Dublin Day #2 (2015 Summer Adventure Part 7)

Disclaimer: The main reason for these posts is to remember our trip in the summer of 2015. There will probably be too many details and lots of parenthetic statements. Feel free to scroll through and just look at pictures. Also, I teach math - not writing.

Second full day in Dublin!  Ian woke up at 6am showered and ate breakfast.  I woke up closer to 7-7:30am and took a fake shower.  We went to Costa Coffee (located near our hostel) for coffee and protein.  (The hostel had free breakfast but it was all carbs - white bread/toast, sugary cereal, not really anything to stick to your bones if you are walking around all day.)  We planned out our day and talked about how hard it is to stay in dorm-style hostels.  But we like to travel so we hope we can stay young (in spirit) and continue to stay in hostels.

We set off for Christ Church.  We read the history on a plague outside.  It was established in 1030! We decided to attend/participate in Morning Prayer (therefore free admission!).  There were 2 Anglican Priests, us, and 1 other person there for morning prayer.  We did responsive readings from the Common Book of Prayer.  It lasted about 15 minutes and was pretty straightforward.

One of the stain glass windows from Christ Church

Afterwards, we went down into the crypt.  This was not my cup of tea.  It was spooky.  The crypt was more commercialized than Ian remember it being (Ian was in Dublin in Spring 2007).  It was a pretty big crypt (I am not sure what the average size of crypts are, but bigger than I thought it would be).  There was a copy of the Magna Carta, old communion sets, and some outfits from "The Tutors" (a TV series that was recorded in the Crypt at times.)  Also there was a display of a dead cat and rat - so gross and yuck.

This is the exterior of Christ Church...I can't remember exactly why we took this picture or why we used this angle....

We walked to Jameson Distillery next and purchased tickets for 30 euros for a tour.  During the 20 minute wait for the tour to begin, Ian had an Irish Coffee.  He rated it an 8/10.

A picture from our tour, Ian with his Irish Coffee, and a cool light fixture made from Jameson bottles

The tour was great!  We hit the jackpot as far as tour guides go.  Niles (our awesome tour guide) was kind, enthusiastic, entertaining, and an encourager of photographs and questions.  Each tour stop was well done and not boring.  It was a good concise mix of history and current operations.  At one point Niles was talking about the specific ratio of malted to unmalted barely that is used in Jameson Whiskey.  I thought, "Ding! Ding! Ding!  I am going to find out the ratio and then tell my students about math in real life!" So I asked about the ratios.  Niles answered that the ratios are a secret and different for each of Jameson's 39 whiskeys.  He went on to explain that you have to have a PhD in Chemical Engineering to be considered for the job of a distiller.  (How fascinating and mathtastic!)

The tour ended with a tasting.  There was a Scottish Wiskey - twice distilled - it was my favorite and Ian said he could taste the smoky-peaty flavor.  There was Jamesons - distilled three times - Ian's favorite and it was a crisp and clean taste.  Then there was Jack Daniels - single distilled - corn flavored (we found out which was after we had tasted each.)

The reason that Jameson is not clear is due to be aged in recycled barrels - either port wine, sherry, or bourbon barrels. After the tasting, we got either a shot of Jameson or Ginger Ale, Jameson, and Lime.  Ian had the first, I had the second (it was delicious!).  We thought the tour was well-done.  We would definitely do it again or suggest it to others.

We went to Christopher's (super close to Jamesons) for lunch.  Alissa had a pannini and Ian had a bagel sandwich with soup.  After lunch we sent off of a hunt for a sweatshirt/jacket for Alissa.  I planned on bringing one but forgot it at 3am the day we left.  We browsed for about an hour on Henry Street.  Not much to choose from, but I ended up finding a grey fleece for about 17 euros (and there is no tax charged on clothes)!

We saw this when we were out walking - how Irish!

We walked backed to the hostel and napped for over 3 hours!  We woke up refreshed and headed out to find dinner.  We went in search of an "Irish pub".  After walking around the Temple Bar Area we ended up at the Trinity Bar.  Ian had Arthur & Guinness Pie and Alissa had Beef Stew.  It was good, filling food.  We also had potato skins.  The music was loud and Mumford & Sons was the band of choice.  We ended our day at Starbucks - recording our day and reviewing our budget.

The verse we memorized during our trip was "The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in Him and He helps me.  My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him."  Psalm 28:7