A foggy day in London town...: My Ireland Home: Day 2

At about 1am on Saturday morning the other three girls arrived from Leeds: Kira, Liz and Diyana, who all had classes on Friday so took the late flight.

At around 9am they were somewhat awake at the breakfast table and we started planning our day. We decided to head to the General Post Office (which is a hugely impressive building built in the early 1800s) then to Penney's (the Irish equivalent of Primark) and then off to the Kilmainham Gaol (Dublin's old jail built in 1796) followed by a tour of the Guinness Storehouse.

The three late-comers still needed to get ready so Martina, Maria and I headed off by ourselves again to see the Post Office before meeting up with the others on our way to the jail. The building is quite spectacular and is in the centre of town. Inside is still the same since it was built, picture the bank from Mary Poppins.

Outside the Post Office is the Dublin Spire, a giant needle like tower pointing 121.2m into the air. It is located on the same spot which once housed a statue of Admiral Nelson, who was a British naval hero, similar to the one of Admiral Nelson which stands in the middle of Trafalgar Square in London. The statue was bombed by the IRA, although it was barely damaged, as a sign of the Irish not wanting to have any association with England or English history. So instead they commissioned a new monument, The Spire, which was designed by an English architect, at an English firm in London and used English steel for its construction. The intellect of the Irish is something to be seen!

Eventually all of us met up at the markets being held in Temple Bar. Temple Bar is basically a small suburb whose name is self explanatory. Whilst there is no shortage of pubs and bars across Dublin, Temple Bar is an area of about 20 blocks which are packed full of Irish pubs, bars and clubs and is the home to much of Dublin's nightlife.

After stopping at the markets we headed to the Kilmainham Gaol where we toured the facility that has held most of Ireland's most famous revolutionaries and political figures throughout its history. It is a large place with plenty of very cold stone hallways. Numerous films have been shot there including the original Italian Job and one of U2's video clips.

The Guinness Storehouse was the final major destination for the day and, thankfully, was just around the corner from the jail. The tour took us through what used to be one of the factories, explaining the different processes as we went along. The tour ends in the "Gravity Bar" which is the highest point in Dublin with 360⁰ views of the city, out to sea and the mountains. This is where you sit and relax with your complimentary glass of Guinness. Needless to say I enjoyed my Coca-Cola. To put it all into context, you are offered almost 3 FREE pints of Guinness whilst on the tour. Although it is probably all included in the ticket price, so in theory I was wasting my money!

Nanna and Poppa Scott should be proud!

We came across Ireland's oldest inn for dinner, a place called the Brazen Head Inn established in 1198. You would think that after 812 years of trading they would have their customer service perfected...guess again! The only Irish person working was the old man behind the bar, who was probably the original owner. Everyone else was Eastern European and not the friendliest of people. The food was pretty average as well. I walked by the kitchen and noticed our "Fresh basket of home-made Irish Brown Soda Bread" sitting in the plastic packet which it arrived in from the factory which mass produces them. For those travelling to Dublin in the future avoid this pub!

In order to lighten our mood after such a dismal dining experience we hit up a few pubs and clubs in the Temple Bar district and danced the night away. I faintly recall climbing into bed when most normal people would be starting their day...