Sunday Morning up early for breakfast and check out of the hotel. I finally tried some of the infamous "Black Pudding", and I have to say, it's not bad. I was expecting much worse, so I was pleasantly surprised. After breakfast I went to mass at St. Augustine's, which (as I was told) has the highest church spires in all of Dublin. I'd say that's pretty impressive! They had a St. Monica statue in the back of the church. St. Monica was the mother of St. Augustine in case you didn't know. It was the first statue of St. Monica that I've seen. So, after that we walked to the Guinness factory where I got to pour the perfect pint of Guinness! The factory and museum itself was really cool! They had a lot of information about the history of Guinness and how it is made as well as information on the marketing of Guinness. After the Guinness factory it was a quick walk over to Kilmainham Gaol to get a tour of the infamous Dublin jail.
Kilmainham Gaol is a Victorian style jail that has housed thousand upon thousands of Irish men, women and children during its time. It now stands as a museum where visitors can tour through the jail, and see cells and stone breaking yard and learn the history of the Jail and its visitors. This was the same jail where the rebels of the Easter Rising of 1916 were held and executed. We got to walk down in the stone yard where they were shot by firing squad. It was very eerie and intriguing all at the same time. Being in places like this really gives you an appreciation for History and the people who played such a large part in it.
After Kilmainham, we took the Dart over to the Jameson Distillery, you know - Jameson Irish Whiskey? So we took the tour of Jameson, and at Tom's suggestion, I volunteered to be a Whiskey Taster at the end of the tour. After learning all about how Jameson is made and why it is different from Scotch and American whiskey we got to the taste testing. There really is a difference in the smoothness of Jameson compared to Johnny Walker Black Label Scotch or Jack Daniels. After the tasting I got a certificate - I'm now an "Official Irish Whiskey Taster". I'm not sure how much credibility I get, but it's still pretty cool.
Jameson was the last on my tour of Dublin, after this we hurried back to catch the bus for our ride back to Dungarvan. Ending our weekend of escapades and adventures around Dublin. Next week this time I'll be standing in front of some great work of art or eating some delicious French cuisine!
Cheers!
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