Going to Jail, Crawling Pubs

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Wednesday, July 15
We did not want to impose on Caroline for a ride, so Dean heads off to take the bus to the pool. Eight minutes later, Caroline comes to the door- what a sweetheart- she thought she’d drive him again, but the bus had been prompt. So she ended up picking him up and returning him home when he was done. Tomorrow she has work in the “country” so he’ll be on his own for sure. When he returns, we take the #16 bus in to St. George St., and then wait for the green Dublin Hop On & HOP Off Bus. We figured it would save the trouble of finding the correct route for all of the sights. We ride past St. Patrick’s to the Kilmainham Jail where the leaders of the 1916 uprising were held and executed. It is on the Heritage Ireland card, which has been the best deal ever! We have seen so many sights for only 58 euros for all of us combined. I’ve pasted the link for the jail below, and, if you like, you can also check out the other sights in Ireland covered by the card, many of which we’ve mentioned in our earlier entries.
http://www.heritageireland.com/en/Dublin/KilmainhamGaol/

All of the OPW guides have been great, and today was no exception. We get a very descriptive account of the jail itself, the uprising, and a cliff notes version of the history of the “troubles”. Hearing about the 9000 men women, and children who were in the jail during the famine for crimes such as stealing a loaf of bread, and standing in the courtyard where the men were shot was sobering. After our tour, we wander through the museum, and then hop on the bus for our next stop. Jeff and I will go to the Jameson Distillery, and Dean and Jackie will visit 2 markets on the north of the Liffey before we meet up at the Post Office which was occupied by Michael Collins and other rebels in 1916. It turns out that the markets are mainly food. If we were in Dublin longer, 30 plums for 1 euro was a good deal, but they passed on it.
At Jameson, Jeff and I looked through the store and building until our tour began. We were subjected to a 10- minute video that said not much at all, except how great and creative the founder was. We were then led through a mock up of the distilling process. Since the real distillery is no longer in Dublin, this is just a tourist site. The only upside is that both Jeff and I are quick enough volunteers to be chosen as “taste testers”. At the tour’s final stop, everyone else gets a serving of a beverage of their choice, but we are seated with three shots of whiskey- Ireland’s Jameson, American Johnny Walker, and one of Scotland’s brands which I forget. All 8 tasters agree that Jameson is the smoothest of the 3. We get a certificate and a full shot of Jameson to make up for the fact we had to taste those “inferior whiskeys”. We had a nice chat with a few of the other tasters- an older couple from West Hartford, Ct, newlywed honeymooning teachers from San Diego, and a young couple from Virginia celebrating their anniversary with a trip to Ireland. All of us found that we had one thing in common- we’d read Rick Steve’s advice to “be ready to volunteer to taste on the tour- get your hand up fast!”. Then we hopped on the bus and met up with Dean and Jackie at the Post office, where you could still see the bullet holes in the columns.
We rode the bus to Trinity College, and then walked to Cornucopia for dinner- where we met up with the young couple from Virginia. (Yes, Rick Steve had recommended the restaurant.) We indulged in 3 desserts- a gf raspberry cake, a chocolate truffle that reminded me of Gramma Deveneau’s no-cook oatmeal cookies, and a blueberry silk crumble- Dean and Jackie didn’t tell Jeff it was “silken TOFU” until he’d eaten most of it, but he still said it was good.
After dessert, we went to find the Stag’s Head Pub, that Jeff’s friend Joe Corning had recommended, but it did not have music tonight. We decided to go back to Gogarty’s, and try to get Dean a seat with a back. Jackie and Jeff found stools near the music, and Dean and I sat at a booth. In walk Beth and Kyle, the Jameson/Cornucopia couple. They are doing the musical bar crawl, which starts here. Then the California newlyweds come in, so they all invite Jeff and Jackie to go with them. When the tour leaves later, Jackie and Jeff go along, and Dean and I stay to listen to the other musicians before hopping the #16 home. Jeff and Jackie catch the last bus home, and get in about midnight. They had a great time, and Jeff got up and sang “The Parting Glass” when the musicians asked for volunteers. Kyle took a video, and Jeff gave him our email, so I hope we’ll be able to see it- maybe on Utube!


Thursday, July 16
Caroline dropped by in the morning before her job, and took Dean to the pool. He’ll have to take the bus back. It’s hard to believe that today is our last full day in Ireland. We plan to see the Dublin Palace, St Audoen’s Church, and if the weather holds up, walk to St. Stephen’s green and see some of the Georgian houses and the music archives. Jackie and Jeff think Dean and I should do the music pub-crawl tonight- we’ll see. This morning, we have to pack “airport-style” to be ready for tomorrow. I’m not sure when we’ll be able to log on again for a while, so the next time you hear from us, we will most likely be somewhere in France! Au revoir, a bien tot. (I know these are missing accents, but I’m not sure how to add them!)

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