Last day in Dublin

A carvery is where you get your meat carved. Curt had corned beef both nights. They take out a slab of meat and carve a big, thick slice for you.

Today I took notice of what kinds of shoes people were wearing. Most were not wearing sandals. I did see a few sandals and one woman had a French pedi and she definitely looked like a local. So it is still somewhat of a mystery.

We got up a little earlier today to get a good start. We had breakfast at a little french place. We don't have to have Irish food for every meal, do we? :)

After that we jumped on one of the touristy double decker buses. You can hop on and off as often as you like. We jumped off at St. Patrick's church. We walked around and looked at the beautiful building but we couldn't figure out how to get in. (Later we realized there was a service going on.) Then we went to Christ Church Cathedral. We took the tour. It was quite magnificent. In most parts of the church you could take pictures. I took one. But I figured the camera wouldn't do the church justice. So if you want to see it in all of its beauty you have to go see it yourself. The church had a crypt. That had some really cool stuff, which you couldn't take pictures of. Some of the paintings were so amazing. 

After that we hopped back on the bus and got off at the Guinness Storehouse stop. We took the tour, which was pretty cool, looked through the gift shop and, of course, the best part had a pint of Guinness in the Gravity Bar. It was a cool view of Dublin and quite relaxing. I can now officially wear my Guinness shirt since I drank my whole pint. The storehouse also has a restaurant (and a place where you can pour your own Guinness--it is really an art). So Curt and I had lunch at the restaurant. He had a a seafood chowder and I had a brie quiche. Both were quite yummy. I also had a half pint of Guinness--I like to refer to it as a baby pint. After that we hopped back on the bus and got off at the Jameson Distillery. We took the little bit cheesy tour. (Rick Steves had mentioned it was a tad touristy.) But I am still glad we did it. In the beginning they ask for 3 male and 3 female volunteers for a whiskey tasting. Curt encouraged me to volunteer. So I did--yes, I am nuts. Once the tour was done everyone got a "glass" if Jameson except for the 6 of us. We went to a table with 5 tiny whiskey shots to taste. We tried 3 Irish (Paddy's, Jameson and ???), one Scottish (Johhny Walker) and one American (Jack Daniels). I am really not a whiskey fan. So I took the tiniest tastes possible. Jameson was the best. Tho. I have to say last time I had it and the first was at Erica and Casey's wedding and it went down a lot smoother since I had already had a couple of glasses of wine. I also got a certificate. HA! I think we will have to frame and hang in our house. Then we all got our glass of Jameson. And I had to add coke to mine. 

After the distillery Curt and I decided to walk. We headed to the oldest Irish pub--the Brazen Head. Then some more walking.

Then back to the hotel. And then to the the Hairy Lemon. (Yes, I realize our day was very focused on alcohol.) While at the Lemon I also filled out the last of the postcards.

We had pasta for dinner and then took a walk around St. Stephens Greens Park. It was a very nice stroll. 

I just took a shower and now I have to start packing. Ugh! We brought an extra duffel bag. So just have to figure out what goes where.

We get in tomorrow night about 8 p.m. our time. So likely no phone calls to family until the weekend.