Dublin Day 2

 Just like Scotland, the atmosphere in Ireland was just as amazing.The people were great and so welcoming; the pubs were so lively, everywhere had live music and dance. It made the Irish spirit come alive. We started the day with the free walking tour of Dublin. It started off great, but we unfortunately got a tour guide who was a little wacky. She was good at first, but she spent way too much time going off topic talking about her own opinions. She ended up being very negative towards a lot of the attractions, which was surprising because she's giving a tour to tourists. She went off on these rants about random things to where at the end of the tour we could all give a grief biography of her life, family, leisure activities, etc. I wish she would have spent less time talking about herself and more time about Dublin, or seeing other things.

We started off in Dublin Castle, which is now a major Irish government complex and once served as the seat of the English. Ireland is very split between Unionists (who favor the union with the English) and Republics (those who wish to be the Republic of Ireland).

 She did tell us a lot about of interesting things about the catholic church. Ireland has been historically catholic for decades, and is just now introducing things such a contraception and birth control (specifically 1996). When girls got pregnant through wedlock, they were sent to Laundries where their families pretty much sold them into slavery. They were supposed to return to their families after a period of time, however many families were so ashamed of their daughters that they stayed at the Laundries for the rest of their lives. We then were led to the 40 steps, the passageway between the interior of Medieval Dublin to the area known as 'Hell' - a denizen of whorehouses and drug dens. It's where the ghost of Darky Kelly, a famous brothel-owner, has been spotted many times. She was burnt alive after the father of her unborn child accused her of being a witch. Being a lady of the night, the accusations stuck and she was roasted slowly in front of a baying mob.

We were then led to Temple Bar, which is an area of cobble stone streets lined with pubs and shops, and a great night scene for tourists.

 
This picture has a funny story to it. Believe it or not due to the large Heineken advertisement, it's actually Guinness's marketing department building. Heineken bought the space, however, and had it's own name placed on the building.

If you look closely at the next picture you'll see a silver long spherical pole (not the flag pole). It is known as the Spire of Dublin or Monument of Light. It is the largest stainless steel pole in the world, but it cost Dublin 4.5 million Euros and no where near worth that outrageous amount of money.
 

We were then shown Trinity College, one of the main universities in Dublin. It is seen as a very high-class prestigious college, as it fits in the top tier of colleges such as Oxford and Cambridge. It's campus was very beautiful but of course our tour guide didn't have nice things to say about it because she thought that all the students who went their were snobs. It did house the famous Long Library which unfortunately we didn't have a chance to go into because it is said the library reminds people of Harry Potter with bookshelves stacked all the way to the ceilings. The bottom floor holds the Ulysses, a novel by the Irish author James Joyce.

 After our walking tour we headed to the Guinness Factory, one of the most famous tourist attractions in Dublin. We had booked our tour online, which included a self-guided tour through the factory, and a complementary pint of Guinness at the top.

 This was featured right when you walked into the factory. Arthur Guinness, the man who first founded the Guinness brewery business and family, signed this official lease for the land that now stands over 250 acres. This first lease is very unique, however, because it was to be instated for 9000 years. So Arthur signed a 9000 year lease for only 100 pounds and thus started everything we know about Guinness today.

 The museum was really interesting. It was 7 full floors guiding you through the entire process of how Guinness is made starting with all the ingredients and processes. You are led through each floor getting to see hands on the several enduring processes it takes to make that perfect glass of Guinness. You were also led through their advertising through the years, and you could see things from hundred of years ago when Guinness was first started.

This is the view from the very top of the factory, which is said to be the highest point in Dublin. The top is actually a 360 degree gravity bar, which is where you receive your complementary pint of Guinness. To be honest, I wasn't the biggest Guinness fan just due to the heaviness and how filling it was. I don't think I could have drank more than a pint. It does grow on you though I'd have to say. Funny many of the locals told me that what I was drinking was heavy and they considered Guinness to be light. They told me to give it a couple weeks drinking Guinness, but I don't see that ever happening.

 We walked back from the Guinness factory to our hostel, and got ready for the night. We decided to do the pub crawl that was advertised by our hostel. It was supposed to be a crawl of 4 pubs where you'd receive a shot in each bar and discounted drinks. We learned our lesson, though and ended up paying a lot more money than expected. But oh well at least we got to say we had the experience and it was fun to go to each pub and hear their live music and talk with the locals.