V5 travels: The Sister Tour begins

Fi arrived late in the night, and then we had a relaxed start to the next day. Breakfast at the hotel and the a leisurely walk through the centre of Dublin to the Guinness Storehouse. Neither of us are real Guinness Drinkers, so we were not sure what to expect.

There has been no expense spared on the Guinness Visitor Centre - I can only imagine that it must make them money, and that being the case, they have invested significantly in the displays and facilities. The Entry to the museum/centre is through a gate and then you wander up flights of stairs, through many digital displays…main message is that Guinness is made from the finest and purest ingredients….Barley, Water, Hops and Yeast. Repeat after me….Barley, Water, Hops and Yeast…then repeat again and add some more information…the barley is Irish and roasted at 232 degrees C which gives Guinness its dark colour. The Water is pure water…the hops give it bitterness and antibacterial properties and the Yeast is from starter that has been at the Guinness factory continuously for hundreds of years, the original starter is kept in nitrogen and a yeast batch is replaces every eight batches. Every batch has at least 23 taste and quality checks.

After all the facts and information and some magical digital displays, we got a baby glass of Guinness to taste before being let loose on the marketing floor to see the marketing gimmicks / branding that had been used (Guinness advertised on the first broadcast of Irish TV!). All this before you get your free pint! We enjoyed beef and Guinness stew for lunch and were pleasantly surprised that we both enjoyed our pints!

A quick run as we were late to Christ Church Cathedral for a guided tour. The Cathedral is magnificent and dates back to Norman era, but the tour guide was inexperienced and we both felt a little underwhelmed.

A meander back across the Temple Bar area, with a shoe shopping excursion, and we found ourselves having aperitivo - G&Ts and a cheeseboard for dinner before back to the hotel and sleep.

A great first day on the Sisters Tour.