Guinness Factory Tour in Dublin Ireland

Our 7-day road trip has come to an end.

We get caught in roadworks getting the car back in time to the Airport.

One great thing is we were able to collect from one airport and drop back to another with no drop-off fee.

We make it at 2 minutes past the hour – phew!!!

All is fine, and we get the shuttle to the terminal, and then go hop on a green double-decker for Dublin. Now fools do this but go to the bathroom first.

The bus took over an hour and I was not prepared for that.  It was full of American university students over for St. Patrick’s Day.

So we hop off the bus and dive into Burger King.  While we are there we thought it might be good to eat, but let me tell you, it is expensive.

We then head out to get the bus to the Guinness Tour (we had pre-booked this at the information center near Burger King).  But we wait in the wrong place!

While we wait we get to sit on a horse and cart.

We head through the streets of Dublin, and I love the color against the grey skies.  Tourists all wear silly hats and are having fun!

We arrive at Guinness and it is not well signposted as to how to get in from the bus.

So we wander into two places and find the entrance down the back of a lane off a lane.

Inside there are hundreds of people waiting.  We get to the front of the crowd as we pre-paid – Yeah!!

Inside is the lease signed by Mr. Guinness himself. It is in glass on the floor, and so we find today is the day Explorason wants to read everything. Good reading for world-schooling. It might not be a book or conventional reading, but it is still reading!

We receive our introduction and we head off.

First is a lesson on what goes into Guinness.  Explorason loves reading all these signs

There are pits to feel and touch some of the ingredients – yes – he goes for a dive in!

Next, we read about the hops. Wow, they come from Australia! He is impressed!

The ingredients room is fairly lengthy and we get to the water area, and it runs over a glass.

Next comes a room where the actors look like they are talking to us.

This room has so many to listen to and talks about the Guinness history, the history of the family, and all the good the Guinness family have done for Dublin – impressive!

Then there is the machinery room.

Lots to see and play within here as knobs to twist and turn – very interactive.

We get to the giant barrel and it is about now that we start to get overload and have about had enough.

We look out at the factory and decide maybe it is time to eat.

Yes Again. This boy is growing!

We then join a long line of Guinness trainees. Our tickets include a pint of Guinness (kids get a non-alcoholic drink), and so this “15-minute wait”  (so we are told) turns into 45 minutes.

I still have no voice, but I can pour a Guinness! (I am going to add a YouTube of this later.)

We then head to one of the bar rooms to hear an Irish traditional band.

(I am going to add a YouTube of this later.) My son was up and dancing!

There is also a skyline bar at the top so we head there next – it is packed!

There is a great view of Dublin from here.

Each viewpoint has a description of the glass.

It is now about 6 p.m. The afternoon has flown by.

We head out to get the bus and try to work our way back to our accommodation.  We have to connect with the Dart in town and it is quite a walk to the station, but we find it. We do get lost when we get off the Dart – and we are opposite the station – things look different in the dark.

It takes forever!  I am glad we have groceries (we shopped with the car before we dropped it off and dropped them back to where we were staying).

So by 8 p.m, we are back.  It is warm and cozy inside and we make a nice dinner.

I think we are going to enjoy Dublin!

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