Dublin to DundalkOct 12, 2010
|
|
| This morning we woke up early, checked out of the hotel and had drive-thru Maccas for breakfast. We then made our way to the Guiness Stonehouse and arrived at about 10am. There were quite a few people there already. I was under the impression that it would be a Guiness brewery but it was more like a museum on four floors. The Stonehouse showed videos of how the beer is brewed, and the history of how the beer was invented. There was a section where you could put on some headphones and watch Guiness commercials from the 1950's to the present. On another floor you could sample some Guiness beer. On the top floor was a bar in a circular room with panoramic views of Dublin out the windows. Everyone was entitled to one free Guiness. I only had a little bit of mine because it was a bit too heavy for that time of morning, plus I was still not 100% from the killer hangover two days earlier. It was busy in the bar with no room to sit anywhere so we didn't stay long. We went back down to the first floor and purchased some Guiness souvenirs to give to friends as gifts then left. We drove closer into the city and parked on the street, then walked around Dublin. A tour bus drove up the street, but the bus was also a boat. It was called a 'Viking Tour' and all of the passengers were wearing viking hats. We went to Dublin Castle but didn't go inside, deciding to wander around the outside instead. We went into a small customs/tax museum and had a look at early communication devices and confiscated items from customs. An alarm went off and we were asked to step outside. Apparently someone had used flash-photography in the Castle and it set off the alarm. When it was all clear we went back to the museum to finish looking. Shortly after that we grabbed some lunch and were back on the road again. We arrived in the valley of the River Boyne, east of Slane at a remarkable area containing evidence of Ireland's most ancient history, Bru na Boinne. Bru na Boinne is a great neolithic cemetery consisting of at least 40 burial sites, and the landscape is dotted with standing stones and earthwork, with the crowning glory being the great passage grave at Newgrange. Unfortunately we arrived too late to be able to go out to the cemeteries, as the opening hours were shorter in the 'winter' season. We decided to stay and look in the museum, as we didn't want to leave without seeing something. After that we went outside and attempted to walk to the cemeteries on our own but decided it would be too far, as they ran buses to and from the sites. We left Bru na Boinne and arrived in Dundalk at about 6pm. We had dinner at a local cafe/restaurant and had a delicious meal. As we were walking back to the car after dinner, we decided to stop in a casino. We had to show our passports for ID, and didn't have to pay an entrance fee for some reason which was good. The casino was quite small with pokie machines and crap tables. We played the pokies until we ran out of coins then went to our hotel, The Crowne Plaza. We checked in at 8pm and went to bed shortly after. |
Advertisement 
|
