Connell St from the bridge