Welcome to: The Happiest Place on Earth

       No, it isn't Disney World, but it is kind of like Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.  It is...the Guinness Storehouse.  After we left Cork early in the morning, we headed to Dublin, arriving just before noon.  Since we couldn't check in to our hotel until 2 pm, we went straight for downtown Dublin and the Guinness Storehouse.  Once you get to the main street in front of the entrance, it really seems like a city unto itself.  And it was, as I learned, as Guinness had affordable housing built for its employees when no other housing was available.  It is a very large complex, and the storehouse is just the part where the beer ferments (or used to be there) and where the museum/visitor center is.  It was an absolutely awesome experience, and I spent 3 of the best hours of my life there.  From top to bottom, the people at Guinness really know how to make you get lost in a time warp, which was very much a good thing.  They have tools, vats, casks, and huge kettles, all of which were used a while ago to brew the finest beer in the world (needless to say, the only drink I had in Ireland was Guinness).  There is a long and detailed history that progresses the farther you go up, from level 1 to the Gravity Bar on level 7, where you can trade in your ticket stub for a "free" pint of Guinness, which truly isn't free, but included in the price of admission.  Just a brief history, Guinness was founded by Arthur Guinness in 1759 at St. James Gate, Dublin, where they have been brewing ever since.  So, that was just about the briefest history you're gonna get about anything.  What was also neat was the fact that I was able to have a nearly 360 degree view of Dublin while I sipped on the best Guinness that I have ever had.  I'm sure that I've also left out other stuff, but some other notes--I saw the oldest pub in Ireland, the Brazen Head, as well as Trinity College, though I didn't see the Book of Kells.

The harp that Guinness' logo is based on.

        After the Guinness Storehouse, we met up with the Coulters, as well as the Moosbruggers, and we walked around downtown Dublin, ate dinner, and went back to our hotels.  The next morning, we were all up at about 4:00 am or so, and headed to the airport, whence the Coulters, Jonathan, and I went back to Rome--damn--and the Moosbruggers and Tim embarked for Austria, which is where my next post will pick up.