Ireland: Day 2

We spent most of our second day in Ireland at the Guinness factory. They have a wonderful self-guided tour that explains the history of the brewery, the science of making beer, and the cultural impact Guinness has had on Ireland and the world at large.

Aurthur Guinness signed a 9,000 year lease (photographed below) for the St. James Gate Brewery in 1759. The rent: £50. Not bad for such an enormous complex.

The architecture itself was pretty spectacular.

There were lots of cool old bottles from around the world. Some were even ceramic, rather than glass.

They say the best pint of Guinness you'll ever have is at the Guinness factory. I don't know if that's true, but mine was quite good. Chuk learned how to pour his own, but I left the process up to the experts.

Clearly, I was enjoying it.

I'm thinking about getting this photo enlarged and made into a sign for my apartment. Someone occasionally needs gentle reminding.

After Guinness, we picked up our tiny little car which was super cute and very functional. I couldn't believe how much room there was inside.

We drove to the Hill of Tara, making it there just before sunset. Don't let the pictures of warm light fool you; it was absolutely freezing and the wind was howling.

The Hill of Tara is actually composed of many man-made hills and trenches that are in the neighborhood of 5,000 years old. The Hill of Tara was Ireland's political and spiritual capital until the 12th century. Though the whole island was made up of many competing kingdoms, the high king, who everyone else answered to, was crowned at Tara and possibly resided there.

This is a view from the top of the hill called the Royal Seat, which is where the crowning was actually done.

It eventually became so cold and so dark that we had to leave. We found refuge at a lovely B&B called Highfield house, a former hospital across the street from Trim Castle.