Dublin, The Home of GUINNESS

Allow me to apologize for not noting yesterday that Dublin was the home of one very important product, Guinness.

My sincerest apologies, Dublin.

Anyway, last night, I had dinner in an authentic Irish pub called Quay's. I had a pint of Bulmer's Cider, which is very sweet but good, and fish and chips, apparently Ireland's finest. We spent the remainder of our evening at the Temple Bar, located in the Temple Bar District (FYI- Temple Bar District is to Dublin as Bourbon and the French Quarter is to NOLA). Keith, a local, told me that Temple Bar is as close to as an authentic Irish Pub you could get in the Dublin city center. There was Irish music, and I had a pint of Kilkenny Draught, and, it is TRUE what they say, Irish guys DO know American girls when they see them and they WILL hit on them, but hey, at least I got a free drink out of it.

All in all, good night.

Today was our first day of class. Class was held in the courtyard of this huge church across the street from our hostel (which I am getting use to, but still sucks because it had no water for about 12 hours yesterday. Yeah, I know). We basically just discussed what we would be learning about while we were over here, and what we would be doing. In my Media in the British Isles class, we have been given a scavenger hunt to complete. Our instructor has given us some really bad poetry to decipher, these clues will lead us to places, and we need to tell how these places are important to media. In my Public Relations Case Studies Class, we are to interview five Europeans in each country about America and Americans to look for reoccurring themes, and to find possible solutions to America's identity problems.

After class we went and toured the Guinness Factory. Apparently, it's the number one attraction in Ireland. It was quite interesting to see how it was made. The self-guided tour started with the ingredients and ended with a pint of the good stuff in the "Gravity Bar" offering 360 degree views of Dublin. You could see all the way out into the rolling hills of the countryside, which is finally the Ireland I was looking for all along!