Sine Metu
Starting our day with a tour of Dublin
Section of the old city wall
Gate to the Guinness Storehouse along St. James
Iron bridge built to commemorate the visit of King George IV in 1821. Heuston railway station is on the background.
Wellington Monument in Phoenix Park
Gate in Phoenix Park to the residence of the US Ambassador to Ireland.
The president of Ireland’s house.
What kind of name is ‘John Jameson’? Was this guy a Stan Lee character? Peter Parker? Bruce Banner? Stephen Strange? That is one alliteratin’ sombitch.
Old still in front of the Jameson Distillery. Jameson whiskey now comes from Cork. The distillery in Dublin is pretty much just a tourist trap. A tourist trap of booze.
This oak cask was used to mature the first whiskey distilled by The John Jameson distillery in 1780.
An artist’s conception of the drying of the malted barley. Jameson is dried in closed kilns without smoke. Scotch is dried with peat smoke.
Raking the malt.
Actual millstone used to mill barley in to grist. Touch it for good luck. (Not too lucky for John Barleycorn though, eh?)
Turning the mash.
Then a lot of other stuff happens…blah blah blah…now gimme some candy!
Whiskey tasting at the end of the tour. They gave us a Tennessee whiskey (Jack, natch), Scotch (Johnnie Walker Black), and a some of Mr. Jameson’s finest.
Es iz gut.
Big Jim Larkin, founder of the Irish Transport and General Workers’ Union, the Irish Labour Party, and the Workers’ Union of Ireland.
Daniel O’Connell
The West Front, Trinity College
The Campanile of Trinity College
We stopped by Trinity College to get peak at the Book of Kells. Ended up spending a few hours. The detailed decorations are amazing.
St Stephan’s Green
funky munky
Christ Church
This guy was next to us at the Dublin Airport Budget counter last night. While we’re filling out insurance forms, he’s going through the whole rental process–What kind of cars do you have, How much is insurance, Unlimited miles, the whole shpiel. Gets time to close the deal, guy hands over his license. Oh, only 22? Minimum age is 25. FML. Now I’m on the bus.
Dublinia at Christ Church. We didn’t have time to stop here.
Copy of the 9,000 year lease signed by Arthur Guinness
Not really sure what’s going on here. It’s a little hurling meets Spartacus meets Hardware.
Before barley can be used for brewing, the starches it contains need to be broken down. Malting starts this process. The barley is steeped in water until it begins to sprout and the spouts are allowed to grow for a few days.
Got that yeast locked down.
Is that like the 6th man? Or 7th guest?
Barley, Water, Hops, and Yeast.
Hmmmmm. Beer.
Guinness, you know, for kids! I mean, for strength!
Frack you, I’m a harp.
…aaaaaand now we drink.
Watch as I make this beer disappear. Magic!
Cat getting artsy with the camera.
View from the Gravity Bar atop the Guinness Storehouse
The pointy thing to the right is St. Patrick’s Cathedral.
That night we did a haunted history tour of Dublin. Here are haunted flowers.
This is a haunted place.
Haunted gate.
Haunted sign.
Haunted gate to the underworld.
Haunted tour guide, cursing the a–hole taking flash pictures in a dark bus while he’s trying to sing. Check out that ceiling. That’s upstairs on a doubledecker bus.
