Gail was tired, so she slept in today while I ate and read. But we were soon out and about, heading through the medieval area of Dublin over to the famous Guinness Storehouse. Now, I am no fan of Guinness beer, but we are in Dublin, everybody, absolutely everybody says to go see this (even non beer drinkers) and I have been told million and three times now that, "...Guinness tastes different in Dublin." OK, so we will go check it out. So I got the tickets online this morning to save 10% and also to cut the ticket line.
So, as noted yesterday, we have seen what we want to see of the historic sights, most of the tourist things (except the Guinness place) so today we are just wandering around to see what we can discover. Last night we wandered into the huge outdoor pub scene along the Grand Canal, past Portobello College by the Barge Bar. Find that information in a guide book. Well, here is another great find:
The Ferocious Mingle Marcade, at 72 Thomas Street, a couple blocks past Christ Church heading to Guinness. It's a narrow opening between businesses, easy to miss. We found it because the guy was hanging up the Turkish monkey in the burgundy fez.
Don't ask.
Anyway, we wandered into a long, narrow, dark series of vintage clothes stores, artists selling very unique pieces, jewelry, incense and antiques. There is a vegetarian food bar, a coffee bar, bakery and Sicilian deli. The store owners are a mix of tall, dreadlocked natural hemp wearing guys, and retro chic young women, led by a guy in vest and bowler hat. A cross-dresser in crooked blonde wig sits under the disco ball at the coffee bar. The best part is halfway back, a makeshift theatre of red theatre seating, red velvet chairs, and some tables by a booth. The theatre is currently showing Laurel and Hardy. There is a very eclectic, out there sort of music playlist going off an iMac, the entire space is hung with colored pennants and lit by an assortment of white christmas lights, artistically remade antique lamps and the random artistic light creation. So we got a cappuchinno and mocha, pulled up to one if the tables and watched a half hour of movies. Normally I am not a fan of the old B&W flicks, but somehow this all fit so perfectly, and we both sat and laughed, just enjoying the moment. A Bohemian moment of sorts.
Directions: You can find it at bus stop 1938, across from John's Lane Church. The church is very pretty as well, tall and narrow with a beautifully lit interior. As we exit, I notice what a nice block this is; the sidewalk market with fresh fruit, the art and graffiti, the different mix of stores.
We continue on to Guinness, and it turns out everybody was right: it is good out of the tap here. They have to pour it in two pulls, it comes out very foamy and light brown, and you watch it sift down almost in layers, brown to chocolate to black. They pour it with a perfect head, and at first taste it is creamy and rich and smooth. It's cold and really filling. We stopped at their cafe and Gail got chicken soup, I had beef stew. Good enough, but not great enough to turn me into a Guinness drinker.
We walked out and along the river, just enjoying the day. After a few hours we popped into O'Neill's Pub for a break; a little music, a little reading, a little drink, then continued on. So a lazy day passed, wandering in and out of streets, enjoying the quirky art, then along the river. We stopped to eat at Pasta Fresca. Gail wasn't hungry so she had bruschetta, and I got the ravioli stuffed with sausage and mushroom. Awful. Bummer. Dublin is two for three on the food.