V5 travels: Another “I” Country…..Ireland

I left Lucy at the Spanish steps in Rome Italy, caught the train to the airport and caught a Ryan Air flight to Dublin Ireland, landing mid evening. I checked in and walked the local streets to get my bearings. A Tesco around the corner and a Thai takeaway meant I managed a night in the motel/apartment room with a GnT and PadThai for dinner!

The area where the motel is very conveniently located - the back end of Trinity College is around the corner and it is easy to get around. The next day, Sunday, I had a slow start and walked the central area of Dublin, getting my bearings. I walked and found Doyles Pub….supposedly a Trinity Student Hangout for hundreds of years! Further along I was walking beside the Liffey River and came across Halfpenny Bridge. After some meandering up and down lanes, I came across the Irish Whiskey Museum….given it was Mothers Day, I couldn’t not go in and take a look - my Nanna was an Irish Whiskey fan….one per day for years with water or soda!

I walked up the stairs, very thematically surrounded by barrels to find myself in a room with bar, darkly lit but walls of shelves covered in various bottles of Irish Whiskey bottles. There was a tour starting in 2 minutes so I took the punt…..what an experience. It was more theatrics than museum tour. The guide using various props to set the scene, I moved from room to room with a dozen other tour participants. There were cheesy movies, sound effects, video/animated taking pictures…the main claims (1) The Irish invented Whiskey “uisce beatha” is Gaelic for water of life, ‘Uisce” mispronounced to form ‘Whiskey” (2) The Scots copied (3) there is connection between Irish, Scottish and American Bourbon, the 1860s dates on Irish Whiskey bottles is when licensing began - mills go back to the 1600s! (4) the differences are between ingredients and barrelling (the types and length) and they types of stills used. All of which in 45 minutes takes you to a bar where you taste three different whiskeys - Two Stacks Irish Whiskey Signature Blend; Powers Gold Label Triple Distilled; The Irishman Single Malt and Single Pot. The first was strong and burning; the second much smoother and the third quite tasty….the tour ended and I wandered the shops feeling very warm and relaxed….the temperature 20C boosted by the three tipples!

I enjoyed a night in using the laundry to wash three weeks worth of clothes while watching television - something I hadn’t done for nearly a month (both washing and television watching!).

Monday was cold and wet. On Sunday night the weather forecast was for light showers Monday afternoon so I booked a 48 hour Hop On Hop Off Bus tour of Dublin - thinking I would take my time and see the sights. By Monday morning the forecast changed and it was constant showers for the day! I donned the puffer and took the umbrella to walk to the bus stop and then sat on the bus for a few hours touring the sights but not getting off. The tour loop took in central Dubline but also out to the Whiskey Milling area; Guinness; Phoenix Park with the Zoo, Presidents house; the O’Connell Shopping area; the bridges and back again. It was a nice summary and got me out of the Centre.

When I had managed the loop I took refuge in the Irish National Art Gallery and enjoyed a hot chocolate and toastie before wandering the gallery. The building is a mix of new and old very sympathetically blended. The artworks spanned 300+ years - mostly portraits, landscapes and scenes but some Impressionism and abstract pieces too. My favourite was was an Oil by William Leech called ‘The Sunshade’. I wandered up a few levels and came across an atrium….just spectacular!