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Published: March 25th 2008
Our long weekend in Dublin was a lot of fun. We arrived late Thursday night after a rather harrowing flight through high winds and driving rain. We met Kevin at the airport and he led us to his house in Clane, about forty-five minutes from the city center. Being so late we had time for a nightcap and then it was off to bed. Friday morning we awoke early and headed to the Wicklow Mountains to see the Glendalough Valley. It was here that in the sixth century a vision inspired St. Kevin to give up his life of isolation and to build a monastery. He chose one of the most spectacular valleys in Ireland, Glendalough valley, which means glen of two lakes. We drove some very scenic roads to get there and once there had a rewarding hike with lots of great views, rainbows, sun, wind, rain and ancient ruins. On the way home we stopped for some hearty soup and sandwiches. Carrying on over Sally Gap back to Kevin and Kamille’s house we saw Guinness Lake. This lake borders one of the owners of Guinness’s property. He had sand laid around the edge of the lake so that
it would resemble a pint of Guinness. The water in the lake is quite dark. Therefore, there was an uncanny resemblance the beer’s top. Or maybe I just thought this because I was still struggling with the concept that in all of Ireland not a pint could be had. The whole country goes “dry” on Good Friday. Thankfully Kevin had the house well equipped for us sinners and that’s where we headed. We arrived home after a long day of seeing the country and had a great evening. We met up with everyone at the house as Kevin and Kamille were preparing us an amazing meal, one that I have been craving since my arrival in Scotland eight months ago, a big, bloody grilled steak. And not only that, but Kevin had bought a variety of Irish Stouts for me to sample. I had the opportunity to sample many Irish Stouts starting with the lightest and working my way up to its darkest. Later in the evening I continued to further my education on the art of whiskey. Here I learned that bourbons are distilled once, Scottish whiskeys twice and that Irish whiskey’s smoothness can be attributed to its triple
distillation. Although after that many stouts, anything taste smooth.
Early the next morning we caught a bus into Dublin. We had a great day, once again, walking another international city. We started the day by planning our route over hot chocolates and cinnamon roll lattes. After establishing a game plan, we were off. First we hit up Trinity College, then it was on to Merrion Square, followed by St. Stephen’s Green, Grafton Street, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Christ’s Church, City Hall, Dublin Castle, The Custom House and The Temple Bar neighborhood. This was all good fun, but then it was time for the historic pub-crawl. It was on this expedition that I learned that some pubs have reputations for pouring the perfect pint of Guinness. I was under the impression that they were all more or less the same, but I stand corrected. I guess the most important thing is that the keg is as close to the tap as possible because you don’t want a lot of it sitting in the tube waiting to be poured. Then you want to tilt the glass just right and fill it ¾ of the way. Then it must be allowed to
settle for approximately one minute, and then you fill it up until the head is perfect. It also can’t have too much gas; it kills the taste. So how do you tell if you have been poured a perfect Guinness? When finished you do not want a clear glass, you should have a healthy film that extends from the top of the glass to the bottom.
The crawl continued on with much success. We managed to find an old brewery that had four varieties of its craft on tap. They were all excellent and reminded me of some of the microbrews I am accustomed to. They tasted delicious and were undoubtedly the best beers I’ve had since being here.
As I write this I’m realizing just what a tasting sensation this trip was. I say this because later that evening we met up with Kevin, Kamille and others for a sushi dinner. Sushi and steak are the two foods I have craved most since being here and I got them two days in a row. The sushi was excellent and it was an absolute treat to stuff my face with one of my favorite foods. After dinner we
headed back to the store and picked up some ciders for the ride home.
Sunday morning we awoke and decided we had seen enough of the sites in Dublin and went for another day in the countryside. We headed to the ruins of Cashel Castle on St. Patrick’s rock. It was set amidst a beautiful location. We spent a couple of hours looking about and then headed on to the medieval village of Kilkenny. Here we roamed the village and its alleys, taking in a nice lunch and some football. After that we headed up to Kilkenny Castle for some more sightseeing and then it was time to come home. We made homemade pizzas, another favorite, for dinner and spent the evening sharing stories about our adventures and struggles of living abroad. We both agreed that although at times it presents it difficulties, it is an experience that we will cherish forever and grow from.
The next grand adventure is my mom and dad will arrive on Friday. Saturday in the first Rangers/Celtic game I’ll be here for to actually witness this spectacle I’ve heard so much about. Hopefully we’ll be invited to a “bigotry BBQ” as Stuart
so fondly refers to them, if not we’ll head into the city to watch it at a pub. We also have arranged a babysitter for Saturday night, so hopefully I’ll get my parents out for some good music and a lively pub scene. The following Saturday we are off to Spain! Peace.
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