January 8, 2011

Started off the day with a real breakfast, well it was a small buffet , but it was much more than just a piece of toast with some scrambled eggs. I had my first black and white pudding. Which is not like the jello you are thinking of. Black sausage is blood and meat, while white is no meat but has oats. I didn’t really care for the black pudding, but the white wasn’t so bad. And the sausage wasn’t very strong. It was mild, and just a bit different. The bacon was more like Canadian bacon. Hedliegh our guide said that in the UK they have more like 35 different types of bacon. There should be a foodie bacon tour of the UK…I LOVE BACON!
After breakfast we took a guided bus tour of Dublin. We visited St. Patrick’s Cathedral which isn’t a catholic cathedral. We also visited Trinity College and saw the book of Kells. But after 3 hours, we were off on our own. We went to the Guinness Factory Store, and got to the history and how they make Guinness. And at the end of the self guided tour – you get to either get to learn how to pull your own pint OR go up stairs and hang out in this awesome, 360 degree bar area where they pull you a pint. We were going to learn how to pull a pint since you get a certificate, but the wait was too long and we were too hungry. So we opted to eat at the restaurant where I had amazing seafood chowder and some Guinness bread with I think cream cheese and smoked salmon. IT WAS SOOOOO GOOD! Afterwards we went and got our pints. I am happy to say that I had about ½. Though everywhere we have been, our bartenders always say the first one is the toughest.
After Guinness, we got in horse pulled carriages to Temple Bar so I could hit up the Hard Rock and give us an idea of how long of a walk it was to our hotel. The Carriage ride was great, but a bit cold, wish the thing had windows we could wind up. And they just dropped us off, not even near the Hard Rock- oh well, we got to see most Temple Bar.
Later we went to Temple Bar, had the most hilarious cabby ever!!!!!! And I mean ever! This guy could have done stand up. I laughed pretty hard… the one thing I remember, which will not sound funny at all out of context is: “you can’t go medieval on your own ass” in a reference to doing heroin and crack at the same time. Though it initially sounded like fun, it was more like Chippewa with how crowded everything was and I’m more of an Allentown girl. I am pretty sure that I made it to second base with some of the folks at the bar trying to find a spot. Needless to say, I didn’t stay too long. I ended up hopping in a cab and making it an early night. Tomorrow we need to leave for Wales and need to be at the Ferry at 7 am, so I rather be in bed, and getting a little bit of sleep. All in all, I think I really enjoyed western Ireland more than the big city. Not that I don’t think Dublin is great, it just seems to modern and less like what I expected Ireland to be like. Great for all the things you can do, and how easy it is to walk about. I can’t wait to come back to Ireland and share this experience with Chris. Anyone want to come? Let’s start planning!
Can’t wait to go to LONDON on Monday! Got tickets to see Wicked in the west end in a 3,500 seat theatre!