Guinness in Dublin

Definitely one of my favourite things to do in Dublin is head to the Guinness Storehouse at St Jame's Gate. And that's saying something because I don't even drink it! Sam was like a three-year-old on sugar he was so excited. 

My favourite thing about the site is that Arthur Guinness, founder of Guinness had such faith in his brand that he oringinally leased St Jame's Gate in 1759 at £45 per year for 9,000 years. They've since purchased the land outright.

When you first walk in, you're taken through all the ingredients used to make Guinness but on a massive scale. From the vat of barley, to the walls of hops and the giant water feature it's all great!

Then comes the history of their advertising and the menagerie of animals.

And then finally you make your way to the top of the building for great views over Dublin and a pint of stuff (which I mostly only pretended to drink). 

Perhaps not the smartest move, but we went to the Guinness Storehouse the day after the rugby and Sam wore a 'Keep New Zealand Beautiful' tshirt. He almost didn't get served any Guinness...

Dublin & Rugby

The main reason I was in Dublin was to watch the mighty mighty All Blacks play Ireland at the Aviva Stadium. 

As All Black fans we were largely out numbered but we were reasonably confident we had it in the bag even before the game had started.

Oh how wrong we were. At half time Ireland led 22-7 and we resigned to the fact we'd probably not come back to win. The crowd was so alive, celebrating and singing,  but altogether slightly premature. We managed to score a try in overtime, bringing the score to 22-22 and then converted the try to win 24-22. I couldn't help but feel guilty, there were grown men crying around me. 

After the game we were hoping to celebrate at a local pub but the mood was altogether pretty sombre. I settled for meeting some of the boys on the field after the game instead. 

What. A. Game.

Dublin - Trinity & Whiskey

Ireland in November. Land of the bad weather, shamrocks, Jameson, Guinness and possibly the friendliest people I've ever met!

I don't think I've ever seen Sam as excited as he was at the airport waiting for our flight (I think it was the prospect of all the Guinness) 

I was fortunate enough to be staying in Dun Laoghaire on the coast. There's a great place called the forty foot where people have been swimming in the Irish Sea all year round for some 250 years. And it's baltic all year! 

Being close to Christmas, Dublin had the festivity out in full swing with lights everywhere so it was great wandering around the city. We went to Trinity College where we were given a tour by a current student who told us a great many stories, some of which were clearly made up (including that someone kept a bear on campus as a pet). It was the best tour. 

Easily the best part of Trinity College is the library, built in 1952, home to the Book of Kells and one of three remaining medieval Gaelic harps.

Also on the agenda was a trip to The Old Jameson Distillery.

I even got my whiskey tasting certificate. I still prefer it with ginger beer...

...or a cider instead. 

Our time in Dublin was great - a big thank you to our lovely hosts, Emmeline, Tomás and Maud.

Stonehenge

I'm about ten months behind with posts... Time to get back up to date!

While in Bath with my parents in October 2013, we also went to Stonehenge. A lot of people I've spoken to say they were very underwhelmed by the experience and that they were disappointed they weren't able to walk in among the stones. It would have been great to get closer but I wasn't at all disappointed!

I love the touristy audio guides and hearing the stories of times past. Stonehenge is pretty amazing when you consider it was built 4000 or 5000 years ago as a burial site and an astronomical observatory. Stones were brought from Wales, 240 miles away, which is no light feat considering they weigh up to four ton! 

There are more than 900 of these stone rings around the British Isles (another is at Glastonbury!). 

I think my favourite thing is the perfect geometry and mathematics used to align with the midwinter sunset and midsummer sunset. It's also aligned with the most northerly setting and most southerly rising of the moon. Resulting in pictures like this (not my photo). 

Here are a couple of the pictures I took.