Booze

No blogging account of a visit to Dublin would be complete without some treatment of alcoholic beverages. Alcohol has a visible presence in most of the Western World, but in Dublin, it's right in your face. It's around every corner.


Not only are there pubs on every street, but there is alcohol industry as well. A major distillery is located in the middle of the city. Plus, of course, there is the constant, friendly presence of the Guinness Brewery.

Guinness owns a huge part of central Dublin.

Multiple buildings in multiple blocks.

Just when you think you've passed the Guinness brewery, suddenly there's more of it.

Some of what we saw was a little perplexing. There's a Guinness Medical Department?

A Guinness theatre?

Resistance was futile. After a long day of walking around Dublin, we had been assimilated.

Even after we left Dublin the Guinness presence stayed with us. Throughout Ireland we kept seeing little black vans labelled "Guinness Quality Team." These guys take their stout seriously.