Guinness Tour and the Brazen Head

It was very cold today, most of the local people were wearing winter coats. Tom and I spent the morning doing some shopping and stopped at the General Post Office, where the rebels declared their independance from England at the start of the 1916 Easter Uprising.

We then walked over to the original City Gates, and stopped at the Brazen Head, which is the oldest pub in Dublin. They claim a pub has stood on the site since 1198, with the current building existing and being in operation since 1668.

After the Brazen Head, we went to the Guinness Brewery which is very much like Hershey Park. It is a HUGE factory and the tour is interactive, films of the making of beer, with simulated factory elements, Tom said if they made us ride in Pint Glasses it would be exactly like Hersey. The best part of it being like Hershey is that that they also give you a sample at the end of the tour, and it is not Hershey Sampler size.

The tour winds up 6 stories of the Guinness Storehouse, the 7th floor is Gravity Bar which serves Guinness (naturally) and has floor to ceiling windows for 360 degrees. You can see every part of Dublin, and beyond from this perch.

Tom was fascinated with the fact that Arthur Guinness started the brewery in 1759 with 100 pounds which was left to him in a will from his Godfather (Just Hope Connor, Just Hope). Arthur Guinness took the 100 pounds and used it to buy brewing equipment and to enter a 9,000 year lease, at 45 pounds per year, for the 60+ acres of Dublin Land alongside the River Liffey with water rights. Several years later the City of Dublin informed Arthur he was using too much water, to which he replied Tough Luck! (more or less).

After my sample of Guiness, (and Tom's)...we had lunch at O'Shea's. Tom had a Club Sandwich, there are Club Sandwiches at every restaurant and they are Tom's Go-To Meal. I tried the Sheppard's Pie, which was very good.

We didn't get a chance to train outside of Dublin, but there is always next time. England and Ireland were terrific and were a good warm up for the next stage of our trip. While they are European, at least they speak (sort of) English. Tomorrow my Tres Mal Francais gets put to the test. Tom says we are screwed. We'll see.

News Alert: Dublin Won and now plays in the tournament for the All-Ireland Championship.