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The Irish culture has sucked me in. I've definitely had my share of Guinness the last couple of days. In fact, last night I had a few in a bar that was a converted church. It still had the organs and stained glass windows. Crazy Irish. I don't think that concept would go over well in America.
I have not gotten tired of the bread roll diet yet (or price...less than a euro). The way I like to think about it is: one less real meal= one more Guinness. Fortunately, I did have my first real meal in Europe yesterday. Of course that was only because I met up with my good ol' friend Chris Anderson and his vacationing family. Chris's parents treated me with the meal and Chris hooked me up with a couch to sleep on in his bosses sweet 2 million dollar condo overlooking the city. It was pretty legit. Thanks Chris!!!
The highlight of my trip to Dublin so far has been the Guinness Storehouse tour. It is the biggest tourist attraction in Dublin and for good reason. It was awesome. The relatively new museum is built in the old Guinness storehouse (where the fermentation takes place) and the inside is shaped like a Guinness glass. The tour takes you through the process of brewing a Guinness and gives you other cool facts like how Arthur Guinness signed a 9,000 year lease for the brewery and the 60 acres it sits on. At the end of the self guided tour, you get a complimentary Guiness in the Gravity Bar that gives you a 360 degree view of the city. Oh yeah, I also learned how to pour a Guinness. Pouring a Guiness is quite different than other beers. You have to fill it up about a 3 quarters of the way up (to the harp) with a mix of nitrogen and Guiness and let it sit for two minutes for the nitrogen to mix with the carbon dioxide. That makes the dark color and gives the beer its head. Once the beer is dark, than you fill the remaining quarter with just Guinness (not nitrogen). Let it sit for another 2 minutes and you are ready to drink. I also found out (not from the Guinness tour) that a little black current fruit juice tastes tastes great in the Guinness.
Tomorrow I'm going to the Cliffs of Moher on the west side of the island. Then I'm off to either London or the mainland...I have not decided yet. Peace
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