May 27-29, 2009
First thing that happens in a foreign country is you go through customs where you get a stamp and in Dublin they write down what you are there for. The agent wrote down that I was there For the Purpose of: “Visit.” I don’t know why but I thought it was a really interesting phrasing. We found out the room was not ready yet so we dropped our bags off and wandered around Dublin finding food and seeing the sights. We went through the shopping district and ended up at the Christ Church Cathedral (photos).
Christ Church Cathedral
Then we proceeded back and lounged around St. Stephen’s Green (photos) before heading to the hotel and calling it a day.
St. Stephen's Green
The next day we grabbed a ticket for the hop-on hop-off double decker bus and rode around town. We traveled through the shopping district past Trinity College and then on to the Guinness Storehouse (photos) where we got off. The Guinness Factory has a 9,000 year lease on their land which they have only gone through 250 years of. The Guinness Storehouse is a museum about the history and process of making Guinness that is shaped around a central pint-glass shaped atrium.
Guinness Storehouse Atrium
The exhibit was really well done and featured some interesting architecture including water running over a glass ceiling. In the end though one of the best parts was the view from the Gravity Bar which sits above the original building and offers almost 360 degree views of the city.
Gravity Bar View
Though the exhibit was interesting the free pint of Guinness was not that good. We then got back on the bus after going through the Exit Experience, which is nowhere near as cool as it sounds. The bus then brought us through the rest of the city and left us at the Dublin Spire.
Dublin Spire
We finished the day by going back on the bus to St. Stephen’s Green and walking back to the hotel. The next day we journeyed to Trinity College to see the Long Room before we flew to Spain. The Long Room (no photos allowed) was absolutely amazing and seemed like it could have come out of a Harry Potter movie. The organization of books was most interesting with the largest books on the bottom and the smallest on top that way the most shelf space was used and that when getting a book for a high shelf it was easier to carry down the ladder.
Tags: Dublin
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