I start this update with a statement that most of you never would have expected. No, I did not find an Irish girl and run away with her, will you please focus. I now have a certificate which states that I am a qualified Irish whiskey taster. My first stop today was the old Jameson Distillery. While there is no actual distilling that still takes place there, it was really interesting to walk through the old buildings and see how the process used to work. The tour included a massive waterwheel that was used to run the machinery as well as the world's largest pot still.
We ended the tour with a taste test between Irish, Scottish and American Whiskey. None of them seemed very appealing to me. In fact, none of the drinks that I have tried so far have made me think, "Wow. I want to keep drinking this." I am having a hard time enjoying all of the subtleties that are supposed to be in these beverages, because all I really taste is the ethanol. I imagine that this is due to my inexperience with alcohol. So far, I have ended up just suffering through whatever I order. I can't justify throwing it out. We'll see how it goes.
I took a few other tours today. One was at a stone-walled fort from the 17th century. It never ceases to amaze me how inventive people have been, for quite a long time. I really liked the size and the scope of the site and ingenuity that went into it. Pay special attention to the stack of fireplaces. I toured a wine museum in an old prison that was built in an old castle. I guess today was alcohol day. I ended the evening with a ghost tour. If I ever move here, this is going to be my summer job. The two guys who ran the tour have got an amazing thing going. They were actors, so the tour was basically a show that moved around town. One guy served as our guide, and the other would appear, seemingly out of nowhere, everywhere that we went. He would pop out of trash cans, hop over walls and leap out form around corners in several different masks and costumes. It was a really enjoyable tour. The amazing part is that these guys made at least $1000 each for 1.5 hours worth of entertaining, and they didn't have to pay any overhead. It's brilliant!
I have really enjoyed most of the tours that I have been on. I have opted to go with guided version of each of the tours that have had that option, and I have been really pleased. These tours have shown me two very important things
Important thing #1: I am so glad that I did not take this trip with some random group of people. The only negative aspect on any of the tours that I have gone on has been the other people. My tour at the distillery was hijacked by a group of Dutch tourists. The poor tour guide, who was told she would be leading an English speaking tour, was bullied into letting the leader of the Dutch group translate everything that she said. We ended up taking twice as long as our tour should have, and we held up the tours behind us. On the ghost tour, which was intended as just a fun experience, all of the kids on the tour were allowed to just run around wherever they pleased. Now, I have no problem with kids. I really like most kids. I do have a problem with people who let their kids run around, while we are out on busy streets, especially when their kids obviously have no concept of personal space. I am just saying. If I had gotten stuck with any of these people, and by that I do not mean the Dutch people in general, I would have been miserable for the entire trip. Or I would have gone crazy and beaten up a child or an old person.
Important thing #2: I think I want to marry a tour guide. Not a specific tour guide, please refer back to the first few sentences of this post. I have been really impressed by the depth of knowledge and passion about history that I have seen on my tours. I like that.
I am sorry if this post is too long, but I think I will be away from Internet access for a few days,and I didn't want anyone to die from withdrawals. Ooo, too soon?
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