Dublin Day 2

Day two was overcast and I was thankful I had done the city tour the day before. Although I awoke with a slight burn on my right arm!! A sunburn in Irleland... never would have thought about that!

I had plans that afternoon to meet up with a friend of mine for lunch, so I didn't want to take any tours or go to far from the city. So I spent some time walking around Dublin and Grafton Street which is the main shopping and tourist area of Dublin. About 11:30 I made my way to the Arch along St. Stephen's Green where I met up with my friend David.

We went first to Butler's Chocolate Cafe and had a fantastic Americano.

Let me just take a moment to talk about coffee in Europe. One of the reasons I love coming here is how easy it is to find amazing coffee. Sure there are Starbucks here and there, but they are easy to avoid and it is easy to find even chain coffee shops that have amazing, amazing coffee. People who know how to pull shots correctly, everything done by hand. No automatic espresso makers, each pitcher of milk carefully steamed. Espresso roasted correctly, not burned. I could go on. But I won't. Let's just say that being here has made me remember how much I love being around good coffee. Several times I've missed my old coffee shop and wanted to jump behind the counter and start steaming milk!!

After coffee, crepes! I was beyond delighted to be shown where to find crepes. Again, something the states does not have which I find so odd. Crepes are for more than just dessert! I had a delicious ham and cheese crepe. After that we walked around the city a bit and David gave me a few suggestions about what to see and do while in Dublin. Then it was off to work for him and off to the Guinness Storehouse for me!

The sightseeing bus tour ticket is good for two hours and so I picked it up from the city center and made my way to the Storehouse. If you have ever been to the Coca-Cola Museum in Atlanta, you have been to something very similar to the Guinness Storehouse. It has lots of Guinness memoriblia, advertisments and information about how Guinness is made. But the main point is to reach the top of the museum and have your free pint of Guinness.

I admit, I'm not a fan of Guinness, but once you get to the Sky Bar, you have to try a pint. And I did! It wasn't horrible, but it wasn't great either. After a few sips I'd had enough. Although they say it's much better straight from the source.

It was a fun tour and I enjoyed the seeing the city from the very top of the storehouse.

From there I did a lot of walking, visited St. Patrick's Cathedral and did other various not as exciting things.