Wednesday, May 29, Day 4

Wednesday - started with a much better breakfast.  In addition to the normal continental items, they had the scrambled eggs but also had bangers (the UK word for sausage) but no mash (UK for mashed potatoes).  They had lots of fruit and roasted tomatoes that tasted great.

The weather was cool but nary a cloud in the sky.  Turned out to a dry day and probably the warmest day in Dublin yet this year.

We had a short bus ride into the city center where we picked up our local guide - Renee - who was a hoot.  She was very knowledgeable about every facet of Dublin and the Irish, and even led us in an Irish rendition of Danny Boy.  She conducted a guided bus tour of many of the main city attractions.  We de-bused,  if that's a word, and took a nice tour of St Patrick's (the patron saint of Ireland) Cathedral.

Our Hotel

St Patrick's in Dublin

The internet is extremely slow tonight.  It's now midnight and we are up at 5:30am to pack, head to the port, and jump on the ferry to Wales.  I'll try to catch up later tomorrow.

Lunch on our own.  Went to O'Neil's Pub and had Fish and Chips.  Very good.  Others scattered around the city for different fare.

After lunch went to the Guiness Storehouse - the main brewing plant for Guiness.  They have a nice self-guided tour starting on the Ground floor and walking you thru the history of Guiness and how it's produced, all the way up to the 7th floor.  Where the tour is conducted used to be part of the old brewing plant.  They did a nice job of converting.  On the 7th floor is a 360 degree bar where your entry fee entitles you to a free pint of Guiness (or a soda for those under 18 years old, which is the legal drinking age in the UK).  They also have the Guiness Academy on the 5th floor where we received lessons in how to do the perfect Guiness pour.  After mastering the technique you receive a nice certificate stating you are a "pourmaster".

We had dinner at a downtown restaurant - chicken fried chicken with gravy, mash (mashed potatoes), and vegetables, with ice cream for dessert.

After that we went to a dance studio where the girls had one hour of instruction in Irish dancing.  Many of them picked it up fairly quickly - ask them to show you when they get back home!

We attribute all the good weather to one of our travelers who sends a daily e-mail to God asking for beautiful weather!  It sure seems to be working.  We are scheduled to be in Scotland in a couple days where they are having very dry and warm weather.

Got back to the hotel about 9:30pm.  Many were tired and since we have to get up really early to depart the next morning,packed and headed to bed.