About 1:00 PM, I got hungry and decided to go into town to get some food. I got ready and when I was ready to go, I looked for my wallet. I couldn't find it anywhere. I looked in the pocket of the jeans I was wearing, but it was not there. I looked everywhere else and couldn't find it. My ATM card was just on the desk so I just took that into town. I stopped at an ATM and took out some money.
I saw a Burger King across the road and headed over. I got a whopper meal, I think it cost 7,00 Euro, and sat in the restaurant and ate it. After eating I headed back up to the hotel and asked reception if anyone had handed in a wallet. I thought maybe i left it in the bar when I got back last night. They told me that nobody had handed anything in. As I went back to the room, I thought about if there was anything in there I needed to cancel. There were 2 ATM cards I needed to cancel. I went online and was looking for contact details for my banks. I decided to have one last look around the room. I found my wallet in the pocket of the jeans I wore the night before.
After breathing a sigh of relief I went back to writing. About 5:00 PM I was hungry again and went down to the hotel restaurant. I ordered the 2 course deal for 14,95 Euro. I got a Mediteranean Fish Cake for the starter and some Penne Carbonara for the main. The food was very good and I had 2 glasses of Chardonnay. After eating I went back upstairs and continued writing. I went to bed at about 9:00 PM.
The next day I woke up at 8:30 AM and got ready. I was going to see the Guiness Storehouse and Jamesons Distillery as it was my last day in Dublin. I left the hotel at about 9:15 PM and walked to the Jamesons Distillery. Jamesons is a brand of Irish Whiskey. It is very smooth and probably my favourite spirit outside Vodka and Tequila.
The distillery was about a 20 minute walk, bit it took me a bit longer as I got a little lost. I walked in and got my ticket and the girl told me there was a tour beginning in 15 minutes. I looked around in the gift shop and went to the toilet while I waited.
When I came back out the tour was about to begin. We went through some doors and into a theatre to watch a short 20 minute movie. Then we wondered around some rooms which contained scale versions of the equipment used to make Jamesons and the guide explained the process. We got a free glass of Jamesons at the end of the tour.
I would have loved to stay in the bar drinking Jameson's but I also wanted to visit the Guiness Storehouse. When the tour ended I went to the souveneir store and bought some shirts, then left to find the Guiness Storehouse.
I had a map with the landmarks marked on it and the Guiness storehouse was across the river on the opposite side of the city. I As I walked out of Jamesons and headed towards the River Liffey, a black woman approached me and held out a mobile phone. She asked me if I could talk to the woman on the other end of the phone. I was a little suspicious that it was some sort of a scam, but decided to try and help.
I said hello and the voice on the other end explained that she was trying to help the woman find a solicitors office. She told me the address and told me it was between a pub and a shoe shop so I led the woman to where it was. It was in the direction I needed to go anyway. When we got there, the woman who was with me and the woman on the phone both thanked me.
I left the woman and continued onto the Guiness Storehouse. The good thing about Dublin is if you head in the right direction, there are signs pointing in the direction of the landmarks. Once I was in the general area I followed the signs and found the storehouse. It was about a 15 minute walk from Jamesons.
I entered and lined up to buy a ticket. There were quite a few people in the queue and it took about 10 minutes to get a ticket. The Guiness tour was a self guided tour and I could walk around at my own pace. I spent about an hour wondering around the storehouse and seeing how Guiness was made. In one room, they give you a free half glass of Guiness. At the end of the tour you can go up to the Gravity bar at the top of the storehouse and get a free pint. I went up. The bar has glass windows all the way around and it gives you a 360 degree view of Dublin.
After I finished my pint, I asked the woman behind the bar if she was able to give me directions to Kilmainham Gaol. She pointed out some buildings, including a pub, which "was her pub, but don't tell anybody". She gave me some directions using the buildings and told me it was about a 15 minute walk, then I headed back down to the entry of the storehouse. I bought some souveneirs in the gift shop then tried to follow the womans directions.
As I left the Guiness store it started to rain. Within a few minutes the rain had gotten quite heavy. I continued walking and thought if I see a taxi I will get that. I didn't see a taxi and by now I realised I was a little lost. I followed the road I was on and saw some shops. I found an off license (convenience store) and bought some cigarettes. I asked the guy if he was able to give me some directions to the Gaol. He was happy to help and gave me very good directions. I had begun to head in the opposite direction.
I headed back where I needed to go and continued until I found the Gaol. I was drenched by the time I got there. I paid the 6,00 Euro for the tour and the girl at the counter told me the next tour would begin in 15 minutes. I looked around in the museum until they anounced the tour would begin. I gathered with the rest of the group and the tour guide addressed the group.The guide was an angry old intellectual. He reminded me of a university professor or something. He gave detailed history of the Gaol and it's inhabitants.
Kilmainham Gaol is about 140 years old. Some of the prisoners here were sent to Australia in the early 1800's and the leaders of the Irish rebellions were also executed by the British government in this Gaol. The Gaol was also used in one of my favourite movies 'In the Name Of The Father' and also the original 'Italian Job'
After the tour of the jail, I got a taxi out the front of the jail and went back to the hotel. The taxi cost 10,00 Euro but I didn't want to walk anywhere in the rain. It was about 4:00 PM when I returned and I tried to finish off some writing. I wrote abit then went down to the restaurant for dinner. I ordered a Guiness while I decided what to eat.
I ordered some Spicy Chicken wings and a Beef and Guiness Pie. The food was very good. After eating I had another Guiness and I went upstiars to start packing. I had to get the ferry at 8:20 AM which meant I would need to be awake by at least 6:00 AM in order to leave the hotel at 7:00 AM. by the time I went to sleep it was about 10:00 PM.
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