Sunday, Aug. 26: Guinness and Trinity College

Sorry this post is late.  We've been pretty busy as you might imagine. In fact, if it weren't for the fact that the pictures we take are downloaded into a Dated folder, I don't think I would remember where we've been on what day! LOL

Sunday we went to the Guinness factory for a tour and tasting and then off to Trinity College.  At Guinness you start off with an introduction in a large atrium - almost impossible to hear anything with all the noise around. Then off to a self-guided tour of how Guinness makes their beer. Interesting enough if you want to see the details of how beer is made.  After the tour, they give you a small glass of beer to taste. Even though Cindy and I don't drink beer much at all, it was very good. Then off to some more exhibits before we found our way up to the Gravity Bar, high on top of the company building. There you get a full pint of Guinness and a wonderful view of Dublin. Plus, it was a sunny day!  Sorry to disappoint our beer-drinking friends, but we ended up leaving about a half glass (each!) of Guinness behind. Such a waste, I know.

The beer is first poured in to this level and the bubbles are allowed to rise to create a head.

Then they top the beer off and add the shamrock logo. Mine happened to have a nice bubble right in the middle.

We met a couple, on their honeymoon, from Washington, D.C. but that had friends from the Rochester area. They took our picture.

The Wicklow Hills from the Gravity Bar.

Then off to Trinity College and a nice tour offered by one of the students there. 700 rooms available on campus for a student body of over 16,000! Very competitive to get a room! 

Four Oregon Maples were brought over after a trip to the USA back in the 1800's and planted in the main courtyard. One was hit by lightning and had to be removed. To maintain symmetry, they took down the tree next to it. So, now they have just the 2 trees. The only Oregon Maples in Europe!

The story of this picture is that the building on the left (and its twin across the courtyard) was added later and the architect decided he didn't need to be on campus to oversee the construction project.  So, the buildings were constructed as noted in the plans without regard for what was already there. Seems the alignment wasn't quite right as the eave ended up at the same level as the windows of the previous building.