Dublin Day 1

I have figured out how to put the photo's in so that when they are clicked on they will come up in a new window at a larger size if you want to have a better look at the photo.

Up early and ready to go to the Guinness Storehouse. From where I am staying it is only one mile from the Storehouse, so it was an easy walk to get there. The weather was overcast but it did not rain at all during the day. Dublin being a very old city it has a lot of old cathedrals and Churches.Getting to the storehouse I walked further along the main road in front of Guinness and was able to get some photos of the different buildings of the Guinness brewery.

There is even a Guinness Medical Department for the employee's and retired staff.



It costs Fifteen Euro to go into the Storehouse and after a short introduction by one of the employees you find your own way around and up through the various floors of the museum.


The refurbished building has a central circular glass shape built into the original structure and it is formed to represent a giant pint glass. If you could fill this glass shape it would hold 14.3 million pints!!


On the ground floor level is the store which you can come back to after you visit the displays.

At the start of the exhibits in the floor under glass is a copy of the 9000 year lease on the property that Arthur Guinness signed in 1759 (250 years old next year). The most important part of the lease is that he is to be always provided free water for the brewing process.


Traveling into the exhibits you are given a step by step process on how Guinness make their stout. The display shows how it is done now and all around the area is the old equipment that was used in days gone past.

From there you go up a level and and you find out all about the history of Guinness advertising.


Next is a overview on the story of the Storehouse building and how it was the first steel framed building built in the British Isles.


Then a display of the advertising campaign of John Gilroy, the person who bought the world the Saying 'My Goodness My Guinness'.You then get a chance to pour a Guinness pint but there were so many people there that I did not get a chance to do it.

The finish of the tour is a trip to the top of the building in the Gravity Bar, where you can trade in the ticket you got on entry for a free pint of Guinness.The bar itself is circular in design and with floor to ceiling glass it provides a 360 degree view of the city of Dublin. It also provided me the chance to grab a Guinness Coaster that I had not seen before.

Then of course you head to the Gift Shop to purchase your Guinness merchandise. I only bought one item on this visit but will of course buy up big on next time I go to the Storehouse.

I then went to the Guinness Archive office and looked up some of the history of the Guinness and looked at some books that show about Guinness in Australia.

Leaving the building (after being there for 5 hours, taking over 500 photos and recording all the audio presentations) I headed back towards my accommodation, stopping in a few bars and grabbing some new coasters.



I also stoped at a supermarket where I purchased a second XXXX can with different sayings on it from the one I got back in London. I then bought some food and sat in the square next to the Town Hall to eat it.


I then spent a few hours downloading photos and editing photos from yesterday while watching some Olympic events on the T.V.


I also was able to purchase tickets online for two sporting events on the weekend. On Saturday I am going to the Gaelic Football Semi Final between Dublin and Tyrone and on Sunday I am going to the Hurling Semi Final between Tipperary and Waterford. I tried to get tickets to these matches before leaving Sydney and also when I was in London but none were available. It seems that most of the tickets go out to the sporting clubs in Ireland and any that are not sold are returned to the association and then released on the Friday before the matches are played.


Both games are played at Croke Park, which is the largest stadium in Ireland. It is on the north side of the city so I will walk to the grounds, I imagine along with most of the supporters.


After it got dark about 9pm I went out again to sample the nightlife in Temple Bar on a Friday night. The streets are absolutely packed with people enjoying themselves. The pubs in the Temple Bar are packed with people enjoying the night and there are buskers everywhere on the street corners. I have never seen so many Hens Night's groups in one area before. There would have been at least 20 groups of women walking around partying. Apparently this is a great destination for people from the U.K. to fly to for the weekend for a wild time.

I wandered around for a few hours going into a few pubs and listening to some bands before heading back to the hotel to get some sleep as I expect tomorrow to be a big day with the Gaelic football and the large crowd in the city being a highlight to look forward to.


Collecting:

Seven new Coasters and two Christmas Tree Decorations (forgot to take their photos)