Cead Mile Failte

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August 11, 2019

Dublin, Day 2

Cead Mile FailteAugust 11, 2019





Dublin, Day 2



Cead Mile Failte



This translates to: one hundred thousand welcomes. Another way to interpret this phrase: You are welcome, a thousand times, wherever you come from whosoever you be!



Today is the day we have been awaiting. This is the reckoning. The homecoming. The Sphinx shall answer the riddle….or not. NO. Today – we visit Guinness!! St. James’ Gate. The Storehouse. The Mother Ship.



We got off the ship and hired a cab – because it was just easier. We’re ALL about convenience, whenever possible. We could have taken the shuttle into town, but then who knows how long it would have taken to hire a cab, etc. And there are a LOT of etc.!



Owen, our cabbie, is wonderful, hysterical, and has been to San Francisco! We love Owen. He gave us the history of Dublin, a tour of the city and his opinion on all things Irish in the 15 minute cab ride. As I said. We LOVE OWEN!



He asked us about San Francisco (NO….we want to talk about Dublin) – NOT. HAVING. IT. So, about San Francisco….we were able to discern that there are MANY similarities betwixt Dublin & SF. How unfortunate for the locals here in Dublin. The Tech industry is pricing “regular” people out of their neighborhoods and homes are selling FAR over asking. Some companies have bought out entire buildings to house their “temporary” workers – thus driving up prices…get the picture?!



OK. He pointed out some significant historic buildings (while appreciating the new architectural styles of Dublin) while providing a political commentary. We. LOVE. OWEN! “now, I don’t know what government building this is, because they change it every so often…but it is a government building.” (meaning – there are government offices here – which branch…WHO KNOWS?).



The neighborhood around the Guinness Storehouse is VERY working class. The location is in year 250, of a 9,000 year lease! Arthur Guinness was a shrewd businessman! Over the years, the Guinness family has done a LOT for Dublin – from restoration to construction. The family no longer owns the business (we had NO IDEA) – owned by a US company – and wouldn’t you know it. Now the pensions are gone, the salaries cut, the workforce cut and temporary workers man multiple shifts. Ah, progress.



We booked our tour through the Tour Bureau for Dublin. No fees! The tour includes a “free pint” of your choice. My choice? Guinness brews more than one beer? Really? I had NO. IDEA!



The self guided tour was fascinating. One may, of course, opt for the “guided audio tour” – pass. Those things never work right and are a pain in the neck. Start at the bottom and work your way to the top through planting, harvest, toasting, (barley) the yeast, hops (did you know Hops is limited as to where it can grow?! Only between the 35 and 55 parallel). Hops can grow up to 15 feet tall! They harvested on stilts. Barley is roasted to 230 degrees Celsius and the aroma is AMAZING- hints of chocolate, coffee and such. They infuse the aroma into the “toasting” area (smart…get the juices flowing). From there the restaurant floors and the marketing floors up to the top a circular room at the top of the storehouse with an almost 360 degree view of Dublin. Beautiful. We thought we might like to have our Guinness here (free with tour) – NO. WAY. FAR too many people. No place to sit. Back downstairs to one of the restaurants. We had a bit of a wait – it was worth it! The Guinness Burger was out of this world. The sweet potato fries are an excellent swap out…just a suggestion. To pair with this – OF COURSE… A Guinness!



Tour over….we spent over three hours in the storehouse. YES. We enjoyed it! Now what? Let’s walk back. SO….we walked back from St. James’ Gate to Samuel Beckett Bridge – which was designed by Calatrava- one of our favorite contemporary Architects. We refer to the bridge as the “Harp” – look it up. It took us a little over an hour to reach the bridge – with only a few stops along the way.



One of these stops was at “Queen of Tarts” we had been informed that their Scones were quite good. I can confirm this absolutely. We purchased a Blueberry Scone – HUGE!. We bought it to “take away” for later – meaning we’ll eat it at tea in Horizons later today! HA!



We finally reach the bridge. GORGEOUS! So happy. A few pictures later we walk across the bridge….to someone’s ABSOLUTE Delight! Once across the bridge, we were in front of the conference center which is hosting some gaming event or comic con – some type of cos play event (costume play) – we saw “furries” (Don’t ASK….you REALLY don’t want to know…trust me). JUST. TRUST. ME!



We hire a cab for the short ride back to the port and the dock where Marina is housed. This is a WORKING port – 24/7. Can’t walk onto it. NO WAY! And…it’s a HUGE port. Immediately after getting on the ship, we went to reservations to see if there was ANY CHANCE of getting a reservation for Toscana or Red Ginger for tonight. Everything booked!! UGH. We tried. Ten minutes after getting back to our room we got a call from reservations – a cancellation at TOSCANA for 6:30! YES!!! We are IN!



Back on board and in our stateroom. Something isn’t right. The stench is overwhelming. It smells like diesel exhaust. I call down to reception. “we’re aware – it’s from the port, nothing we can do” – WTF? Really….NOTHING?. When someone passes out or is overcome by the fumes what will you have to say to them????? I was NOT happy. Reception called back…Christopher picked up the phone. “I spoke to you? No, my husband…I don’t think he was happy with my answer…NO. I. WASN’T GENIUS!....how could you tell?” Christopher said this is carbon monoxide fumes in our stateroom, the stench is growing stronger and there’s NOTHING you can do? Nothing You can suggest? People are going to get sick!! I had to get out of the room.



Up to Horizons (4pm) – no exhaust fumes here! Even though he said it was throughout the ship! Hmmm. We learned the culprit….a ferry/tanker behind us running it’s engines as it was being loaded with cargo. I still don’t understand everything that happened and why – but the fact that it happened and they offered NO SOLUTION nor SUGGESTION is BEYOND my comprehension! I took at least 8 hits from my albuterol to stop coughing and catch my breath. WHICH, by the way, is a stimulant and am SO WIRED right now (still, after all this time).



Tea in Horizons. A pot of tea and our Queen of Hearts scone. The scone…sublime. So good. That’s all we had – a scone – we used their clotted cream and jelly…..because we can.



We have plans to meet Melanie & Mark for drinks at Martini’s at 5:30. We meet up and order our cocktails. Christopher’s arrives….is that straight Vodka (he ordered a Tito’s Martini) – at first he thought it was a gin martini (it wasn’t). It truly was AWFUL though. Send it back….Whisky Sour. Actually, I don’t think any of us were absolutely thrilled with or choices. It happens. We had stimulating conversation for a good long time – they too experienced the fumes and escaped to the pool deck for relief. They saw, as did Christopher, a gentleman being taken away in an ambulance. Don’t know the story, but he was reportedly in a wheelchair. I hope he’s OK. I’m thinking his cruise is over.



Drinks done – time to head over to Toscana. SO Happy.



I ordered the involtini of eggplant and pork SO. GOOD. Christopher ordered the calamari – then we each ordered the Pennette San Giminiano Pasta for our main. Christopher passed on the dessert…I had the panna cotta – yes, I took one for the team. We are, after all, on recon for the upcoming cruise in September!!

Dinner done. A walk on the deck and up to Horizons – as usual. We enjoyed the view for a bit then decided to call it a night.

This translates to: one hundred thousand welcomes. Another way to interpret this phrase: You are welcome, a thousand times, wherever you come from whosoever you be!

Today is the day we have been awaiting. This is the reckoning. The homecoming. The Sphinx shall answer the riddle….or not. NO. Today – we visit Guinness!! St. James’ Gate. The Storehouse. The Mother Ship.

We got off the ship and hired a cab – because it was just easier. We’re ALL about convenience, whenever possible. We could have taken the shuttle into town, but then who knows how long it would have taken to hire a cab, etc. And there are a LOT of etc.!

Owen, our cabbie, is wonderful, hysterical, and has been to San Francisco! We love Owen. He gave us the history of Dublin, a tour of the city and his opinion on all things Irish in the 15 minute cab ride. As I said. We LOVE OWEN!

He asked us about San Francisco (NO….we want to talk about Dublin) – NOT. HAVING. IT. So, about San Francisco….we were able to discern that there are MANY similarities betwixt Dublin & SF. How unfortunate for the locals here in Dublin. The Tech industry is pricing “regular” people out of their neighborhoods and homes are selling FAR over asking. Some companies have bought out entire buildings to house their “temporary” workers – thus driving up prices…get the picture?!

OK. He pointed out some significant historic buildings (while appreciating the new architectural styles of Dublin) while providing a political commentary. We. LOVE. OWEN! “now, I don’t know what government building this is, because they change it every so often…but it is a government building.” (meaning – there are government offices here – which branch…WHO KNOWS?).

The neighborhood around the Guinness Storehouse is VERY working class. The location is in year 250, of a 9,000 year lease! Arthur Guinness was a shrewd businessman! Over the years, the Guinness family has done a LOT for Dublin – from restoration to construction. The family no longer owns the business (we had NO IDEA) – owned by a US company – and wouldn’t you know it. Now the pensions are gone, the salaries cut, the workforce cut and temporary workers man multiple shifts. Ah, progress.

We booked our tour through the Tour Bureau for Dublin. No fees! The tour includes a “free pint” of your choice. My choice? Guinness brews more than one beer? Really? I had NO. IDEA!

The self guided tour was fascinating. One may, of course, opt for the “guided audio tour” – pass. Those things never work right and are a pain in the neck. Start at the bottom and work your way to the top through planting, harvest, toasting, (barley) the yeast, hops (did you know Hops is limited as to where it can grow?! Only between the 35 and 55 parallel). Hops can grow up to 15 feet tall! They harvested on stilts. Barley is roasted to 230 degrees Celsius and the aroma is AMAZING- hints of chocolate, coffee and such. They infuse the aroma into the “toasting” area (smart…get the juices flowing). From there the restaurant floors and the marketing floors up to the top a circular room at the top of the storehouse with an almost 360 degree view of Dublin. Beautiful. We thought we might like to have our Guinness here (free with tour) – NO. WAY. FAR too many people. No place to sit. Back downstairs to one of the restaurants. We had a bit of a wait – it was worth it! The Guinness Burger was out of this world. The sweet potato fries are an excellent swap out…just a suggestion. To pair with this – OF COURSE… A Guinness!

Tour over….we spent over three hours in the storehouse. YES. We enjoyed it! Now what? Let’s walk back. SO….we walked back from St. James’ Gate to Samuel Beckett Bridge – which was designed by Calatrava- one of our favorite contemporary Architects. We refer to the bridge as the “Harp” – look it up. It took us a little over an hour to reach the bridge – with only a few stops along the way.

One of these stops was at “Queen of Tarts” we had been informed that their Scones were quite good. I can confirm this absolutely. We purchased a Blueberry Scone – HUGE!. We bought it to “take away” for later – meaning we’ll eat it at tea in Horizons later today! HA!

We finally reach the bridge. GORGEOUS! So happy. A few pictures later we walk across the bridge….to someone’s ABSOLUTE Delight! Once across the bridge, we were in front of the conference center which is hosting some gaming event or comic con – some type of cos play event (costume play) – we saw “furries” (Don’t ASK….you REALLY don’t want to know…trust me). JUST. TRUST. ME!

We hire a cab for the short ride back to the port and the dock where Marina is housed. This is a WORKING port – 24/7. Can’t walk onto it. NO WAY! And…it’s a HUGE port. Immediately after getting on the ship, we went to reservations to see if there was ANY CHANCE of getting a reservation for Toscana or Red Ginger for tonight. Everything booked!! UGH. We tried. Ten minutes after getting back to our room we got a call from reservations – a cancellation at TOSCANA for 6:30! YES!!! We are IN!

Back on board and in our stateroom. Something isn’t right. The stench is overwhelming. It smells like diesel exhaust. I call down to reception. “we’re aware – it’s from the port, nothing we can do” – WTF? Really….NOTHING?. When someone passes out or is overcome by the fumes what will you have to say to them????? I was NOT happy. Reception called back…Christopher picked up the phone. “I spoke to you? No, my husband…I don’t think he was happy with my answer…NO. I. WASN’T GENIUS!....how could you tell?” Christopher said this is carbon monoxide fumes in our stateroom, the stench is growing stronger and there’s NOTHING you can do? Nothing You can suggest? People are going to get sick!! I had to get out of the room.

Up to Horizons (4pm) – no exhaust fumes here! Even though he said it was throughout the ship! Hmmm. We learned the culprit….a ferry/tanker behind us running it’s engines as it was being loaded with cargo. I still don’t understand everything that happened and why – but the fact that it happened and they offered NO SOLUTION nor SUGGESTION is BEYOND my comprehension! I took at least 8 hits from my albuterol to stop coughing and catch my breath. WHICH, by the way, is a stimulant and am SO WIRED right now (still, after all this time).

Tea in Horizons. A pot of tea and our Queen of Hearts scone. The scone…sublime. So good. That’s all we had – a scone – we used their clotted cream and jelly…..because we can.

We have plans to meet Melanie & Mark for drinks at Martini’s at 5:30. We meet up and order our cocktails. Christopher’s arrives….is that straight Vodka (he ordered a Tito’s Martini) – at first he thought it was a gin martini (it wasn’t). It truly was AWFUL though. Send it back….Whisky Sour. Actually, I don’t think any of us were absolutely thrilled with or choices. It happens. We had stimulating conversation for a good long time – they too experienced the fumes and escaped to the pool deck for relief. They saw, as did Christopher, a gentleman being taken away in an ambulance. Don’t know the story, but he was reportedly in a wheelchair. I hope he’s OK. I’m thinking his cruise is over.

Drinks done – time to head over to Toscana. SO Happy.

I ordered the involtini of eggplant and pork SO. GOOD. Christopher ordered the calamari – then we each ordered the Pennette San Giminiano Pasta for our main. Christopher passed on the dessert…I had the panna cotta – yes, I took one for the team. We are, after all, on recon for the upcoming cruise in September!!

Dinner done. A walk on the deck and up to Horizons – as usual. We enjoyed the view for a bit then decided to call it a night. We did a lot of walking today.

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