Day Two in Dublin can be summed up as consuming more and being tourists!

We started with complimentary full Irish breakfast at our hotel.  Full Irish breakfast consists of sausages, bacon, eggs, beans, grilled tomatoes, toast and black, white pudding, coffee, tea and juices.  Our hotel also included cooked ham slices, cheese slices, yogurt, fruits and pastries.  When we first heard there was pudding, we were expecting pudding; however this kind of pudding came in small round discs and is made of blood, sausage, oatmeal and bread or potato fillers.  The white pudding is just minus the blood.  Full Irish breakfasts are available everywhere and we are told no visit to Ireland is complete without having it.   Everything was great and we were stuffed.

Our first stop was a turn of the Guinness Storehouse at St. James Gate.  Greg is a big fan of Guinness beer and this was one attraction we didn't want to miss.   Its the #1 tourist attraction in Ireland with over 1.7 million visitors each of the last years.  Guinness is the iconic signature beer of Ireland - the site we toured at St. James Gate crafts 3 million pints every day for the Irish, UK and US markets.  The brewery occupies 50 acres of land on Dublin's south side.  The extensive and informative tour was very interesting - we saw the 9,000 year lease Arthur Guinness signed in 1759 when the brewery was started (for 45 GBP a year), learned the history of Guinness, all the facets to making the beers, how the barrels were hand made, how Guinness was shipped, got a tour of their marketing campaigns over the years and how to pour a perfect pint.  Then we poured our own perfect pint.   We enjoyed our pint in the "Gravity Room" on the top floor which was surrounded by glass and gave a panoramic view of Dublin.  All in all, we spent over 3 hours there.  It was all well worth the 21 Euro (about $31 CDN) admission.

Next on the agenda was a tour of the Jameson Distillery on Bow Street - just a short walk from the Guinness Storehouse.  We learned about the history and production of one of Ireland's most popular Irish whiskeys.   One of the most interesting parts was the tasting - Jameson's is triple distilled - we tasted it along with double distilled Johnnie Walker Black Label (Scotch Whiskey) and Jack Daniels, which is single distilled.

So now we were full of Irish Breakfast, Guinness (heavy stout beer) and Jameson's Irish Whiskey!

It was getting late in the afternoon, but as its our last full day in Dublin, we still wanted to get to Trinity College (University of Dublin), location of the famous "Long Room" Library and the Book of Kells.

The Book of Kells is a lavishly decorated copy, in latin, of the four gospels of the life of Christ.  It was completed in 800 AD and is the world's oldest and most famous book.  The displays leading up to a view of the book itself gave us insight on how the book was created, its inks and the vellum it was printed on.  There were also large reprints of some of the drawings and pages of the book on display.

Also at Trinity College is their famous library, more specifically its main chamber called the "Long Room", an amazing place! It was built in the 1700's but by 1850s it was full.  Another level and a rounded ceiling was added.   It now holds 200,000 of the library's oldest books and is one of the world's most impressive libraries.  There are 14 marble busts along the bookcases of some of the world's great philosophers and writers.  Some of notables inside the library are a leaf from the Gutenberg Bible (printed in 1455 - the first book to be printed with movable type), 1916 Proclamation of Republic of Ireland and a 15th century harp, the model for the emblem of Ireland.  After walking the grounds a bit, it was time for all the displays too close.

All the attractions we went to today were within easy walking distance of our hotel, which was great!  After leaving Trinity College we took a walk over to Grafton Street, about two blocks away, where there is an extensive pedestrian mall.  Lots of shops, buskers, more restaurants, pubs and music.  We have seen lots of North American fast food chains in Dublin - McDonald's, Burger King, KFC, Papa John's and Subway since we have been here.

We decided on "Oneill's" for supper.  Not sure how, but apparently Greg was starving!  Greg ordered a "Galway Hooker", which raised an eyebrow until it was explained as a Pale Ale! For food, Greg had the corned beef and cabbage and Eve had Cannelloni stuffed with Irish Goat Cheese and Spinach.  Both were delicious and as we were now outside the Temple Bar district, the prices were a little more reasonable.

We continue the evening with some Italian gelato from "Cloud Nine".  Interestingly enough they offered some flavours with alcohol - Irish Whiskey, Bailey's, Rum & raisin and Irish Coffee.

We went for a walk on the boardwalk along the River Liffey, then made our way back to the hotel for one last drink, and cheese plate, at the hotel pub, before calling it a day....a very full day!