Saturday morning we headed south across the river to the Guinness storehouse to learn about the classic Irish stout that has been around since 1759! We learnt about the combination of barley, hops, yeast and water which eventually brews down to the drink we know and love. In the “Guinness Academy” we learnt how to pull the perfect pint and were awarded with a certificate! We drank our pints over looking the city, followed by some Guinness inspired food in the restaurant area. An interesting, yet fun experience that I’d definitely recommend, whether you’re a Guinness lover or not.
Our rambles through the city after this lead us to the lively area of Temple Bar. Just on the outskirts we stumbled upon a gorgeous cake shop, “Queen of Tarts”, we had admired on trip advisor a couple of weeks earlier. Despite a 15 minute wait, the surroundings were lovely and we drank tea and coffee did ate scones to warm up from the teasing snow outside. The cakes looked fabulous, as did the selection of savoury food that was being served around us. Thoroughly enjoyed the scones, and appreciated the flowery tea cup I had.
Venturing further into Temple Bar, the crowds got a little more entertaining and drunk. The pubs and bars looked tempting as we were so chilly, however one in particular, The Oliver St. John Gogarty tempted us right in with the screens showing the England vs. France 6 nations game and some lively live Irish music playing! The atmosphere was great inside, a classic Irish pub, which although wasn’t ideally priced (Guinness was €5.25 and a Jameson and Cranberry set us back €8.95) , it was a really entertaining Irish experience. The punters came and went and we sat at the bar and observed both our surroundings and the rugby. We loved the live music, and chatted to a few Irish and English guys who were also visiting the city!
As we didn’t have much time before heading back to the airport we grabbed some food at a cafe across from the hostel, after we had collected our luggage. Third Space was a really friendly and cosy cafe, offering sandwiches, coffee tea and to our delight a full Irish breakfast! There was a large bookshelf for exchanging books and the decor was fun and light hearted. After a thoroughly enjoyable meal we headed to the bus back to the airport.
It was hard to get a rounded view of the whole city in such a short space of time, but I loved learning about the history at the Gaol and experiencing a really great Irish pub and food. Definitely worth a weekend break, if not longer as there is plenty to do!
