Day 21: Dublin

I must say, my stop in Dublin was definitely a good move. Ireland is great and did you know that they drive on the left side of the road like in England??? I had no idea.

Today I got to visit the Jameson Whiskey Distillery (http://www.jamesonwhiskey.com/) and then headed to the Guiness Brewery (http://www.guinness-storehouse.com/en/Index.aspx). The Jameson Distillery (I am not a whiskey drinker at all) was actually a really good experience. It was fun to learn all that goes into making such an old practice such as making whiskey and (because I love "experiencing" history) it was a lot of fun to actually be in the room and see the first cast that John Jameson made his first barrel of whiskey back in the mid 1700's. We (group of about 20) also had a tour guide take us through all the rooms and explain all the processes which helped quite a bit.

The Guiness factory was quite a different experience. It was like a brand new 6-story museum. Glass floors and escalators with a very open environment and no tour guide; a move-at-your-own-pace kind of place. The very top of the building had a 360 degree view bar of all of Dublin which doesn't sound very high (6th floor) but was actually above most buildings across the city.

Those two actually took up about 3.5 hours combined with the walking in between but another highlight of the day was my lunch...bowl of soup, apple and a water. mmmmmmm good, however, I was unable to find a bench in the 10 minutes of walking. I didn't want the soup to get cold I just sat down on the sidewalk and ate. I should have found a bench because while opening the soup container I spilled a little bit of soup on my shorts...yes, the shorts that I bought in Prague 5 days ago...I've worn them everyday since but now that there is a creamy vegetable soup stain on them I think it's time to buy some new shorts.

Anywho, after the Guiness factory (and a free Guiness at the top of the brewery) I headed back to my hostel (last minute lodging...it was only 12.50 a night, how in the world could I say no that.....ummm with a couchsurfing host maybe?) and the first e-mail I saw was from my older brother telling me to find a TV and watch the U.S. Open. When I get something like that from Mike (http://twitter.com/DaDeucesWild) it means either Phil Mickelson is doing something ridiculous or Tiger is just being Tiger. Turns out, it was the first option which suited me just find because he's my favorite.

So on the wise older brother's advice I head to a pub (one of the most famous in London) "The Temple Bar http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Temple_Bar,_Dublin" and start watching the Open with two people from Tennessee (hey, I would have watched it with locals if locals cared at all about golf.

Phil lost. :( But at least he showed up to play (http://sports.yahoo.com/golf/pga/players/Tiger+Woods/147/scorecard/2009/24). Anywho, again, after that it was merely just a walk again down Abbey street (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Abbey_Street) and over to Dublin's strange Spire (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spire_of_Dublin) after staring at it for about 90 seconds I figured it was time to head back (I am so exhausted).

So, now that it became 8:30ish p.m. (I think AP Style http://www.apstylebook.com/ should apapt "ish" to their official time structure) I decided to shave. Ouch. I think I might be finished with shaving until I get back home (7 more days and my face, neck and patience would love it. I, again, had to buy a cheap dumb razor for just a one-time use because tomorrow I board a plane and they won't let me bring on a razor (they also made me get rid of my spray deodorant, grrrr, I got a stick deodorant so I'm all set).

So, after the 45 min of shaving and tremendous razor burn I started calling people. I tried my dad again to tell him Happy Father's Day (still haven't gotten ahold of him) and I actually had the wrong number (I remedy that situation soon). So I call my work (no, I'm not lame, I just like my coworkers) and talked with all of them for about 45 min. Throughout my talk with them I got numerous Skype calls from my grandma (Dear) and called her back after. It was my mom, uncles Max and Mark and my grandma, Dear, too!! :) Very delightful video chat! :) I love Skype (http://www.skype.com/intl/en/). My mom gave me my dad's correct number and I called and talked to him afterwards. Hooray!! Ok, Father's Day for the Cornett's is set for the Sunday of the British Open...I'll be there!! Another Hooray!!

Now, off to bed. I need it. Soooooo tired. Plane tomorrow to London. Til tomorrow, Cheers from Dublin.