Lovely Day for a Guinness

 "Why is American beer served cold? So you can tell it from piss."

LOOK WHO CAME TO LONDON!

Introducing: Mom and Dad - the Tube still doesn't know what hit it. Or if that guy works here.

These two.

After flying into London around 10:30 p.m. we hopped on a flight to Dublin the next a.m. for a quick excursion to the Emerald Isle to see Erin, Elise and UNH co.

View of Ireland from the plane!

Following a quick lunch of delicious farm vegetable soup, brown bread and ham we bee-lined for the Guinness Factory. We paid 13 pounds for a FREE Guinness...it also came with a tour, but somehow the gift shop saw more of us than the tour guides...Regardless the view from the top of the Guinness' Gravity Bar were well worth it. It was a beautiful sunny day and we were serenaded by Jack Clancy's version of "Whiskey in the Jar" at least three times. Possibly four. We're not sure...we lost him for a solid hour between the bar and the gift shop.

View from the top of the Gravity Bar over Dublin

Mom, Erin, Megan G, Elise and Caroline at the Factory

My perfectly shamrocked Guinness top

The (un)hired entertainment

We ate at the Brazenhead, the oldest pub in Dublin (fish n chips+Irish stew+Guinness). For any of you who were concerned we wouldn’t possibly be able to find a dinner location in Dublin, never fear. Dad made a reservation. Complete with his own email confirmation. Ireland knew the Clancys were coming.

Next stop was the Porterhouse. Great Irish trad music, great (strawberry) beer and great people. It was a craic (Elise can edit for correct use of that word.) 

Brazenhead Pub

For our second day we had exploring time minus our tour guides. Well plus our tour guide texting us during her classes because despite Dad’s purchase of 3 Dublin guide books, which he studied diligently during his lunch breaks at work, none of us remembered them. Or a map. But Dad could name every pub and bridge along the Liffey! Note to anyone abroad or in a new place: maps are always worth the investment. There’s only so many times you can ask the same already (or still) drunk at 11 a.m. pub-dweller where St Patrick’s Cathedral is.

But we found it! First Christchurch and a small photograph museum depicting upper class Dubliners from the 1800’s. Christchurch was beautiful – the sun came out just as we were leaving and paired with newly flowered gardens, it was very stunning. Especially for those two with me who have been sitting in a bowl of 2 feet of snow since December., My favorite was definitely St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Christchurch seem much more worship related, whereas St Patrick’s had a lot more of the history of Irish wars and conflicts as well as the history and figures of Dublin. Obviously Paddy and his snakes were littered all over the church – the stained glass window in green and blue was my favorite.

Christchurch just as the sun came out!

Inside St Patrick's Cathedral

Man of the Hour: St Patrick

Another favorite trip was to Trinity College. The campus was beautiful (it reminded me of the inner-city campuses of Yale and Columbia that are a step away from the outside city). We did visit the Book of Kells (not that impressive) but the library also provided in the tour was fantastic. There was a computer system to look up ancestors, but our best connection came with one of the statue busts who had the last name Wall (my mother's maiden name)! 

Campus of Trinity College

It was time for me to leave after a quick trip to Phoenix (hey Elon!) Park, but Mom and Dad stayed for the night.

Off to London - see next post!!