Day Twenty-Six – Thursday, 7 May 2012

Tullamore – Dublin

Accommodaton – Ardmore, Dublin 4

Temperature – 18 degrees

Weather – wet

We had a slow start leaving Tullamore as we only had an hour and a half drive to Dublin.  The weather was now wet, wet wet and we took our time.  Our B&B host kindly let us in early and we were able to leave the car in his yard before we set off exploring Dublin.

Dressed with coats and  umbrellas we found our way into the centre of the city by bus and then caught a hop-on-off bus to see the city sights.  Everyone else had this idea so we had to sit up the top just a little out of the partly covered roof so my purple umbrella sheltered us until there was a break in the weather.

Our first stop was the Guinness Store and this was a very popular tourist attraction probably once again because of the weather.  After entering we went straight to the cafeteria where I enjoyed a great Guinness stew……should be good ordering it from here.

There was a brief five minute introduction and then it is a self-directed tour with a comprehensive leaflet outlining the displays on the six floors.  It seems to be a very secretive process however only a few ingredients are needed:  hops, roasted barley, yeast and water.  We followed the arrows until we came to the tasting floor and I couldn’t pass up on this.  It was an experience……but never again….David laughed at my good effort!  On the fourth floor you have the choice of learning how to pour your own Guinness with your entry voucher or going to the Gravity Bar on the top level and having it poured for you.  David chose to learn how to pour the perfect pint so we waited ten minutes before there was a vacancy.  Randomly from the names in the group David was chosen as the guinea pig which was rather apt as he loves his Guinness.  He did a great job with a lovely rounded head on top.  Everyone in our group followed and then sat around drinking the dark beer. 

David's an expert now!

It was then on and up to the Gravity Bar which was very busy – it felt like a real party going on and Guinness beers were being served at a great rate of knots.  The best part was the view as the walls are glass and there are 360 degree views of Dublin town.  With the guide from the store we could make out the famous landmarks of the city.

We spent some time in the souvenir store – they market a lot of goods here and David bought himself a tankard and a shirt. 

The pretty pedestrian Halfpenny Bridge - so named because of the toll fee.

Temple Bar - the hub of nightlife in Dublin.

It was time to move on and we caught the last bus for the day and stopped at O’Connell Street Mall where there is a huge spire which was erected for the 2^nd millennium.  We then made our way to Temple Bar which is the hotspot for pubs, Irish entertainment and food.  We walked up and down and settled on a pizza place, Milano, which served fabulous pizza.

It was still raining when we left but undeterred we walked via Grafton Street which is the upmarket street of Dublin towards the bus-stop for home.

Dublin is a clean city with fabulously large parks which are apparently very well used on fine days. 

Tomorrow we will us our bus pass again and explore Trinity College.