Day 165 – 175: Good Guinness Days

Day 165 – 175: Good Guinness Days

With so little time and so much still to see, we arrived back from an epic roadtrip, to be welcomed into the home of Davin and Bronwyn (cousins of Craig) with wine, 2 full racks of ribs and we were exited to spend the few nights before jetting off to Ireland for a week.

Craig has arranged with his friend, ‘Pommie, that we would all go touring through London closer to the end of our trip when we were staying with them again. So we used the free time to go for jogs in the Wimbledon Park nearby, nap and watch movies.

Before we knew it, we were off again and on a Ryanair flight to Dublin for about a week.

Craig did so well to find a wonderfully comfortable hotel (coincidently or conveniently right across from the Jameson Factory). Unfortunately my poor hubby came down with the flu for the first few days, so he made good use of the comfortable hotel and so the recovery process began.

To my delight, I was given a reason to go and scout out the area and find the nearest Boots, where I was given strict instructions to get Corenza and Illiaden.

I quickly found out that the UK doesn’t have either, so I took the initiative and got the UK replicas (to Craigs disappointment). On my way out, and in the corner of my eye, I spotted my favourite sign…FOREVER 21, and withstanding all temptation walked passed with haste to get the medication back to my sickly husband, but making a promise to myself that I will be back and take advantage of the ‘buy one, get one free’ sale….and the very next day that’s exactly what I did.

Craig was on the mend but still not completely right, so we did what any smart couple would do…we went to the Guinness factory.

We met up with Craig’s cousin, Glen, which Craig hasn’t see in over 15 years and had a great time walking through the factory and making our way to the bar for a Guinness and beef pie and a proper pint of course.

All it took was a Guinness and Craig was on top form and back to his chuckling and jovial self. Stomachs lined, and we headed straight for our complementary Guinness at the infamous ‘Gravity Bar’ where we enjoyed the 360-degree view of Dublin and awesome vibe.

Glen gave us a quick tour through the streets of Dublin, but this tour would not be complete without a visit to the awesome ‘Temple Bar’. Guinness, Irish Coffee, more Guinness and some Heinekens later…it was time to say goodbye and retire.

In high spirits and a few sniffles, we were fit and healthy enough to see more of Dublin. The weather was ideal and we walked through the festive O’Connel Street, aaaaahed around the Trinity College, snapped some pics of the castle and soaked up the Irish Air.

What better way to experience Ireland, than to visit the ‘Auld Dubliner’ for a lunch (we initially went to the famous Oliver but couldn’t afford the 20 euro meal.) Craig had an Irish Stew while I inhaled my delicious Seafood Chowder while listening to a handsome Irish Fellow playing guitar and singing.

Emma and Denis (friends from Paris) arrived late on Thursday night for a weekend jaunt. We hired a car and headed in the ‘Pink Panda’ for Wicklow Park.

Jammed into the small little Panda, we turned on the radio and sang, tapped our feet through the gorgeous surroundings of Wicklow Park. Sheep, green grass, gigantic trees and rivers that even look as though Guinness runs through them, Wicklow is a wonderful landscape of winding roads and natural beauty.

We eventually parked our car at Glendonough where we set off for a walk around the lake and a bite to eat. It was just perfect and our pictures can only capture but a small amount of this wonderful place.

We headed back to Dublin along the eastern coast and stopping off at little villages for a quick peak, but before we knew it we were back in Dublin and sitting in the Temple bar with a Guinness for the guys and an Irish coffee for the girls, listening to the drumming of guitars and folk music.

Craig had to leave early the Saturday morning for Pommie’s stag party, while I stayed and kept Emma and Denis entertained for the next 2 days.

We strolled the streets of O’Connel and Grafton, with a little shopping squeezed in and walked through the Trinity College again where my friends paid a ridiculous 9 Euro to enter the famous library, only to find out that they were only allowed into a restricted area and weren’t allowed to take pictures either – with the disappointment of the rip-off, we headed to the well recommended ‘Porterhouse’ for an Irish stew and a good old Irish Beer tasting of Ales and stouts.

Emma and Denis are ‘kids at heart’ and have incredible amounts of energy, so they got all dolled up and went pub crawling through the Temple Bar district only to return at 3:30 am with the munchies and nothing to suffice the craving, but the need for a good nights sleep.

Check out was at 11am, so slowly the 2 heavy headed party animals packed their bags and we left the hotel to exploit FOREVER 21. Emma and Denis fully kitted out with a new wardrobe for a fraction of the cost and we were in need of lunch.

I stopped in at a local kebab shop with the best falafels in town while Emma and Denis headed for the Guinness factory to dive into the unique experience.

After lunch I headed to the airport and waited for my plane, which was arriving in about 5 hours time. But have no fear when you have a good book an IPOD and a cup of yummy rooibos and vanilla tea.

The time flew by and when I looked again I was walking through customs at Gatwick and found my way into the arms of my gorgeously handsome husband, promising never to leave me for that long again.