THE REPUBLIC OF IRELAND
Whiskey, Leprechauns, and Eyes that Glow Blue through the Long Night
Every good adventure starts with an insatiable obsession, or that is what I choose to believe. My incurable scratch over the past 10 years has been Game of Thrones on HBO. I was only one season late to the world of George R.R. Martin, but after seeing the White Walkers in the series premiere, I was addicted. So, in March of 2019, the perfect cocktail was formulated when my wanderlust combined with the series finale of Game of Thrones. And voila! What else could be a more fitting launch for my YouTube travel vlog than, Northern Ireland, one of the multiple filming locations for Game of Thrones? And since I am an efficient traveler and believe in trip maximization, I added The Republic of Ireland to the expedition with only a train ride.
Welcome to "Travel with Tani" and let's start exploring both sides of the Emerald Isle, one dire wolf and one shot of whiskey at a time.
Day One: Dublin, The Republic of Ireland
I'll be Straight Up...I Can Handle My Jameson Whiskey Neat
I prefer flights that arrive in the early morning because that leaves the entire day to explore. We needed to use our time wisely because we traveled during spring break and we only had a week. We arrived in Dublin, the capital of the Republic of Ireland, on a Monday morning. We cleared customs and immigration and then headed straight to our hotel. We stayed at the Jurys Inn Dublin Christchurch. The Jurys Inn Christchurch was perfectly situated for all of our sightseeing. The location allowed us to walk everywhere able by foot. After we ate breakfast, we left our bags at the front desk and then we were ready to explore on day one. https://www.jurysinns.com/hotels/dublin/christchurch/?utm_source=google&utm_medium=local
Our first stop in Dublin was St. Patrick’s Cathedral. We did not purchase our tickets in advance and we were able to walk in with relatively no queue. We spent about an hour at the museum. It was an amazing start to our trip since it coincided with St. Patrick’s Day. A tour of St. Patrick’s Cathedral is about €6 to €8 Euros or $7 to $8 U.S. dollars.
Our second stop was the Christchurch Cathedral in Dublin. As we explored the outside of the cathedral, I was absolutely fascinated by a World War I monument documenting the Armenian genocide. The monument is a traditional Armenian Khachkar which is carved from Volcanic Stone. This is the 167th memorial in 52 countries commemorating the Armenian genocide from WWI. Admission to the Christchurch Cathedral is €7.00 for adults, €5.50 for students and seniors (60+), and €2.50 for children under 12 years old. These are the prices for the self-guided tours and include admission to the crypt and the ‘Treasures of Christ Church’ exhibition.
https://christchurchcathedral.ie/
https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-i/armenian-genocide
We saved the warmest stop for last which was the Jameson Distillery on Bow Street. The Jameson Distillery is the oldest whiskey distillery in Dublin and was established in 1780. For this tour, we did reserve our tickets the same day online and picked the time slot that worked the best around our other activities.
There are an array of whiskey tours available at The Bow Street Distillery. You can go with the more direct approach and choose The Bow St. Experience Tour which is a guided distillery tour with a complimentary drink (Adults/€22, Students/Seniors€18). If you want to shake things up and you enjoy mixed drinks, there is the Whiskey Cocktail Making Class for €50. If you want a piece of Dublin to carry home with you, the Whiskey Blending Masterclass for €60 is an excellent choice. You will blend your own bottle of whiskey and carry it home as a custom souvenir. We chose the SECRET WHISKEY TASTING tour for €30. We had 4 premium blends to taste. Two of the blends were exclusive to the Distillery in John Jameson’s office. The tour lasted for 40 minutes and you are allowed to carry your extra whiskey into the bar area after the tour. https://www.jamesonwhiskey.com/en-IE/visit-us/jameson-distillery-bow-st
The Jameson Distillery Tour was the perfect ending to our first day. We were filled with a warm and toasty sensation while we headed back into the cool and breezy Emerald Isle evening.
Thank you for visiting my blog. Please visit the attached YouTube video for the visual experience for this magical country. I hope you enjoyed the video and you will return for the other three installments of my Emerald Isle expedition. If you liked the YouTube video, please hit the thumbs up button on the video. If you LOVED the video, please subscribe, hit the notification bell and share this video.
Happy travels… Tani 😊
