Day 42 and 117 to go
Our last day free-lancing
around Ireland had come and we had a busy morning organising ourselves. Another
great spread was put on for breakfast. I will miss the full Irish brecky, tho
the waistline will not.
We left the B&B and drove
around the corner to the post office where we boxed up some of our souvenirs
and sent them home so we don’t have to cart them around with us.
We were then heading back to
Dublin after filling up with fuel. It was only a 40min drive to our hotel and
as it was 10am the commuting traffic had dissipated and we found the drive
easy.
We parked near the hotel,
taking our bags in and then driving the car back to the hire company where we
were quickly sent on our way with no issues. We then walked the 1.5km back to
the Paramount Hotel and attempted to check in. The room wasn’t quite ready so
we sat in the Porterhouse Brewery and pub across the road.
Paul got talking to another
bloke about bikes. He was a bit strange and conned a drink out of us but it was
entertaining.
We returned to the hotel and
went to our room where we could relax for a short while before heading out in
to Dublin at 1pm.
Our destination was the Guinness Factory at St James Gate. We walked along the
river and the factory wall eventually finding our way to where the tours are
held. We collected our tickets and then we completed the tour.
It was self-guided and
required us to walk 7 floors up the largest pint glass. Each floor demonstrated
a stage in the brewing process. It was quite interesting. I even enjoyed the
small sample we were given at one point, but I couldn’t have drunk anymore.
The final stop on the tour
was the bar at the top where you get a pint of Guinness and you can enjoy the
360 degree view of Dublin. Paul was happy to take my pint and even better they
didn’t take our tickets so he was able to go back and redeem them again. We
chatted to an English couple from Portsmouth on a cruise before we wandered the
gift shop and returned to the hotel.
I loaded up the photos and we
had a rest in the room before we decided to have a shower and head out on the
town again.
This time we wandered in a
different direction taking in the sights. There were plenty of people out
enjoying the evening including many nutters. There was plenty of entertainment
with the coppers being kept busy.
We stopped for dinner at a
diner where we could watch the coppers dealing with some issues. They had their
work cut out for them tonight.
We then walked back toward
Temple Bar, where there are many bars and restaurants and lots going on. There
were many tourists here and again more coppers dealing with idiots. It was obviously the night for it.
We returned to the
Porterhouse Brewery for a drink. I enjoyed a frozen cocktail while Paul tried
another one of their beers. It was a lot busier now than when we were in during
the day.
With the cocktail consumed we
returned to the hotel. The room was so hot and even with the window open there
was no relief. All it did was allow the noise of the aircon and band below waft
in.
It was quite unbearable but
we made do and attempted to get some sleep.
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