LANIGAN'S TRAVELS

June...........  

Dublin, Ireland  - Day 2 in Ireland

Breakfast in Dublin - we learned that choices for breakfast at hotels in Ireland are either; 1) Continental, or 2) Full Irish.  We had no idea what Full Irish meant but how could we NOT have it?

Full Irish included many types of sausage, ham, eggs every way imaginable, baked tomatoes, pastries and a variety of many other things.......... including potatoes (of course).   The little packets of butter were even labeled Irish Butter.

After breakfast, our first stop of the day was the Guinness Brewery Tour.  We had so much fun! We learned how to pour the "Perfect Guinness" on tap. There were about 10 people in our class.  Jim was chosen to be the instructor's assistant which was perfect since he likes Guinness so much. I actually poured a great pint myself!  We all received certificates for learning how to do it.  Next, we took our pints to the top floor of the brewery named The Gravity Bar. Stunning 360 degree view of Dublin. Breathtaking!

Our next adventure was in the form of a Hop On Hop Off bus.  Great way to see the city.  The main reason we rode the bus was to get to the Jameson Distillery.  How could we be in Dublin and not tour the Jameson museum. The don't distill at this location any longer but it was where everything started. We had an authentic Irish Coffee while we were waiting for our tour to start.



The tour was great.  I learned a lot about distilling whiskey.  The difference between Jameson and other American or Scottish whiskey is that Jameson is distilled three times.  Makes for a much smoother taste. We also learned how much is lost through evaporation during the aging process.  The portion that evaporates is called the Angel's Share. :-)

I learned that unlike wine, once whiskey is bottled, it no longer ages. If you let a bottle sit for 50 years it will taste the same as it would have when you bottled it.When we got back to our car we decided to drive out to see the Irish Sea.  That took a while to find.  Between wrong turns and one-way streets, it wasn't quite as easy as it looked on a map.  We finally made it though!  Watched a cruise ship leaving.  Very nice.  On to the hotel to freshen up....  and take a nap.

Once we woke up we decided to just eat at the bar in the hotel. We got really creative with our food choice.... Wings and a salad.  The interesting part was the Finger Bowls they brought us.  The bring out little bowls of hot water with a few ice cubes and a lemon.  Very refreshing to dip your fingers in to clean them.   We stayed and had a couple drinks then decided to turn in. Looking forward to Day 3!

New Terms:
Packets labeled Brown Sauce are actually Barbecue Sauce and are packaged similar to little ketchup packets.

Finger Bowls - Small bowls of hot water with a few ice cubes and a lemon added to dip your fingers in when eating messy finger food.