Day 1

We landed right on time in Dublin at 8:18 am. The line through immigration was fairly long but moved quickly. After a quick stop at the ATM for euros, we grabbed a taxi to the Grand Canal Hotel. The cab driver was quite chatty and gave us a rundown on the tech real estate bust going on downtown in Dublin. We were able to check into one of our rooms to rest a little and wait for Christian and Sharon’s arrival in a few hours. I am looking forward to exploring Dublin a little and having a Guinnness!

5:10 pm - We spent the afternoon walking around the canal district here in Dublin. Everyone is tired from travel but Christian and I decided to soldier on and have some beers in the pub in our hotel. Tavis joined us as well (strictly milk for him). Everyone else is up in their room napping. Tavis earned his travel name “Guernsey” for his conspicuous milk consumption - so dubbed by Christian.

Beer of the day - Foam and Fury DIPA from Galway Bay Brewery. Super well balanced for an 8.5% ABV beer. Amazing aroma of citrus with a clean finish.

After several beers and a visit to the first ever Pringles vending machine I had ever seen, we gathered the crew for dinner - minus Owen as he declined to wake-up to eat. When I told Ken Hall we were going to Dublin, he suggested we make a trip to The Brazen Head Pub - the oldest pub in Ireland. I looked up the menu and noticed mussels in wine and cream sauce. This was absolutely the pick for me and it was decided to make the Brazen Head our dinner spot. The food was delicious, especially the bacon and cabbage dish that Cindi got. After dinner I finally hit the wall and went to bed. Cindi, Christian and Sharon all went for a night cap at the pub. Good first day.