Our Room at the Brooks Hotel with Pillow Menu

Off we headed to lunch. \240We went to the Hairy Lemon (really) a cute pub right down the street. \240We feasted on classic Irish food: Beef and Guinness Pie (Art), Bacon & Cabbage (Jeff), Root Vegetable Pie with Chicken (JC) and Traditional Irish Stew (Patti).

The Hairy Lemon

Of course, Art and I had the first of what will be many, many glasses of what the Irish call “the Mother’s milk”. Yes, our first two pints of Guinness.

First 2 Guinness

Aftwards, we headed to Dublin Castle. \240The castle was the seat of the British Government until the birth of the Republic of Ireland. \240What fascinates me is that the Republic of Ireland was formed in 1922 - Ireland as an independent country is less than 100 years old.

We wanted to take the guided tour of the castle but to our disappointment, we arrived a little late. \240So, we opted for the free self guided tour instead. As we climbed the main stairs of the castle, we ran smack dab into the guided tour. Clearly, a sign from on high - we were meant to be in that tour. So, we discreetly joined the tour and learned a great deal about the history of Ireland.

One interesting tidbit - when the first independent government was formed in 1922, it made the harp is the official symbol of Ireland. \240However, Guinness was using the harp as a trademark way before Ireland was a country (Guinness dates from the 1700’s). So, in a brilliant marketing ploy, Guinness negotiated with the government to allow it to use the harp on its advertising as long as it displayed the harp facing in the opposite direction of that used by the government. \240Smart people those Guinesses.

The Government Harp

Guinness Harp

After our visit to the castle, we headed to Temple Bar, a famous entertainment area in Dublin. \240I always thought it was called Temple Bar because of the number of pubs in the area. \240Not true. The word “bar” is an old Irish word for a road that runs alongside a river and Temple Bar was the name of a road that ran along the River Liffey that cuts through Dublin. \240In any event, there are plenty of pubs in the area.

However, before we got to the pub area, Patti indicated that she was in desperate need of a Diet Coke. \240Yes everyone, an intervention is in order - Patti is a Diet Coke addict. \240But, not to worry, look what we found on the outskirts of Temple Bar.

After the Diet Coke fix, we ended up settling at the Temple Bar (yes the name of the bar is the same as the area, very confusing) and had a pint or two.

JC and Patti at Temple Bar

Next we headed to McDaids in the Grafton Street area (much more upscale) to meet up with some colleagues of Art that work for Hannover Insurance, a large German reinsurance company with an office in Dublin.

We were met by Ian, Conner and Catherine. \240What a great group. \240Despite the fact that they were 25 years younger than us, we had a blast. \240We had a couple of pints at McDaids. \240We learned about the importance of the pub where people still meet after work to socialize. \240As Ian put it: “At the job, you get to know the worker while at the pub, you get to know the person.” It was a delight.

We moved on to Doheney & Nesbit, a great spot near St. Stephen’s park. While an ordinary pub, it is known as a hang out for Dublin’s rich and famous. \240We were not disappointed when a media mogle was spotted. \240The man actually bumped into Patti at one point and we all spent an inordinate amount of time discussing whether Patti should have fallen down and pretended she was injured so we would see if he would offer to compensate her. \240The things you do after a few too many pints.

We discussed all kinds of topics as the night went on. \240Irish politics (for example, did you know musicians do not pay taxes in Ireland so Bono basically lives tax free); sports (Hurling vs. Rugby vs. Soccer); and Trump (the Irish think he’s funny). We discussed pub culture more as the night went on and how it is a part of the social fabric of the city. Ian made an interesting observation. \240He pointed out that since Dublin is a relatively small city and has extensive public transportation, people can have one or two beers after work and head home. \240They don’t have to worry about driving; \240they don’t have long commutes and so it makes it much more convenient to socialize.

Finally, we bid our new friends goodbye. \240It was a great evening and I think we all came away appreciating the magical Irish spirit.

Our Irish Friends

We finished the night off at a restaurant/ bar near our hotel.

Earlier in the day, I had been telling the group about the renaissance in Irish food. \240About 10 years ago, the government decided that the Irish needed to pick up their game when it came to food if they were to attract tourists. \240They brought in chefs from around the world to train Irish chefs who then trained other Irish chefs. \240The program was successful and you can see a vitality and creativity to the food scene everywhere. \240We shared small plates of pork cheeks, duck confit and steak that would rival anything you could get in the US. \240We finished it off with a banana dessert that was to die for.

Frozen banana with banana sorbet for dessert

We packed a lot into one day. \240We arrived back at the hotel exhausted. \240We hit our designer pillows and dreamed sweet Irish dreams.

The River Liffey

It was a brisk morning and the walk would have been fun except for what Art and I affectionately refer to as the “Nagging Nellies”. \240Who would they be you may ask? Well, it seems JC and Patti do not believe that Art and I have any directional sense whatsoever and thus wherever we go we they are constantly asking “Are you sure you know where we are going?” Now, mind you, its not just the incessant questioning that is annoying, its when they answer their own question under their breadth with comments like “I don’t think they really know where they are going” and “They are such men - they should just ask for direction”. Well, somehow, some way we ended up at the bus terminal.

However, on the way, we saw a statue that seemed to epitomize mine and Art’s situation. It is a statute of a famous scholar and, as you can see, he has a pigeon on his head.

When we passed, I turned to Art and said: “Look that poor guy is just like us with our wives. \240He stands there all day and gets pooped on.” Art thought it was hilarious. \240Nagging Nellies - not so much.

Once on the bus, we breezed by many historical sites. The General Post Office where the failed rebellion of 1916 occurred; the Abbey Theatre founded by W.B Yeats; the National Gallery, home to over 15,000 works of Irish art, Trinity College, founded in 1592. But, while all that history stuff is nice, we scarcely paid attention - because we were off to one of the greatest of all of Ireland’s treasures - the Guinness Brewery! Hooray.

Guinness Brewery (before the tasting)

The story of Guinness is interesting. \240Founded in the 1760, it is really the story of an opportunist. \240At the time, there were a number of breweries in Dublin. \240One of the breweries actually made a mistake and burned their barley which created a darker beer. \240Instead of throwing it out, the brewery sold it for a lower price and the working people who lived in an area called “Porter” loved it. \240Guinness, seeing the reaction, recreated the dark beer and called it Extra Stout Porter. \240Well, the rest is history and Guinness is one of the biggest producers of beer in the world.

What we found interesting is that as you tour Dublin,you realize the contribution the Guinness family made. \240Almost every major site (St. Patrick’s cathedral, Dublin Castle, etc.) you find that a Guinness donated money for the expansion or renovation. \240The family truly gave back.

So, I feel like I am doing a service to Ireland every time I drink a pint of Guinness. And, being the benevolent guy I am, I am going to try to help as much as possible before I leave.

Jeff’s Feeble Attempt at a Guinness Pour

After visiting Guiness, it was time for lunch. \240Art’s Irish friends had booked us a reservation at The Vintage Kitchen, one of the hottest little restaurants in Dublin. \240This is one of those places that is on the “very very hot list” and you need to book a reservation months in advance (or know someone) to get in and we had a 2:15 reservation (and we were told we could not be late). The only problem was that Art and I just may have lost track of time with all the excitement at the Guiness brewery and nd there we were in the Guiness Gravity Bar and it was almost 1:30. I checked Google maps and it said that if we walked, we would arrive at 2:30 - no good. Here we were on the other side of town, no car and, to make matters worse, the place was BYOB, so we needed to stop at a wine store or we would have some very cranky wives. Patti and JC (aka Nagging Nellies) were frantic. I must admit, behind our calm, “no problem” veneer, even Art and I were sweating it. We of course smiled and said “no problem”. Well guys, the Gods were smiling on us. Somehow,we found a cab with a driver up to the challenge; jumped in; dodged traffic; hit a wine store; picked out a very nice white and red; \240figured out how to pay at the self service check out (to avoid the lines); walked quickly through back some winding back streets (with Art and I triangulating between Google Maps and Apple Maps) and arrived at the restaurant at 2:14, one minute early. So there Nagging Nellies - take that!

The Vintage Kitchen

Lunch at Vintage Kitchen

The lunch was out of this world. \240It is true that Ireland has certainly upped its culinary game. The presentations was great and the food was creative and delicious. We shared appetizers:  Cajun seafood chowder; grilled Guinness bread with goat’s cheese; and risotto with chili and chorizo.  Then, for my main course I had a “special” with cod, mussels and caviar; JC and Patti had pan roasted chicken with pancetta, gnocchi, and truffle ; and Art had slow roasted lamb shank with treacle gravey and twice cooked carrots. For dessert: JC had a cheese plate; Art had cheesecake baked in a jar with mango and strawberry ice cream; and Patti and I shared lemon sorbet with pistachios. Everything was delicious!

After lunch, we went back to the hotel and napped. \240We were back at it by 7:30 and on our way to the Shelburne Hotel. \240Patti and I along with Matt and Courtney had stayed at the hotel the last time we were in town. \240The hotel is absolutely beautiful. When we arrived, the bar area was packed with very well dressed women. \240We learned that there had been a “high tea” for the elite “society” women that afternoon and they all stayed to have drinks. \240There were many “tipsy” society dames by the time we got there at 7:30, some of whom looked a little disshelved.

Enjoying a Drink at the Shelburne Hotel

After the Shelburne, we hit a couple of pubs on our way to dinner. \240The streets were crowded since it was Friday night and music was everywhere. We heard Beatles music, Johnny Cash, traditional Irish music and Frank Sinatra. \240We stopped at a bar named O’Donoghue’s because Patti had taken a great picture of the place by accident and we didn’t want to waste the picture (any excuse for a pub stop).

We had dinner at a restaurant called Pacino which was great. \240I had Pasta Fagilio (which was good but not up my Mom’s standards). \240As we left the restaurant, we decided to hit the bathroom which was down stairs. \240As we walked down, we heard sounds coming from behind the wall at the bottom of the stairs. \240As I waited for people to finish in the bathroom, I was curious where the sounds were coming from. \240I pushed on a bookcase that adorned the wall to no avail. \240I then touched a picture on the wall and all of a sudden the bookcase moved to the side to expose a speakeasy. \240Very cool. We stopped in to look around but after noticing that we were older than everyone else in the place, we decided to head back to our hotel to get a nightcap and settle in. Of course the Nagging Nellies questioned our navigational skills all the way back but somehow we arrived safe and sound. \240

Trinity College

A Page From the Gospel of St. Mark

After seeing the Book of Kells, we moved on to the so-called \240“Long Room” which is also part of Trinity’s old library. \240The Long Room houses many of the oldest manuscripts and books of Trinity’s collection.

The Long Room

The Long Room at nearly 300 feet in length (length of a football field), is filled with 200,000 of the Library’s oldest books and is one of the most impressive libraries in the world. It was built between 1712 and 1737. Since 1801 the Library has the right to claim a free copy of every book published in Britain and Ireland.

The library also contains famous Irish manuscripts. It contains Padraig Pearse’s “Proclamation of the Irish Republic”, the call to rebellion urging the Irish people to join the 1916 Easter Rebellion. The rebellion was not by soldiers but by poets and scholars. Of course the rebellion failed miserably - leave it to the Irish to think they could rhyme their way to victory. However, the actions of these martyrs did pave the way for the successful rebellion in 1922 and also inspired many of the Irish folk songs sung in the pubs today.

After Trinity, we walked over to Christ Church.

Christ Church Cathedral

This is the oldest of Dublin’s cathedrals having been established in 1030. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Dublin.

While the Church is interesting, the more fascinating part is the crypt which runs below the church. \240Most churches have small crypts where clergy are buried. \240The crypt at Christ Church is more like a full basement running almost the full length of the church and has some interesting history. In the 17th and 18th centuries the Church had fallen in disrepair and the crypt was rented out and converted to a marketplace together with three of the busiest pubs in Dublin. It was not unusual to have religious services taking place upstairs and drunken brawls going on downstairs in the crypt. \240Finally in 1792, the market and pubs were closed and the crypt returned to its ecclesiastical purpose.

The Crypt at Christ Church

Over the protests of the girls, we headed across the street to the Synod Hall of Christ Church to view Dublinia, an exhibition of the Viking influence on Ireland. The Vikings conquered Ireland in 841 and ruled until 1014. \240The exhibit, housed on three floors, tells about life in Ireland during the Viking rein in medieval times. \240It goes into great detail about some of the ordinary aspects of life. It shows Viking tools and boats and such. What Art and I loved was that it had an area devoted to graphic displays of how people lived during this period: one exhibit demonstrated how bad people smelled (terrible because they never bathed and had rotted teeth); how they disposed of dead bodies on carts with graphic depictions (Bring out your dead...); how disease was spread (most people had ticks and lice that sucked infected blood and then spread it from person to person); and, most interesting medieval bathroom habits, complete with a life size display of a man in mid wipe in a medieval outhouse using moss as toilet paper (with a soundtrack to match). \240The girls were disgusted but Art and I enjoyed ourselves immensely. Later I read it was voted the number one children’s attraction in Dublin - figures.

After lunch and a couple of pints of Guinness, we headed to the old Jameson distillery on Bow Street (little known fact - its best to coat your stomach with \240Guinness to get ready for Jameson Irish Whiskey). The distillery first started production in 1780 and was the main distillery until 1970 when the production moved south to Cork. The original distillery now houses a museum with a great tour and tasting.

Jameson Chandelier

Since we had to wait for our tour to start, we decided to head to the lively bar area and get a head start on the tasting. \240Art and I enjoyed a Distillery Edition version of Jameson that can only be bought at the distillery (straight up with one rock). \240Patti and JC tried a Whiskey Collins (which seemed appropriate since the “C’ in JC is for her maiden name, Collins). It was a lively place and great fun.

Enjoying a Pre-Tour Drink

The tour was quite educational. We learned that American whisky is distilled once; Scotch whiskey twice and Irish whiskey three times. (Notice the different spellings of “whiskey”) \240We learned that new oak barrels used in America give its whisky a sweet flavor, while used barrels used for Irish whiskey makes for a more spicy flavor. We learned that peat which is used to malt (or cook) barley in Scotland imparts that smokey flavor.

We then got to taste a scotch (Johnnie Walker Black), an Irish Whiskey (Jameson) and an American Whisky (Jack Daniels). It was very interesting to taste the difference especially since we knew what to look for. \240Fortunately, Patti doesn’t like whiskey so I had an extra shot to really test my palate.

Of course, we needed to apply our new found knowledge so we headed back out to the bar to test our taste buds one more time. \240Glad to report, we all passed. Art and I even bought a personalized bottle of the Distillery Only blend which will come out only for special occasions (Matt and Emily, it will be safely hidden to save you from any temptation).

My Bottle

We headed back to the hotel for a 2 hour nap. \240All that “touring” had made us tired. But, we all rallied and headed off to Temple Bar to do some people watching before our 9:45 dinner reservation. (people certainly eat late in Europe).

Temple Bar was packed (it was a holiday weekend) but we managed to find a seat at Quays, a bar that Patti and I remember from when we visited with Courtney and Matt ten years ago. The scene was wild with people spilling out into the streets. There was a cacophony of sound giving the place a heartbeat of its own - Irish and America music pouring out of the windows encircling people on the street who sang along. The Irish ballad “Molly Mallone” blended with John Denver’s “Take Me Home Country Road”. Glasses banged on bars and banged on tables providing the bass line for this symphony. The regular “clink -clink” of glasses for the toast filled in the syncopation. The hum of voices created the rhythm and the occasional crashing of a broken bottle or glass created the crescendo. We just sat there and soaked in the concerto.

We observed that there were a lot of young people taking part in bachelor or bachelorette celebrations. \240We saw many “hen parties” with one group of women dressed up as Snow White and the seven drawfs. Another bride to be had on a dress that made her look like a wedding cake. The best was the future bride carrying around a full size male blow up doll with a dog collar (I pity her husband to be). All in good fun.

“Hens”

Since we were near the door, each group had to parade by us. Art had a great time getting the background of each group and hugging all the girls for “good luck”. \240There were guys on parade as well. We struck up a conversation with a young German guy who was on his bachelor party with his buddies. We joined he and his group for a German song (which of course Art and I sang perfectly) and a shot of Jeagermeister. You can catch a glimpse below.

A Drink to Our German Friends

We headed off to dinner at Pichet, a nice restaurant not too far from our hotel. It was packed at 9:45 when we arrived. We had some wine and a great dinner and headed home for the night. I love the fact that you can walk everywhere because none us were getting behind the wheel of a car. It was a beautiful night for a stroll and we were singing “Irish Eyes are Smiling” as we stumbled into our hotel.

Malahide Castle

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