Dub, Dub, Dub, DUBLIN!

What an amazing long weekend we had in Dublin, Ireland! This is the first of many trips outside of the United Kingdom, and we enjoyed every minute of it. We got up at 3:15 AM on Saturday morning to gather our things, hop on a bus, head to the airport, to make our 6:30 flight to Ireland. It was a quick flight, probably because I slept the entire way...including take-off. Who does that?!?  Forty minutes later we were in Dublin. We took yet another bus to take us to the city centre.

We put our belongings in our hotel room, and headed out to explore. We headed to Trinity College first and walked around a little. We were starving and stopped at a local pub for a great Irish breakfast. It was so relaxing to just sit around drinking coffee and taking it all in. Back to exploring after our bellies were full!

 Trinity College

 Breakfast at O'Neill's Bar & Restaurant. Great Irish breakfast!

We then walked around, popped into a few shops. My mom will understand this, as Jeff and her are bakery buddies. They love their sweets. Every time we went past a chocolate shop or bakery...Jeff stopped and stared. It was pretty funny. We visited a few really cute parks as well.

   St. Stephan's Park and the second one is a mystery, but we're thinking it was Merrion Square.

Street performers (the dog is fake), one of the many bakeries, and beautiful architecture on the way to the Guinness Storehouse. 

Next up on the list was the Guinness Storehouse. We spent quite some time here learning how it is created. Jeff really enjoyed the video portion on how they made barrels. It was definitely some process! Always wanting to know how things are made/work. {#engineerforlife} We also took a class on how to pour the perfect pint! I was volunteered by my wonderful husband to be the demonstrator. I taught the rest of the group how to pour the perfect pint...6 steps to get there!

Outside the Guinness Storehouse.

How the bottles have changed over time. 

 Purifying the water.

 The barrels and me with my perfectly poured pint and certificate to prove it!

Seven stories high...we enjoyed our pints at the Galaxy Bar.

 Clearly hard at work and taking my job seriously!

Jeff was pretty good at pouring his. He asked the teacher, and his was one of the best pours. {#teacherspet}

We finished up our fun in Dublin watching Ireland Vs. England in the 6 Nations match at a local pub where we had some traditional Irish food and beer. It was a fun night. The next day we woke up and went on a long walk to some nearby famous sights and strolled around Phoenix Park and watched a Gaelic Football game. We had no idea what sport was being played because at times it looked like football, then basketball, then soccer, and then rugby!  We finally asked and then we attempted to watch to learn the rules. We ended our night with a few pints and attempting to find/hear some Irish music. The pub we chose was playing music, but it ended up being Johnny Cash and some random 90's music. 

 The Wellington Monument.

 Gaelic Game (match?)

 The Samuel Beckett Bridge. It is the shape of a harp as that is an iconic symbol in Ireland.

Another view, you can see the harp aspect of it better here.

 

 The first photograph is a memorial of the Great Famine in Ireland. The second photograph is dedicated to Daniel O'Connell, who was a famous political leader in Ireland.

 And 15+ miles later...we completed our trip to Dublin, Ireland.