Tuesday, August 16, 2005
Day 82: Dublin to Kilkenny
August 16: Had an interview this morning for a role working at the Australian Open tennis next year, so was up early for that. Otherwise, this morning was actually meant to be a sleep-in! Doesn't matter...
Feeling a little tired and sick, but soldiering on.
First this morning, we visited Kilmainham Gaol in Dublin. Did a tour of the site, learnt about the 1916 uprising, the many prisoners housed there, and also the famous executions...
Then headed to the Guinness Storehouse to learn about Ireland's most famous beer/stout. Did a tour of the exhibition centre including learning about how Guinness is made, Arthur Guinness and the history of the brewery, as well as getting to see an art exhibition on John Gilroy who designed many of the advertisements, and memorabilia associated with various campaigns over the years. Remember the ostrich, sea lion, turtle, kangaroo, toucan...?
Did you know... that the Guinness Book of Records was started by Guinness brewery owners/workers? Interesting fact I think.
From the top of the Guinness factory, seven storeys up, you get a great panoramic view of Dublin city. You also get served a pint of beer. I didn't want one, so I had a small taste of someone else's, but still got the photos!
Later on, we drove to Kilkenny. Did some introductions on the bus to meet our new tour mates too. We picked up 19 more in Dublin last night, so there's 34 of us, 15 who also did the UK. There's a huge contingent from Canada, USA and Aussies of course. There's also a person from Italy, New Zealand, Austria, Netherlands and Barbados. Very diverse.
In Kilkenny, we did a short walking tour around town, taking in the castle (breifly), as well as historic buildings and the main cathedral.
The evening was a free night to explore town and relax. I met up with a friend, Con, that lives near to here, that did the New Zealand Contiki tour with me a few months ago. Went to a really yummy restaurant, before heading to Langton's pub to meet the rest of the group.
Wasn't feeling too well, so didn't have a late night.
Feeling a little tired and sick, but soldiering on.
First this morning, we visited Kilmainham Gaol in Dublin. Did a tour of the site, learnt about the 1916 uprising, the many prisoners housed there, and also the famous executions...
Then headed to the Guinness Storehouse to learn about Ireland's most famous beer/stout. Did a tour of the exhibition centre including learning about how Guinness is made, Arthur Guinness and the history of the brewery, as well as getting to see an art exhibition on John Gilroy who designed many of the advertisements, and memorabilia associated with various campaigns over the years. Remember the ostrich, sea lion, turtle, kangaroo, toucan...?
Did you know... that the Guinness Book of Records was started by Guinness brewery owners/workers? Interesting fact I think.
From the top of the Guinness factory, seven storeys up, you get a great panoramic view of Dublin city. You also get served a pint of beer. I didn't want one, so I had a small taste of someone else's, but still got the photos!
Later on, we drove to Kilkenny. Did some introductions on the bus to meet our new tour mates too. We picked up 19 more in Dublin last night, so there's 34 of us, 15 who also did the UK. There's a huge contingent from Canada, USA and Aussies of course. There's also a person from Italy, New Zealand, Austria, Netherlands and Barbados. Very diverse.
In Kilkenny, we did a short walking tour around town, taking in the castle (breifly), as well as historic buildings and the main cathedral.
The evening was a free night to explore town and relax. I met up with a friend, Con, that lives near to here, that did the New Zealand Contiki tour with me a few months ago. Went to a really yummy restaurant, before heading to Langton's pub to meet the rest of the group.
Wasn't feeling too well, so didn't have a late night.
# posted by mishij @ 11:39 AM 
