We will visit this street corner!!!!!

Check this out! I have a feeling the live entertainment is going to be fantastic!! I have always enjoyed street entertainers. Of course we are going to check inside the pub also.

Last day before we leave for Dublin. Too late to rest. Too much to do! This time Sunday we will be settled away in our Dublin hotel. Normally I travel light with 1 carry on. This time I think I will need an extra bag for souvenirs.

Looking at the list of things to do we already have a packed week of interesting Irish culture. I have to remember to take lots of photographs. Normally I am caught up in the excitement and don't bother with pictures. I was debating whether the visit to the Guinness Storehouse would be Monday or Tuesday. I think it is definitely a Monday thing. Mostly because I can't wait and won't be able to focus on much else until that is done. It is also good because sounds like the right pace for day 1.

Stay tuned for a picture of poppy enjoying a Guinness!

The Guinness Storehouse

One of the highlights of our trip will be a visit to the Guinness Storehouse. It looks like 7 floors of a crash course in all things Guinness. We will learn about the history of the beer and how it is brewed. We will also learn how to pour a pint (and get a certificate I hope).

The faq says that the tour will take around 1.5 hours. I understand there is a bar and a restaurant in the facility so I don't see how we could possibly finish in less that 4 hours. I have no idea how much Guinness I have consumed in my lifetime however I truly believe the Storehouse should be able to recognize and acknowledge devoted patrons.

This is a day 1 or day 2 activity. It is one of those rare activities that might preclude us from visiting a pub on the way. Key word there is "might". We will be sure to get take lots of pictures so be sure to check back and see photographs us pouring the perfect pint.

Almost Ready To Go

The list of pubs we need to visit is almost endless.

O'Neills Bar and Restaurant

Gogarty's

Messrrs Maguire

OK, it will take all night to list the pubs and even longer to visit all of them. Here is the map that we will roughly follow. Notice the scale of the map and you will get an idea of how close together these pubs are. The trick now is to find the right place on Sunday morning.

View Dublin Pub Crawl in a larger map

Our growing list of pubs

We have identified several pubs to visit. The idea is to check them out thoroughly and do repeats at the best ones. Here is a small sample:

The Foggy Dew

The Temple Bar Pub

The Baggot Inn

The Brazen Head

Keough's of Trinity Street (No website that I could find).

The Dame Tavern

Doheny and Nesbitt

James Toners Pub

Grogans Pub

Turks Head

Doyles

Auld Dubliner

Thomas Read

The Porter House

The Stags Head

The Riverhouse Mezz Bar

We are not just visiting pubs. We are also going to visit The Old Jameson Distillery. Looks like a couple of hours of education and enjoyment with, perhaps, a taste of whiskey!

The range of pubs in the area looks amazing. Will report back with details, eye witness accounts and police reports.

The main thing we will do on this trip is enjoy ourselves. It will not be all fun and games however. We have some mandatory shopping to do. On top of this list is at least 1 bottle (likely more) of Tactical Nuclear Penguin. It is a new beer from Brewdog. One can debate about whether this is truly a beer or not. For me this question cannot be solved with debate. Rigorous sampling is required. We will use the scientific method which means our experiements must be repeated.

Tactical Nuclear Penguin

Tactical Nuclear Penguin from BrewDog on Vimeo.

If anybody knows where we can find this please let me know. Too much time searching and not enough time sampling is not the plan.

This is the guy we are taking to Ireland. We had a virtual family meeting and the general agreement is that we will have to get him back to the hotel in the afternoon for a nap and back again in the evening before it gets too late. Time will tell.

The afternoon break might happen a couple of times but not many. The evening will come soon since we will always start the day early and pack the day full of activities ... like visiting pubs.

Pub visits are not the only thing we will be doing. There is also a day trip to Kilkenny, along with visits to Dublin Castle, Trinity College, St. James Gate, Jameson Factory, Museum of Modern Art, etc. When we return, we will know a lot about alcohol. Please don't get the wrong impression. This is an educational exercise. We truly want to fully understand Guinness and the best way to start is with a visit to St. James Gate.

I truly think Dad will have a great time on this trip. The overnight flight to Dublin and the adjustment the next day will pass quickly. I think the enjoyment is already beginning.

Preparing for Dublin

It is really happening. We are all meeting at the airport in Newark. Dad is arriving from St. John's. Aidan is arriving from Halifax and I am flying in from DFW. I can't wait. We have a hotel. We have a very long list of pubs to visit and we have a lot of fantastic places to visit while we are in Ireland.

We almost went last year after Adam's wedding however Aidan was stuck with completing his thesis or something. Our options for this year were the first week of May or the last week of June. If that didn't work, it would be 2011 before we could find another window. Well it is really happening.

At the last minute, before we booked, it almost didn't go ahead. When I called Dad to tell him about this trip with 2 of his 3 son's for one week visiting pubs in Ireland, his answer was "I'll have to think about it." CAN YOU BELIEVE THAT? I will have to think about it. How often do you get a chance to take a trip like that with your family members ..... and he had to think about it.

It actually took almost another 10 minutes of conversation before he said, "I suppose I will go."

Now that we are past all that, it is really happening. Stay tuned. I still have to post the list of pubs we plan to visit.