Photo Essay: Guinness, Irish music, and more Guinness

Unlike many fellow Americans, I don’t trace ancestral ties to Ireland. I am not an avid reader, so the city’s rich literary history was not the reason. Still, when my wife and I were planning a trip to nearby Scotland I knew we had to make time for a side trip to Ireland as well. Dublin seemed a logical choice because we would only have a couple days – not long enough to properly explore the countryside.

We focused on exploring as much of Dublin as we could with the time we had, but kept our daily itineraries flexible so we could linger when the mood struck us. Guinness is my favorite beer, and being here at the source my first task was to sample a pint in a real Dublin pub. I wasn’t disappointed: it really does taste better here in Ireland! And despite its reputation, we can highly recommend the pub food for a cheap hearty meal. Beyond the standard fish and chips, we enjoyed tasty curries, rich stews and soups, and plenty of creamy Irish butter on freshly baked bread. Our hotel was in the Temple Bar area, so a number of stylish restaurant and shops were right at our doorstep. Wanting to get a feel for Irish traditional music, we sought out a musical ‘pub crawl’. Turning out to be more of a hop than a crawl (only two pubs were visited but this allowed more time for the music), we enjoyed the musicians’ stories of Irish culture, customs and history between songs. We got a closer look at Irish history by visiting bustling Trinity College to view the Book of Kells; the detailed calligraphy and vibrant colors on the pages were amazing, especially considering that the book was created over a thousand years ago. We also took in Dublin attractions such as the Jameson Distillery (make sure to raise your hand when asked because volunteers are selected for taste testing later in the tour!), the General Post Office, Ha'penny Bridge, Nassau Street shopping and Phoenix Park. Did I mention that Guinness is my favorite beer? Our visit to Dublin would be incomplete without a tour of the Guinness Storehouse at St. James Gate. Detailing the history of Dublin’s famous drink, the exhibits are well planned and artfully displayed; they explain the brewing process, advertising campaigns, and overall importance of this enterprise for Dublin’s economy through the years. Tourists are rewarded with a pint of Guinness at the Gravity Bar atop the Storehouse, where we enjoyed 360 degree views of the city.