My Visit to Mecca

That’s right folks, I went to Mecca this past weekend. Not some old temple in the desert, no I went to Ireland, specifically, to the Guiness brewery.

Ireland seems to really be in vogue lately. It seems that all over the world (the states specifically) there are Irish bars popping up, Irish music, big St Patty’s day parties….the list goes on. It’s cool to be Irish. I even heard that Hair of the Dog (the Albany area Irish band) is going to Ireland to tour.

Although I have a very Irish name (Kevin Patrick Corrigan), I’m truly only a portion Irish, less than 50% I think. I’m actually more German than Irish. But between my name, my skin color and my hair, I can blend in with the best of those whiskey drinkin, rugby playin, pasty skinned Irish.

So I journeyed to Dublin last weekend to meet up with my cousin Krissy and spend a few days touring the little island next to that other little island. High on my list was touring the Guiness brewery. I was never much of a Guiness fan in the past, but over the last 6 months or so, it’s really grown on me. Depending on who I ask, my tastes are either evolving (according to most Americans) or devolving (according to most Germans). But I don’t care, I really like the stuff. The more I drink it, the more I like it. The more I like it, the more I drink it. It’s a viscous cycle.
Krissy, AKA K-dog, spent 2 semesters in Dublin and her knowledge of the city was to come in very useful. Starting out, we didn't really have much of a plan for the weekend. The only constraints were my arrival on Thursday (Krissy arrived the previous Friday) and our departures on Sunday. Based on Krissy's advice we decided to hang out in Dublin all day Thursday and Thursday night, take the train to Galway Friday morning and stay in Galway Friday night, then train on back Saturday afternoon for one last night in Dublin. Whats that saying..the best laid plans of mice and men....I can't remember the rest...too much Guiness.

So on Thursday we headed to the American University residence hall where Krissy swung getting us a couple of cheap rooms. It was a great price, so it's hard now to complain about its shortcomings. So i wont. After dropping our things off at the “hotel”, there was really only one thing to do. Goto a pub. So we did.

We headed to the temple bar area which is pub central in Dublin. An hour later with our stomachs full of Guiness and roast beef we did the second logical thing to do in Dublin...visit the Guiness Brewery at St James. The tour was a bit lacking, they explained the process of brewing Guiness but never actually showed that lovely black liquid itself. Regardless of that, the displays, the buildings, the old equipment...it was all still very interesting. Among the mostly useless facts i learned, i can now confirm that Guiness in Ireland is indeed different than Guiness in the rest of the world for the simple reason that shipping globally requires pastorization added to the process. My computer totally bugged out on the spell check for that word....

Another interesting fact is that the Brewery is the biggest in the world and is under a 9000 yr lease. I'd love to see the terms of that 100+ yr old lease. Thanks to the foresight of our Irish brethren, we can rest assured that Guiness will be around for a long, long time. Naturally, at the end of the tour every patron gets a free pint at the sky bar on top of the building. From the sky bar i could see the beautiful fog that seems to blanket Dublin year round.

Here are a few more facts for the kids to learn. I didn't learn these at the brewery, but rather in talking with local bar patrons.

1. Guiness is healthy.
That’s right, 9/10 doctors recommend a Guiness with at least 2 meals per day. If consumed in place of your normal breakfast, Guiness provides 500% of your daily recommended allowance for Vitamins A, B, C, D, E….the whole alphabet actually. If consumed during lunch, Guiness will give you that extra energy boost you need to get through the rest of the day and perform all tasks at your peak. Even if operating heavy equipment. If consumed with dinner, it will take the edge off of even the most annoying of wives or children.

2. Guiness makes you super strong
Much like popeye and spinach, Guiness can make you super strong, super fast and super smart. Your increase in in strength speed and intelligence is actually not linearly related to the amt. of Guiness you drink, it is exponentially related.

3. Guiness can be used as coolant in an engine
Can it really get any better? Not only is Guiness good for your body and your brain, but if your radiator craps out, you could use Guiness as a replacement coolant. Some might argue that this is a waste, however consider that Guiness mixed with that sweet Ethylene Glycol is a high class drink in some countries. I’m just saying, if viewed properly...the glass could be half full.

4. Guiness will appreciate over time
Global investment icons from Warren Buffet to John Dorfman have all endorsed a diversified portfolio including stocks, bonds, real estate and kegs of Guiness as a safe way to meet or beat the market year in and year out.

Oddly enough, everyone who brought these up were consuming vast quantities of Guiness at the time. Coincidence? You be the judge.

After the tour we did the third logical thing to do in Dublin, got some dinner, another pint, and saw some Irish dancers at the Arlington Hotel pub. My only exposure to Irish dancing, previous to this, was seeing clips of the lord of the dance people. I can tell you that it's much cooler to see it in person. Those crazy feet move at lightning speed while they're jumping around...i was amazed that the little stage didn't collapse.

After dinner, drinking and watching some dancing we did the fourth logical thing to do in Dublin. Went to another bar. I thought about switching it up and ordering a black and tan...but i wasn't sure if that would be a political issue here.

It's a bit hazy from there....so fast forward to Friday Morning.
The train from Galway was a nice 3hr break from drinking. In Galway, the first order of business was to find a cheap hotel to crash in that night. Much to our delight we find a really nice hotel for a great price about a half of a kilometer from the train station. Also, by complete coincidence....i swear....there was a Rally going on in Galway that weekend! So of course...i had to pencil in a little time to check out the cars the next morning.

Find a Hotel...check. So the next logical thing? Anyone..anyone...you guessed it, get a pint. So off to Shop street to find a pub. At this point, the trip progressed with allot more of the same...drinking, eating, drinking, walking, drinking, bathroom, stumble, drink, bathroom, eating, sleeping, “spirit away” a few pint glasses...etc.

However, the big highlight worth mentioning was seeing the Cliffs of Moher on Saturday. A few pics are below. They are quite a sight to see, and pics don't do them justice. Between the size, wind, sound of the sea...it's a great sight to visit. I highly recommend it. On the bus tour to the Cliffs of Moher, the driver made the comment that the weather was great and should hold up for the rest of the day. I looked outside and i guess great in Ireland means high clouds and no sun. Bad must mean foggy and rainy.

Krissy, if you read this, thanks for playing tour guide! I had a great time hanging around with my cousin form America and meeting your friends, drinking some beers etc. Head on over to my little flat and I'll show your around here some time. Also, i added Howstuffworks.com to my links on the left for you. Check it out.

On a side note, It's amazing how many Americans i ran into. Whether sitting in a bar, riding a tour bus or buying a sandwich, it seems like we're everywhere. They must all be the Americans that promised to leave when Gore lost the election.