Zoo, Draughts and Darts

We went to the zoo today. Along the way, we decided to stop for lunch and a cute little place nearby, called the Phoenix Park Tea Rooms. It was a deliciously simple lunch of soup and bread, washed down with a coke. On a chilly day such as this, the soup was very pleasant. Perhaps on my next trip, I will try the tea.


Dublin Zoo is pretty awesome and I had a great time seeing the animals and snapping pictures. The animals appeared content and well-fed, which is always a good thing. There were also some fun, interactive things with which to learn.

Check it out! I almost have chimpanzee hands!








We should probably stop eating at Bel Cibo. The food was mediocre at best (again) and the service was terrible. They acted as though they were doing you a favor by serving you at all. I can safely say I would not recommend that restaurant.


The Richmond was much more fun and entertaining tonight than usual (it usually has more of a laid-back/older crowd, reminiscent of "the club" back home: nice, but not exciting). While enjoying a spectacular pint and a half of Smithwick's, Dad and I were invited to partake in a game of darts. Now, my dart throwing skills are far less than spectacular and I warned our new friends. Still, they insisted we play a game or so. Of course, the first dart I threw bounced off the wall and landed on the floor in two separate pieces. (I told you I warned them, right?) Well, that was entirely unacceptable and they decided I had to try again. My next throw stuck, it stuck right by the bulls-eye and I got quite a few points for my team. I won't lie, though. After that one spectacular (for me) throw, I returned to my usual unskilled throwing, sticking a few darts in the wall. After the game of darts, I made a new friend (someone actually near my own age! at the Richmond!) named Ruadhan. Perhaps we will keep in touch after I leave.

Pint count: 14.5

Ireland: Where Umbrellas Go to Die

Haha, the title says it all. Weather in Dublin is nothing to joke about, though I do have to laugh. The wind and rain attacked my umbrella with such fury that the poor thing stood no chance of survival... just as I stood no chance of remaining warm and dry.

For the record, I take no comfort in the fact that I am not alone on this tragic day for umbrellas everywhere. The mutilated remains of countless victims could be seen strewn about the ground and shoved into garbage cans.

In the battle between umbrellas and the weather, the weather most certainly won this round.

Pint Count: 9

Irish Beer is Too Easy to Swallow!

Oh, the joys of Ireland. Today, we went to the National Leprechaun Museum. The stories were fabulous and I am quite interested in reading up on Irish mythology. The museum, itself, left a bit to be desired, but the experience was still amazing. It is a cute little place with a lot of potential. It just opened in 2010, so there is plenty of room to grow.

After the museum, we went to the mall. I got some candy and pistachios. How can you not enjoy candy and pistachios?

When we got back to the hotel, Dad, the Gormans, and I decided to go out to the pubs. Our first stop was at The Cobblestone. It's a quaint little pub near our hotel. I had a Jameson on the rocks... it was about 3 shots in one glass with a couple of ice cubes. I still say you should never taint such a pure whiskey with mixers. It is just too good by itself.

The Gormans were a bit too tired to join us for the rest of our pub hopping, so they returned to the hotel. Dad and I went to his favorite pub, The Richmond. There, I partook in (2) 1/2 pints of Smithwicks Irish Ale. Amazingly, I have found a beer that is too easy to swallow! If you know me, you know that I am generally not a big fan of beers. However, this is Ireland and you have to try the beer! Smithwicks is a smooth tasting ale with mild undertones of coffee. It is even better than the Bulmers cider I've been chugging down!

After our drinks at The Richmond, we returned to the Cobblestone for another pint and some live music. The pub has musicians every night. Tonight's group consisted of about 30 people with violins, mandolins, and pipes. If you're in the mood for a good pint of beer and authentic Irish music, then the Cobblestone pub is the right place for you.

Pint count: 6
Whiskey count: 5

Just so you know, my first work of art has been put up for display in a museum. Here I am with my lovely piece titled "Jennifer, Age 25"... I am slowly becoming world famous. :)

Triple Distilled!

After the hustle and bustle of my days in Paris, I took this morning as a chance to sleep in. Dad returned "the boat" to the rental agency and picked up the Gormans. While everyone went to lunch, I opted to sleep in a little more and picked up a light snack before heading out.

The day's main event was a tour of the Jameson Distillery. Our tour guide, Andy, was quite knowledgeable and had a great sense of humor. At the beginning of the tour, he asked for 8 volunteers... 4 females, 4 males. Ever the adventerous type, I raised my hand enthusiastically and was chosen. Andy handed me an empty green tube and said to hold on to it as there was a surprise at the end of the tour. Dad also received a green tube.

The tour was quite educational and very interesting. I learned a lot about different types of whiskey and what makes Jameson so unique. Using the finest barley in Ireland and pure spring water, the "whisketeers" create an incredibly smooth spirit with a distinctive flavor. You will have to take the tour in order to learn about the actual procedure.

After the tour, it was time for the 8 volunteers to partake in a whiskey tasting. Each seat had a placemat, labeled with 3 shot glasses of different types of whiskey: A famous black label scotch, the American Jack Daniels, and, of course, Jameson Irish Whiskey.

Each whiskey had its own unique processing and flavor attributes. The Jack Daniels, single-distilled, aged in a brand new oak barrel, has a very sweet, woody flavor. The black label scotch, double-distilled, has a smoky flavor provided by the drying method of its grain (open-kiln, peat smoke). Jameson has a fresh, smooth taste. The triple distillation process and aging in used barrels (for a greatly reduced flavor of woodiness and subtly added flavor of barrel's previous inhabitant) make Jameson Irish Whiskey my favorite whiskey by far.

Included in the price of admission is a free glass of Jameson. I had mine on the rocks and would not recommend it any other way. Why destroy the purity of such a smooth whiskey by adding soda or juice? It's such a waste! Save the mixers for Jack Daniels. ;)

After the tour, we stopped at Fresh to pick up a quick dinner. I had a chicken sandwich with sweet chili sauce, lettuce, onion, and tomato. It was delicious, quick, and inexpensive. The perfect combination for any meal on the go.

Dad, Billy and I went to The Richmond after dinner. I had another pint of Bulmers cider. Billy had the same. Dad stuck to his Fosters. It was a nice evening out in Dublin.

Pint Count: 4
Whiskey Count: 4 (Good whiskey count: 2)

By the way, were you wondering what the green tubes given to us volunteers were for? Well, I am now, officially, a "Qualified Irish Whiskey Taster". The tube was for my diploma. :)

Pints, Proposals, and All Sorts of People

We left our hotel in Paris early this morning. Luke, Dad's housemate in Paris, drove us to the airport with his friend (I'm not sure of his name). With a bit of force, all 3 suitcases fit in the back and Mom, Dad, and I crammed into the backseat. We found our way to the airport easily enough and made our way to the check-in counter.
Moving on to the security check point, I set off the damn metal detector again. What am I wearing that consistently sets off the machine? Agh! After a thorough frisking by one of the personnel, I headed over to my gate.

The flight, itself, was rather uneventful. Oddly, Aerlingus charges a fee for the in-flight snack. After spending so much on a flight, one would think that a small drink and bag of crackers or something would be included. Apparently not if you fly through Aerlingus. Adding to the craziness, the flight attendants move on to peddling Air Mall items. Quite odd, indeed.

Flying over Dublin, it was plain to see that Ireland is really a beautiful country. Along the way, Dad pointed out every golf course he could see. I decided to insist that there are no golf courses in Ireland... just fields with spots of sand scattered around them. Lol, in reality, there are a lot of courses.

We landed and made our way to retrieve our bags. Along the way, we were passed through the immigration area to have our passports stamped. The wait in line was pretty long, but once I got to the window, the interview was pretty short and I now have my second stamp this trip! Yay!

Since Mom & Dad were farther back in line, I made my way to the baggage claim and got everyones' things piled on a cart. Once they made their way to the area, we passed through customs rather easily and headed for the rental car agency.

The small car Dad had been hoping for turned out to be a rather massive boat on wheels. Couple the enormous vehicle size with fact that the Irish drive on the "wrong side" of the road, the journey by car was relatively daunting. The GPS from National was utterly useless, but we still managed to find the hotel.

The parking garage is under the hotel. Dad's maneuvering of the boat on wheels was hindered by rather small passageways in the garage. I got out and attempted to guide him through one of the turns. Eventually, he made it to the parking space and we checked in to our hotel.

The room is nice, has a few odd features. In order to keep the electricity on in the room, you have to leave your keycard in a thing on the wall. Somewhat irritating, but a decent idea for saving on energy costs.

Mom and I went to the little grocery store next door to pick up lunch while Dad took a nap. The lunch counter has a nice value meal arrangement that includes your choice of sandwiches and wraps, a bag of chips, and a 500ml bottle of Coke... all for just 4.99 euro. After the craziness of food and drink costs in Paris, 4.99 euro for all that was fantastic.

Returning to the room, we decided to walk around the block and see what was around. The Jameson Distillery is very close to our hotel. We are going back when the Gormans get here. I saw a sign for "hot whiskey" in the distillery. Very interested in checking it out. The description sounds pretty cool.

Walking along, we found a cute little pub called The Richmond. I partook in (2) 1/2 pints of Bulmers Cider. It has a mild apple flavor and is a bit too easy to drink. Haha, this should be fun! Dad got a couple pints of Fosters. The bartender told us to come back in the evening for some music at around 10. Cool, we'll be back!

We had dinner at a relatively expensive pizzeria near the hotel. It was tasty. The soup was good and the pizzas were unique and delicious. I followed dinner with a short nap before returning to the pubs.

Mom chose to stay in the room for the night while Dad and I went pub hopping. We returned to The Richmond where I upgraded to a full pint of cider and Dad continued with a pint of Fosters. The "music" turned out to be a guy with a laptop and guitar singing karaoke songs. The average age in the pub was about 50 (that's if you factor my 25 years in to the mix). Pretty fantastic, really, if you enjoy the humor.

Leaving the pub, 2 clearly drunk individuals followed us out. They were highly talkative. One talked to Dad while the other proposed and detailed the marriage/honeymoon plans... 7 kids? Hahaha, I would advise against that. We shook hands in agreement that we would not, in fact, be getting married. Hahaha, only in Ireland, I suspect. Eventually the pair hailed a cab and left us alone.

Rather than returning to the hotel, Dad and I made our way to the Number 6 for another pint. Number 6 reminds me of a trendy bar one might find back home. It definitely doesn't have that cool Irish pub vibe, but it was still pretty nice. They were having a party for Halloween and the crowd was much closer to my own age, which was refreshing. I made a new friend from Sweden named Ace. He's a pretty cool kid and it was nice to have a conversation with a foreigner in English. lol.

Looking forward to my upcoming Irish adventures. :)

Jenn's Irish Pint Count: 3