The Pancake Breakfast
Inside St. Patrick's Cathedral
St. Patrick's Cathedral
The Notorious Anna McGoldrick Musical Tour Bus
Casks of Guinness
Troy Pours A Perfect Pint 
Guinness Pork and Leek Sausages
View of the City from the Guinness Storeroom, With A Joycean Quote in the Window
A Snotty Joyce Quote About Dubliners...
Memorial to the Irish Famine VictimsWhen our wake-up call came at 7:30 a.m. this morning, I awoke with a bit of a scratchy throat. I guess I have finally caught the nasty bug that Troy has had all the time I've been here. Nothing truly nasty, just a tickle and coughing.
We headed down to breakfast where this morning I had pancakes and maple syrup and Troy enjoyed crustless French toast. I have to say that we have been truly blessed during our stay in Ireland thus far. Although it was a bit chilly in the dining hall this morning, we have not had any significant amounts of rain or unpleasant weather during our week.
We decided to make our way today to the Guinness Storeroom which, according to our guide at the Book of Kells exhibit yesterday, is the number one tourist attraction in Dublin. Troy suggested we get on the hop-on hop-off bus to make our way to the storeroom, and that way we could save time. I suggested that since we were headed that way anyway, perhaps we could first stop off at St. Patrick's Cathedral to visit the building.
The architecture was amazing. We ventured inside and took several pictures of the stainglass windows and the ancient heraldic banners hanging from the buttresses. We also saw the tomb of Jonathan Swift, author of Gulliver's Travels and dean of St. Patrick's Cathedral in the eighteenth century. We missed his death mask, but marvelled all the same at the wonders inside the church. We also took photographs of a marble slab that was unearthed outside the church under six feet of dirt, under which was found a small well which, according to legend, St. Patrick used to baptize the first Christians in Ireland in the 500s.
Outside the church we found the location of the well which has long since dried up. We also found a long wall on which were hung plaques commemorating the great writers of Ireland, including James Joyce. I know he would have loathed being remembered anywhere near a church. The highlight of my day was when a bus pulled up at St. Patrick's Cathedral, and we noticed that it had a sign indicating that it was a coach for the Anna McGoldrick musical tour of Ireland. Troy stole the words out of my mouth when he quipped: "Look at the age group of the people on this tour!" When that bus stopped in front of St. Patrick's, only one brave tourist stepped off the bus to take a photo. The others seemed content to view it from the comfort of their seats, or were perhaps physically unable to get up.
A short hop-on hop-off bus trip brought us to the Guinness Storeroom. I couldn't help but think the whole time I was there that this was like a Duff Gardens tour from "The Simpsons": "Duff beer for me, Duff beer for you..."
On the first of the seven levels of the museum is a space reserved for the 5 main ingredients of Guinness: water, barley, hops, yeast and Arthur Guinness. On successive floors we got to see how the barley was mashed, the liquid extracted, the hops added, the yeast put in, the liquid fermented, the liquid distilled, etc. We also saw how the barrels were made, the beer was poured in and exported around the world. On the third floor, we could sample a quarter-pint of Guinness. We also saw the various advertising campaigns for Guinness over the years and even testimonials from the medical establishment that Guinness was a healthy addition to your diet.
On the tour we were each handed a ticket which allowed us to do one of two things. Troy chose to pour his own pint of Guinness, helped by the barmaid who instructed him in this fine art. We both enjoyed the fruit of his labours, and he got a certificate for pouring a perfect pint. We then stopped for a late lunch at the Guinness restaurant. Troy ordered the seafood chowder with smoked salmon on Guinness bread; I got the pork and leek sausages in Guinness sauce, with mashed potatoes and red onion compote. For dessert, I sampled three small offerings: the Guinness chocolate mousse, the Bailey's cheesecake and the raspberry crême brulée. The whole meal was exquisite, all except for the crême brulée which we both thought was revolting.
On the seventh floor, I used my own ticket to get a free Guinness while admiring the incredible view of the city. It was a 360 degree view of Dublin, unobstructed by any walls. On the glass windows were different quotes from the works of -- you guessed it -- James Joyce, positioned near the geographical locations where the descriptions were meant to illustrate. I got a decent shot of Howth Head, where Leopold Bloom first seduced Molly, and where the real life James Joyce seduced Nora Barnacle. Kate Bush sings about all of this in her song "The Sensual World".
After doing the gift shop on the main floor, we exited the building around 4:00 p.m. So much for the guide book telling us that it was a two-hour visit. And so much for visiting the Museum of Modern Art this afternoon. We then decided to see a few other tourist sites, like the James Joyce bridge (which I described as "Playtex introduces the James Joyce bridge with wings"), as well as the house that features in Joyce's short story "The Dead".
Making our way east on foot, we arrived at the spot where an artist has commemorated the Potato Famine with heart-wrenching sculptures of the afflicted. A truly moving monument to a horrible time.
As it was still relatively early, we figured we could still do the Literary Pub Crawl tonight, which was set to start at 7:30 p.m., so we had a quick bite to eat at McDonald's to make sure we had time to get there. In terms of Irish additions to the McDonald's menu, Troy noticed onion rings, as well as deep fried cheese.
We bought our tickets for the pub crawl and met our hosts for the evening, Frank and Colm. They did an excellent job of interpreting key scenes from Beckett's Waiting for Godot, Joyce's Ulysses, a letter from Oscar Wilde, as well as a whole slough of other Irish writers we only discovered tonight. The people on our tour were also very friendly and we chatted a bit with a couple from Oregon and with a travel reporter with the Chicago Sun Times. She laughed at my James Joyce finger puppet. Part of the evening was also dedicated to a literary quiz, with the prize of a Literary Pub Crawl t-shirt and, as a consolation prize, a bottle of Bushmill Irish whiskey. Despite having partaken in four drinks of Irish whiskey during the evening (three Jameson and one Bushmill), I was able to do quite respectably. In fact, at the end of the night, I won the t-shirt, thanks in large part to Troy's help in identifying Frank Sinatra as the entertainer who was serenaded by Bob Dylan singing a version of an Irish poem. I was very pleased.
By the way, four drinks is not all that much, considering that Ireland has decreed that men should not consume more than 21 drinks a week. So that means, I still have 17 to go... Women, on the other hand, should limit their alcohol consumption to 14 drinks a week...
We then made our way back to the hotel and we got a little lost on our way back, but nothing too serious. All in all, a very good day.
And now, as Monty Python would say, for something completely different, here is Troy with his additions to today's post.
Sláinte, (which I have discovered is pronounced: slawn-chuh)
We headed down to breakfast where this morning I had pancakes and maple syrup and Troy enjoyed crustless French toast. I have to say that we have been truly blessed during our stay in Ireland thus far. Although it was a bit chilly in the dining hall this morning, we have not had any significant amounts of rain or unpleasant weather during our week.
We decided to make our way today to the Guinness Storeroom which, according to our guide at the Book of Kells exhibit yesterday, is the number one tourist attraction in Dublin. Troy suggested we get on the hop-on hop-off bus to make our way to the storeroom, and that way we could save time. I suggested that since we were headed that way anyway, perhaps we could first stop off at St. Patrick's Cathedral to visit the building.
The architecture was amazing. We ventured inside and took several pictures of the stainglass windows and the ancient heraldic banners hanging from the buttresses. We also saw the tomb of Jonathan Swift, author of Gulliver's Travels and dean of St. Patrick's Cathedral in the eighteenth century. We missed his death mask, but marvelled all the same at the wonders inside the church. We also took photographs of a marble slab that was unearthed outside the church under six feet of dirt, under which was found a small well which, according to legend, St. Patrick used to baptize the first Christians in Ireland in the 500s.
Outside the church we found the location of the well which has long since dried up. We also found a long wall on which were hung plaques commemorating the great writers of Ireland, including James Joyce. I know he would have loathed being remembered anywhere near a church. The highlight of my day was when a bus pulled up at St. Patrick's Cathedral, and we noticed that it had a sign indicating that it was a coach for the Anna McGoldrick musical tour of Ireland. Troy stole the words out of my mouth when he quipped: "Look at the age group of the people on this tour!" When that bus stopped in front of St. Patrick's, only one brave tourist stepped off the bus to take a photo. The others seemed content to view it from the comfort of their seats, or were perhaps physically unable to get up.
A short hop-on hop-off bus trip brought us to the Guinness Storeroom. I couldn't help but think the whole time I was there that this was like a Duff Gardens tour from "The Simpsons": "Duff beer for me, Duff beer for you..."
On the first of the seven levels of the museum is a space reserved for the 5 main ingredients of Guinness: water, barley, hops, yeast and Arthur Guinness. On successive floors we got to see how the barley was mashed, the liquid extracted, the hops added, the yeast put in, the liquid fermented, the liquid distilled, etc. We also saw how the barrels were made, the beer was poured in and exported around the world. On the third floor, we could sample a quarter-pint of Guinness. We also saw the various advertising campaigns for Guinness over the years and even testimonials from the medical establishment that Guinness was a healthy addition to your diet.
On the tour we were each handed a ticket which allowed us to do one of two things. Troy chose to pour his own pint of Guinness, helped by the barmaid who instructed him in this fine art. We both enjoyed the fruit of his labours, and he got a certificate for pouring a perfect pint. We then stopped for a late lunch at the Guinness restaurant. Troy ordered the seafood chowder with smoked salmon on Guinness bread; I got the pork and leek sausages in Guinness sauce, with mashed potatoes and red onion compote. For dessert, I sampled three small offerings: the Guinness chocolate mousse, the Bailey's cheesecake and the raspberry crême brulée. The whole meal was exquisite, all except for the crême brulée which we both thought was revolting.
On the seventh floor, I used my own ticket to get a free Guinness while admiring the incredible view of the city. It was a 360 degree view of Dublin, unobstructed by any walls. On the glass windows were different quotes from the works of -- you guessed it -- James Joyce, positioned near the geographical locations where the descriptions were meant to illustrate. I got a decent shot of Howth Head, where Leopold Bloom first seduced Molly, and where the real life James Joyce seduced Nora Barnacle. Kate Bush sings about all of this in her song "The Sensual World".
After doing the gift shop on the main floor, we exited the building around 4:00 p.m. So much for the guide book telling us that it was a two-hour visit. And so much for visiting the Museum of Modern Art this afternoon. We then decided to see a few other tourist sites, like the James Joyce bridge (which I described as "Playtex introduces the James Joyce bridge with wings"), as well as the house that features in Joyce's short story "The Dead".
Making our way east on foot, we arrived at the spot where an artist has commemorated the Potato Famine with heart-wrenching sculptures of the afflicted. A truly moving monument to a horrible time.
As it was still relatively early, we figured we could still do the Literary Pub Crawl tonight, which was set to start at 7:30 p.m., so we had a quick bite to eat at McDonald's to make sure we had time to get there. In terms of Irish additions to the McDonald's menu, Troy noticed onion rings, as well as deep fried cheese.
We bought our tickets for the pub crawl and met our hosts for the evening, Frank and Colm. They did an excellent job of interpreting key scenes from Beckett's Waiting for Godot, Joyce's Ulysses, a letter from Oscar Wilde, as well as a whole slough of other Irish writers we only discovered tonight. The people on our tour were also very friendly and we chatted a bit with a couple from Oregon and with a travel reporter with the Chicago Sun Times. She laughed at my James Joyce finger puppet. Part of the evening was also dedicated to a literary quiz, with the prize of a Literary Pub Crawl t-shirt and, as a consolation prize, a bottle of Bushmill Irish whiskey. Despite having partaken in four drinks of Irish whiskey during the evening (three Jameson and one Bushmill), I was able to do quite respectably. In fact, at the end of the night, I won the t-shirt, thanks in large part to Troy's help in identifying Frank Sinatra as the entertainer who was serenaded by Bob Dylan singing a version of an Irish poem. I was very pleased.
By the way, four drinks is not all that much, considering that Ireland has decreed that men should not consume more than 21 drinks a week. So that means, I still have 17 to go... Women, on the other hand, should limit their alcohol consumption to 14 drinks a week...
We then made our way back to the hotel and we got a little lost on our way back, but nothing too serious. All in all, a very good day.
And now, as Monty Python would say, for something completely different, here is Troy with his additions to today's post.
Sláinte, (which I have discovered is pronounced: slawn-chuh)
M.
On the way back to our hotel this evening I suggested that instead of putting my words into Marcel's fingers, I should actually write a post or two myself. I do promise to give you the Reader's Digest version, focusing in on my simple insights of what we did during the day. Besides, Marcel has already given you most of the details!! LOL
Thinking back, I have to say three things really stood out in my reflections today. First was the "just plain" fun of pouring my own Guinness. I have to say I was immeasurably proud of myself when the bartender informed me that I had done a fantastic job of pouring that deep rich porter!! I felt like a kid that had brought home an "A" in math.
Second, was the melancholy that descended on me as I viewed the sculptures dedicated to the people of Ireland during the potato famine. One in particular made me pause. It was a man, grief portrayed in his expression as he carried his small child over his shoulders. To me it looked as if the child had died, and yet the father continued to bear his offspring in the hope that something could be done to save him or her. The vivid descriptions told to us by the "raconteur" of last evening's venue, of how the potato famine affected the poor of Ireland and how the landowners of that time used it as greedy way to rid their lands of tenent farmers, really made us think seriously about what this memorial meant.
Lastly, I have learned that you are never too old to enjoy learning something new! LOL. Tonight's "Pub Crawl" was something I was not too sure about. After listening to Marcel read the ending of Joyce's Ulysses (and yes I said yes I will yes) and responding with "Didn't his English teacher correct his punctuation?!", I was sure this literary pub crawl would be way over my head. And to be honest at times it was. But I did learn things. I learned about Ireland, its conflicts, and how this has influenced some of the world's best authors. I mean, it produced Oscar Wilde, how much more could you ask for? Him I understand, (the sarcastic little popinjay) LOL
Anyway, that is enough of my waxing eloquence. Cheers.
On the way back to our hotel this evening I suggested that instead of putting my words into Marcel's fingers, I should actually write a post or two myself. I do promise to give you the Reader's Digest version, focusing in on my simple insights of what we did during the day. Besides, Marcel has already given you most of the details!! LOL
Thinking back, I have to say three things really stood out in my reflections today. First was the "just plain" fun of pouring my own Guinness. I have to say I was immeasurably proud of myself when the bartender informed me that I had done a fantastic job of pouring that deep rich porter!! I felt like a kid that had brought home an "A" in math.
Second, was the melancholy that descended on me as I viewed the sculptures dedicated to the people of Ireland during the potato famine. One in particular made me pause. It was a man, grief portrayed in his expression as he carried his small child over his shoulders. To me it looked as if the child had died, and yet the father continued to bear his offspring in the hope that something could be done to save him or her. The vivid descriptions told to us by the "raconteur" of last evening's venue, of how the potato famine affected the poor of Ireland and how the landowners of that time used it as greedy way to rid their lands of tenent farmers, really made us think seriously about what this memorial meant.
Lastly, I have learned that you are never too old to enjoy learning something new! LOL. Tonight's "Pub Crawl" was something I was not too sure about. After listening to Marcel read the ending of Joyce's Ulysses (and yes I said yes I will yes) and responding with "Didn't his English teacher correct his punctuation?!", I was sure this literary pub crawl would be way over my head. And to be honest at times it was. But I did learn things. I learned about Ireland, its conflicts, and how this has influenced some of the world's best authors. I mean, it produced Oscar Wilde, how much more could you ask for? Him I understand, (the sarcastic little popinjay) LOL
Anyway, that is enough of my waxing eloquence. Cheers.
No comments:
Post a Comment