Guinness!

There are of course other reasons to visit Dublin. The cold drizzle for instance. Or the ugly squat buildings. The food is, to be fair, wonderful, but pricey. Dublin is certainly showing the signs of increased prosperity, which doesn't help my trip budget. We did manage to book a second night in the hostel we stayed in last night, though we're going to have to swallow the deposit on the hotel- but only the deposit since we said, very truly, that it was much farther than the website had led us to expect and they waved the 50% cancellation price. The place we're staying tonight is half a block away from the bus station that will take us to the West Coast.

The true delight of our day and a half here however, has been the Guinness Storehouse. We were unable to see the brewery, since they guard their secrets quite jealously, but the museum was interesting (I now know more about beer than I will ever find useful, but knowledge is always good) and it finished with a free pint at the top of the seventh floor, possibly the tallest point in Dublin, which a 360 degrees window. Incredible. The city was not breath-taking, but it was attractive seen from that height. The colors are nice, but it's hardly London.

We also took a short tour through the Christ Church Cathedrel, but honestly, this is possibly my sixth cathedrel and I'm sort of getting bored with old religious buildings. The most impressive thing about this one however, was the beautifully tiled floor. Anyway, tomorrow I'll be in the Aran Islands. Finally!