Europe 2007

Our last day in Dublin was spent visiting the Guinness Storehouse. The culmination of the self-guided tour involved complementary perfect pints and a fantastic 360 degree view of Dublin from the rooftop bar.

View from the Guiness Storehouse

Two Perfect Pints

Nick and The Perfect Pint

We also visited the Irish Museum of Modern Art, where we viewed a sculpture exhibition of works by Alexander Calder and Joan Miro. http://www.imma.ie/en/page_170509.htm

The evening involved a literary pub crawl, where we were entertained by two very talented Irish actors on the history of Irish literary greats such as Oscar Wilde and Samuel Beckett whilst trawling the streets of Ireland.

We had a late meal - Nick's first meat meal for awhile perhaps(?) at Eddie Rocket's, a very cheesy American themed burger chain.

One thing we have noticed about Dublin is the weather has been absolutely bloody fantastic since we've been here - not a drop of rain yet!!

We fly off to Amsterdam tomorrow - more from us soon...

We arrived in warm, sunny Dublin on Thursday afternoon. The trip from the airport to our hostel was a simple process compared to the dramas at Heathrow.

Arriving in Dublin was a welcome relief from the pollution and chaos that is London. It feels a lot like Melbourne here, young, colorful, vibrant, but compact and personable.

Our hostel sits a top of a hill on the north side of the River Liffey, and is a 10 minute walk from the action. It's a former Convent School, and as such has an old (at times creepy) vibe, but it's large, airy, clean and comfortable.

Our journeys around Dublin have so far taken us to:
- the excellent Bar Italia for the first decent meal we've had since leaving Australia (to be fair Hong Kong was pretty good, but not what our stomachs are used to),
- the equally impressive Gruel (best Roast Chicken going around, and no poison!),
- the crowded shopping strip of Grafton Street for cheap sneakers and bagels,
- the brilliant inner city refuge of St. Stephen's Green,
- a lovely little pub - Dame Tavern for some live music and pints of Guinness, and
- Temple Bar - the gaudiest, cheesiest Bar District this side of Nevada USA

Today was spent picnicing, reading and snoozing in St Stephen's Green. We stocked up on supplies at the Saturday market at Meeting Place Square which had a variety of gourmet foods - much like a mini Queen Vic Market.

Tonight we'll probably find somewhere for a cheapish pizza, then a little more Guinness, before taking the Guinness storehouse tour tomorrow.

That's all for now. Stay tuned for more adventures...