We were up and out of the B&B early this morning because we had somewhere pretty important to be.
The Guinness Storehouse!
Our reservation was for 11:00, so we packed everything back into the car and hit the road for Dublin.
The drive from Athlone was under two hours and everything was going along just fine…
Until we hit Dublin traffic.
Suddenly our comfortable little time cushion wasn’t feeling quite so comfortable anymore.
We needed to be there by 10:45, and for a little while there we were getting pretty nervous that we weren’t going to make it.
But as Irish luck would have it…
We made it!
And the Guinness Storehouse turned out to be a great way to start our time in Dublin.
The Storehouse is located at the historic St. James’s Gate Brewery, where Arthur Guinness famously signed a 9,000-year lease in 1759. Today the experience takes you through seven floors devoted to the history of Guinness, how it’s made, its famous advertising and, of course, how to properly enjoy it.
It’s mostly self-guided, which we really liked because we could wander around at our own pace.
We learned a little history.
We learned how Guinness is made.
And most importantly…
We learned how to pour the perfect Guinness.
There is definitely a technique to it!
Naturally, we also had to drink some Guinness.
Purely educational, of course.
Eventually we made our way to the Gravity Bar at the top of the Storehouse. It’s on the seventh floor and has huge glass windows giving you a 360-degree panoramic view of Dublin.
Pretty spectacular.
And then it was time for another important part of the experience.
Shopping.
Because you can’t visit Guinness and leave without a few T-shirts, sweatshirts and assorted Guinness goodies.
At least WE can’t.
We left the boys upstairs at the Gravity Bar while Kelly and I did a little damage in the gift shop.
I’m pretty sure everyone was happy with that arrangement.
Eventually we gathered everyone back together, headed to the car and made our way to our final home away from home on this trip.
That sounds a little morbid.
Let’s call it our final nest instead. 😉
And that’s actually pretty appropriate because we’re staying for two nights at Wren Urban Nest.
Wren is a boutique hotel tucked right into the heart of Dublin, between Trinity College, Grafton Street and Temple Bar. The rooms—or “nests”—are designed to be small, cozy and very efficient.
We got checked into our rooms and, once again, realized something that seems to happen to us quite often on this trip.
We were starving.
Fortunately, we didn’t have to go far.
We headed downstairs to ALT Bar & Restaurant right in the hotel, ordered some drinks—of course—and had an early dinner.
And when I say early…
I mean EARLY.
The food was delicious, our bellies were full and by the time we finished we were all exhausted.
We seriously considered just heading upstairs and crawling into bed.
Then we looked at the time.
It was about 5:30.
Okay.
Even WE couldn’t go to bed at 5:30.
So we rallied.
We decided we’d head over to Temple Bar and see what kind of trouble we could get into.
But first…
We had to do our part for the Irish economy again.
On our way we stopped at Aran Sweater Market on Grafton Street, where we managed to find a few more things that apparently needed to come home with us.
At this point, I’m not sure we’re shopping anymore.
We’re performing a public service. 😉
Purchases in hand, we continued on toward Temple Bar.
Temple Bar is Dublin’s famous cobblestoned cultural and entertainment district, packed with pubs, restaurants, shops and live music.
But we weren’t just heading to the Temple Bar area.
We were going to THE Temple Bar Pub—you know the one. That bright red pub you’ve probably seen in a million pictures of Dublin.
The pub has been serving Dubliners and visitors since the 1800s and today is especially famous for its traditional Irish music and enormous whiskey collection.
And it was definitely lively when we arrived.
The place was crowded.
The music was playing.
And naturally…
There were drinks to be had.
Whiskeys and Guinness at The Temple Bar.
I mean, really.
Could we come all the way to Dublin and NOT do that?
At this point, I think we’ve got this Ireland thing figured out. 😉
Eventually, though, the long day caught up with us.
We headed back to Wren, and this time nobody needed convincing.
Those little beds were looking mighty good.
Tomorrow is our last full day in Ireland.
I’m not quite ready to say that out loud yet.
See you down the road!
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