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Published: March 18th 2008
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It is an incredibly beautiful day as we walk out of the hotel. The entrance to the hotel faces the mountain side, so the first thing we see when we walk out the door is a clear sky and the sun not far above the mountain range. It is going to be a fantastic day.
We head to the city centre to find a place to park for the day and then head to O'Connell street for the parade. We're early, so we stop off at a quaint coffee shop (one of the few places open) and eat a quick bite before continuing on. We get to O'Connell and it is packed and there is green EVERYWHERE. Everyone is excited and trying to find a good place to watch from. People are looking everywhere even climbing the statues to get a good vantage point. It gets so bad, we can see security men in the Burger King behind us blocking the way up to the second story of the restaurant. We stay for a while as the marching bands go by but cannot see much so we head off. We stop a block away and go into Knightsbridge Bar.
Whenever you think of what a bar in Dublin must look like, I have no doubt that this is what you think of. It is a long, short ceiling, place with small stage and bar stations just about everywhere. We find a table near the back and grab my first Guinness of the day and some chips (fries to you yanks). The table where we sit happens to be right in front of one of the large TVs which is showing the parade happening right outside the bar. So, we have a Guiness in hand, some good bar food, a good table, lots of people around, watching the parade in comfort while the house band is getting a good crowd dancing in front of the stage. Great way to spend the morning, I think.
Just before the parade ends, we head out and start making our way to the Guinness Storehouse for a tour. A couple of stops and shops along the way, passing through Temple Bar again, and we start seeing the majestic cathedrals that dot the path to the factory. It is hard to resist stopping at each one, but we have planned a full day
tomorrow of touring the south part of Dublin that includes the cathedrals, Trinity College, and a few other places and want to hurry to Guinness so we can really enjoy the tour. We finally make it to the storehouse. It's funny, but for as large and popular as the place is, we are walking through small back streets and alleyways to find the main entrance for the tour. But, once we are there, it is unbelievable to see how massive the complex is. The tour is great with not only a chance to sample the brew during the tour, but also getting a free pint at the end of the tour in their Gravity Bar which is at the top of the building, completely surrounded by glass and giving a spectacular 360 degree view of Dublin. Would hate to get stinkin' drunk and dizzy there! BTW, check out the pic of Marisa and I in front of a waterfall located inside the factory. Had a couple standing next to us take the picture. Looked great in the camera viewer after it was taken, but it was not until we got back to the hotel and reviewed it full size that
we realized that my eyes were closed! That was a great shot that I was really looking forward to getting framed, but, unless I get a Photoshop guru to work his magic, I will have to leave it on the hard drive.
From there, some more walking around and shops and then the hunt for the parking garage, er car park as they call it here, begins. We are getting better at this as it only takes us 20 minutes to walk the 8 blocks or so to the car and find our way back into the car park. The car ride back to the hotel gets better as the wrong turns are taking less and less time to correct.
That's it for now. Some rest and then dinner and then....we'll see.
Oh yeah, almost forgot to mention that we got to witness a live, Irish version of COPS right in front us. Apparently, there are undercover cops circulating through the parade keeping an eye out for mischievous hooligans. While walking along the River Liffey, two such hooligans decided to make a run for it after committing whatever crime they did and as they and the
two plainclothes cops raced by us, we, of course, whipped out our cameras. The chase came to a halt when they finally caught up to the little deviants and if you'll click on the video link here, you'll see how the story ends.
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