Dublin, Ireland - June 3rd - 4th

Wow is all I can say. Dublin has been fantastic and I am excited to wrap it up tonight!

Yesterday I woke up and boarded the Dublin bus tour to see more sites in Dublin I wanted to see but not neccessarily go inside to see (note - I am trying to do very FEW museums on this European trip as I have done those before and I am museumed out). We drove by and I stopped off at the Christs Cathedral and the Dublin Castle, all picturesque but not as fun as when I stopped off at the Jameson Distillery!

Jameson is made here in Dublin, and the tour was a little touristy but was a blast. And here's why...after seeing the different exhibits and makings of the whiskey, they asked for 8 volunteers to try the whiskey and compare it to Scotch and Jack Daniel's. I was more than willing to volunteer! Tried all 3, and the Jameson was definately the smoothest and the best by far. Note...I still was able to have the complimentery drink afterwards and a lady I met didn't drink so I had hers as well!

Needless to say I was feeling very good and ate a hearty lunch afterwards. I walked and saw some more sites afterwards, and - after a shower and some e-mails - had dinner at a local pub; good old fashioned Bangors and Mash -- Sausage, Mashed Potaoes, and bread with gravy -- which was phenomenal. After washing it down with a few local beers, I headed out to Trinity Bar, the actual bar in the square that had live Irish music. I met a ton of people including some people from Seattle, and partied for a LONG time. Good night with authentic Irish music!

Today I woke up and had my most enjoyable day of the trip. I did the Wicklow Mountain tour, which is a tour in the mountains about 30 minutes south of Dublin. When you think and see pictures of Ireland - and how green, picturesque, and stunning it is - this is what you envision. Absolutely stunning, we drove and walked through and by lakes, waterfalls, and beautiful scenery that included the site where Braveheart was filmed.

The most fun part actually was meeting 2 Canadians my age traveling and we had beers galore that we bought at the store as "roadies" which made the trip so much fun and entertaining! Having beers on the bus and driving and walking through the greenest grassy trails and scenic lakes and waterfalls...well there really is nothing better. We are meeting up to go out tonight so I'm sure the Dublin trip will end with a bang.

Tomorrow I'm heading out to Belfast and the Atrium (Northern) Coast to meet some friends of my dads ending with dinner and drinks. If today's scenery is any indication, I am going to be enthralled with the coast and its famous coastal scenery.

Cheers!