My final post-Ireland-related item will leave you on a high note as on the 7th floor of the Gravity Bar of the Guinness Storehouse in Dublin.
Our tour package included a choice of several well known sites to visit while in Dublin. A couple of them (Book of Kells, the National Gaol and the Guinness Storehouse) required reservations. The Guinness one was the most demanding in that an on-line, advanced, timed entry reservation was required.
When Pam asked me pre-trip what I wanted to do, initially, I wasn’t too keen on the Guinness tour. I was adhering to the Buzzy-tour mantra of “if-you’ve-seen-one-you’ve-seen-em all.” Thus, when Pam asked about making some Guinness reservations, I begged off.
However, a couple days before leaving on the trip, I happened to talk with my friend Sandy Sweikar who told me how much she enjoyed the Guinness Tour when she last visited Dublin. She specifically mentioned how great the views of Dublin were from the top floor Guinness bar.
Based on Sandy’s recommendation then, I did my best Jack Lord and said “Book it, Pam-o.” (If you don’t get that reference, don’t worry because it just means that you aren’t an old fart like me.)
In Dublin then, our Guinness timed entry wasn’t until later in the day. However, we tagged along with Sharon and Brian who had a mid-morning entry time and we were able to enter with them. We made our way up the 6 floors of exhibits and all things Guinness.
Once we made it to the top floor, we ran into Lenore and Gina Carbone who also had had an early reservation for their tour:
As noted, the six floors leading up to the top floor of the Storehouse are part museum, light show, interactive studio etc. Conan has this funny video of his trek through the Storehouse up to the 7th floor Gravity Bar:
Music-wise, Bruce included this tribute to Shawn MacGowan of the Pogues in his shows in Ireland. He concluded his final show last Sunday in Dublin with it. Makes me wonder if Bruce wasn’t making a bigger statement as in “Been real, been fun, but been done. See ya Ireland.”