Before I start recounting my adventures at the Guinness Factory yesterday, I would just like to tell everyone that as I write this blog post, I am wearing a Batman onesie. So now that everyone has that mental image, I shall recount the rest of my weekend.
Yesterday, after sleeping in, Paul and I met up with Kari, Brianne, and Kari's friend Kinaree at the Guinness Factory. When we got there, we still had to wait for Brianne, though. So we went to a pub and drank a Guinness at 3:00PM. Like champs. Once, we did meet up with Bri, we made our way down an alley towards an entrance to the museum.
Now, when they call the Guinness Storehouse museum an experience, they mean it. The creators of the museum put a lot of stock in design. It's very modern with dim, strategic lighting, glass everywhere. The whole sha-bang. After you pay and get your tickets, you go up an escalator to a huge main lobby type thing. In the floor is the Guinness least, which is perhaps the most famous brewery lease in history. This main lobby is designed to be shaped like a Guinness glass. It's a self-guided tour, and you start at the ground level with the ingredients. First, you go to the barley, where there is a huge pit full of the stuff. Hence, my profile picture on Facebook. Paul was throwing barley at me. You then make your way to the hops, where they have hops growing in huge glass encasements that run up the wall. Then the water, where there is a small waterfall.
Next you go up a flight of stairs to see the machinery and learn about the way that they brew the beer. There are videos alongside really old machines, with a sign saying that the machines were from a different time, when machines were works of art. Afterwards, you walk up another flight of stairs and receive a free quarter pint of Guinness. Then, you get out into the more open area, with natural sunlight.
Then, you work your way up through the levels via a series of snaking escalators with each floor having a different thing. My favorite and the place that I spent the most time at was the Guinness advertisements. They have a bunch of Guinness memorabilia and a computer screen with head phones where you can watch every Guinness ad ever. I think this one was my favorite.
Anyways, we finally made our way up to the 360° bar called the Gravity Bar. Which is absolutely incredible. You can see the entirety of Dublin from it and even the Wicklow Mountains as well. Really beautiful.
After we drank our free pint of Guinness, which took a really long time because of all the Guinness we had drank yesterday, we made our way downstairs to the gift shop and then finally left. The entire thing had taken 3 or so hours, but it was totally worth it. Definitely a must see if you are in Dublin, but I am sure that you already knew that.
By the time we got back to the apartment last night, we were about ready to pass out. So we took a nap, and just as it seemed like we were going to stay in, we decided to get up and at 'em and go out. Or at least, Kari, Kinaree, and I did. Paul decided to stay in. So we took one of the last buses in and made our way over to Wexford St to the Village. On our way, we took a detour to Dandelion for what we thought would be cheap drinks. Jokes, they double their prices on Saturday night. That was a fun little surprise. We finally got to the Village and after a few hitches, we got in. I had never been there before and it was a really interesting place to walk through. All sorts of different rooms and what not. At times, it was like walking through a maze. All in all, it was a really fun night.
We slept in again this morning, and then Paul and I went into town to see Spiderman. I was quite happy with it. I mean superheroes and Andrew Garfield? I am a happy camper. :D We then decided to go shopping, and that was when we found the Batman onesie in Penneys.
So that leaves me at the apartment, chilling in my onesie. Life is pretty awesome right now.
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