Drinking in Dublin

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Alex woke extra early due to a spontaneous nose bleed. He mostly caught it, only a few drops escaped to the pillow and duvet. I woke to him drinking his 3rd glass of water trying to hydrate to prevent future issues. As he was up so early, he joined Carl and I for breakfast.

Already tired, I proposed an alternative plan to the 250 stair Skyview tower to instead heading into the park to see the Wellington Monument - a mini version of the Washington Monument but with added self-important murals of the first Duke of Wellington's achievements. Afterward, we walked in drizzled back to the hotel for a short rest as Alex's leg was sore again. Then we continued on to the Jameson Distillery Bow Street. Time for one drink before our tour, the group indulged. Then we went about a very different experience than I remembered. As they no longer produced whiskey at that location, the tour was a more infographic style description of history and distilling process. It ended with a similar 3 sample tasting, but all else surprised me.

Quite tipsy and needing to prepare for the Guinness Storehouse, we found a nearby restaurant that had great options. Everyone was pleased with their dishes including me, Chicken Marsala hold the Marsala. Soon we ventured back into the drizzle to make our way to Guinness.

The Guinness Storehouse was an impressive interactive museum as I remembered. Though the exhibits all felt fresh and new, the impression remained the same as it did in 2006. We explored each floor, had a small tasting, and learned how to execute a proper Guinness pour. Carl and Kyle got 2.5 each as I wasn't drinking due to pregnancy, Alex has an intolerance for Barley, and Laura isn't a big fan of Guinness. By the bar, our next stop, Carl was too full to finish his free one.

Done with alcohol, we headed back to nab our luggage from the hotel. A quick detour at a convenient store and Subway prepared us for our long train ride. At the hotel, we took a moment in the lobby to relax, let me eat to calm my stomach, and use the restrooms. We did a bit of rearranging of our bags then headed to the train station. The boys felt they needed to supplement sandwiches with pizza so grabbed more food while I printed off our tickets.

Mid-way through the train ride I got a call from the place we'd be staying since their shift ended before our arrival. She gave me the door code and room numbers. The keys would be inside. It was quite easy to find the Clooneen Guesthouse after arriving at Westport Station, a simple short walk. By the time we brought our stuff up to the rooms and unpacked we were tired. I purchased our Westport House tour tickets and set off to bed.

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