Katie's Irish Experience

My Weekend in Dublin

The Temple Bar

The ThunderRoad pub/restaurant was playing great music, a combination of Irish music, oldies from the U.S., and some newer dance songs. What made the pub so interesting is that there was not a dance floor. People were just sitting at their tables eating their meal and they would stand up and dance right at the table. People were also singing and clapping along to the music. I have never seen anything like this in my life. It was really fun, we had a blast. It was a great introduction to the amazing Dublin City. After we ate we left ThunderRoad and we found a smaller, more traditional Irish pub. It was called the Auld Dubliner.

The Auld Dubliner had a man singing and playing traditional Irish music with his guitar, but he was also singing American songs such as Brown Eyed Girl and other oldies. It was nice at this bar because it was not as loud and we could talk amongst ourselves and to the other people in the bar. We met three Irish people at the bar and they were hilarious. It was nice to meet some Irish people and chat with them. I think it adds to the experience of being in Ireland. One thing that is strange though is that every person that I have talked to while I have been in Ireland has asked me about the election that took place earlier this month and also about my opinion of George Bush. The people that ask these questions do not beat around the bush either. They ask straight out, 'So what do you think of the president?' or 'Do you like George Bush?' When asked this I never really say either way how I feel I just say that he has one of the toughest jobs out there and that he is doing what he thinks is best. I don't say that I fully agree with him and the republicans or that I completely disagree, I take a neutral stance and just go along with it. I find this to be interesting though because the Irish seem to be extremely interested in the politics and the elections of the U.S. It is good that they know a lot about our government but I feel bad that I do not know much about their government at all. After chatting with the people we met at the pub we went back to the B&B.

The Almanii B&B that we stayed at in Dublin

When we got back to the B&B we had a bit of a set back. Our key would not work in the front door. We tried everything, lifting the handle, turning the handle, wiggling the key and nothing would work. It was 12am and all of the lights at the B&B were closed, we were trying to be quiet but after about 20 minutes of the key not working we were getting a bit antsy. So we started banging on the door and asking for help through the mail slot. Finally someone came and opened the door, and it was not the owner of the house. We felt terrible for waking the person up but there was nothing that we could. We were locked out and it was freezing outside. When we got up in the morning the woman that owned the B&B showed us how to use the key. We again tried to get the door open and after a few practices we got it down so that we would know how to open the door when we got back Saturday night.

GUINNESS SIGN

The Line that we did not have to wait through because of our 'celebrity status'

When we got inside the building the next guard saw our passes and without us even asking he escorted us to another man who gave us our map of the brewery and then a token so that we could get a free pint of Guinness at the end of the tour. The way the guards looked at our passes made us feel like we were celebrities. It seemed like they knew we were coming and that they were waiting for us because we never had to say a world to anyone they just knew. With these passes we got into the tour in about 5 minutes, if we would not have had these passes it would have taken at least an hour to get in the building and then another 45 minutes to get into the tour. We will be forever indebted to Ang's house mom's friend for giving us the passes. We had an amazing time! At the end of the tour Ang and Ali got to try Guinness for the first time, it was not pretty.

Ang and Ali trying Guinness for the first time - Notice Ali's face

They were only able to take a few sips out of their pints, I tried to finish mine but could not do it. It was an experience to try the Guinness but I will not be ordering it at the pub anytime soon.

Our Pints of Guinness - I tried but couldn't do it - They have told me that it is an acquired taste, one that we obviously haven't acquired yet.

After our long day of touring and shopping we went back to the B&B and relaxed for a while. Around 9pm we went out to visit a few more pubs. We started at The Quays, pronounced Keys, Pub. It looked like it would have been a fun pub to be in but it was extremely packed. There was not enough room for the 3 of us to stand next to each other. So we went in one door and out the other. We then tried the Auld Dubliner again, it was a nice atmosphere the first night so we went back. Again the pub was very welcoming. We met some more people there and talked to them for a few hours. After a while though we decided to move on to another bar. We went to a few more pubs and talked to some more people. We had an amazing time in Dublin and decided that we are coming back to Dublin in a few weeks to meet Ang again.

posted by Katie @ 9:02 AM