Ireland Wednesday

This was taken from my Ireland travel blog: britandsadiegotoireland.tumblr.com

So we had a bit of a slow start today, due to not having an alarm clock and the buses getting delayed/being wonky this morning. We didn’t get into the city until almost noon, but it worked out okay.

After grabbing some sandwiches and some much needed caffeine for brunch, we hopped on the tour bus and headed over to the Museum of Architecture and History. The museum was gorgeous. Throughout the entire place, the floors were covered in tiles in a vaguely Grecian pattern. The museum had Egyptian mummies, Irish bog mummies, the largest collection of Irish gold, a tree canoe, viking displays, swords that had decayed and rusted so much only bits and pieces were left, and LOTS OF SCHOOL CHILDREN! Oh jeez…they were everywhere! It was rather cute though…especially when one precocious 7 year old boy ran up to a display and said “What the hell?!” We had to leave that display because we were laughing too hard.

Fun fact: If a man had his nipples cut off, he was no longer eligible for kingship. One of the bog mummies was a nobleman without nipples.

After the museum we finally went to the Guinness storehouse! This was a ton of fun, as you can imagine. 7 stories of history, the process of, the advertising, and the world’s largest pint glass. Seriously…the entire building is built around a 7 story pint glass. We didn’t learn how to pour our own perfect glass, as then we couldn’t drink it at the very top, and there was a large group ahead of us that was taking a while. But the view at the top was great…we got our pints, and sat down next to some very nice Scottish people. They apparently go to Dave Matthews Band concert every year, in whatever country they want to see/can afford to see at the time.

Sadie and Brit determined that they are not really beer girls. Brit finished hers just fine; Sadie needed a bit of coaxing. We both decided, however, that Guinness chocolate is delicious, and prefer our beer in this form.

After the Guinness, we attempted to find a place to get cheap Eirrean bus tickets and a USIC student card. Supposedly, they’re sold at Dublin City University, so we got on the bus and headed over there. We failed at finding what we wanted, but we still got a good look around the college, and, as usual, had an adventure.

After that, we decided to head back into the city center and find a place to eat. We attempted Temple Bar district, but found it was a bit too expensive for our tastes. After wandering around for far too long, we finally sat down at O’Neill’s, which has been serving food and beer in Ireland for over 300 years. It had AMAZING food…we both got stuffed chicken with potatoes, and the atmosphere was great. There was a rugby game playing, so it was quite boisterous.

After dinner, it was back to the hotel, where we are now. We’re currently looking up tours to see the Hill of Tara, and hopefully the Cliffs of Moher.

Tomorrow’s plan: Day tour to the Hill of Tara and Newgrange, through Eirrean. Only slightly more expensive than the bus that doesn’t quite take you all the way there, so we figured it was a good deal.

Friday: Brit is anxiously trying to convince Sadie to go to the Cliffs of Moher…the tours are a bit more expensive, but if it all pans out, it would be sooo worth it. Anything to see the place where Princess Bride and Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince were filmed, right? (Mrs.P, if you’re reading this, feel free to send just a bit more cash :P Kidding. But not really.)

So, that’s where we’re leaving you for tonight. We have an early rise (and a wakeup call to make sure we get up), so that’s all for now!

Love,

Brit and Sadie