Happy Birthday

This year, Michael and I were to have a very special birthday present – a visit from James and Amber.  We were so excited to have them visit Dublin and were eager to show them the sights.  They arrived on Friday evening and we celebrated with a rib roast.  There is nothing like a roast meal cooked by your mum, is there?  We spent the evening catching up on news and planning the weekend.  It was so good to see them again.

A reasonably early start to the day saw us take the scenic route into the city, pointing out the places of interest along the way.  First stop was the Guinness Storehouse – where else?  This was our third visit here and we still found it interesting.  James and Amber enjoyed touring the premises and James and Michael especially enjoyed the tasting.  We also had a very good lunch there at a recently opened restaurant.

Next was a trip on the Hop On, Hop Off bus.  It is a good way to see the city and the commentary is always interesting.  Our driver fancied himself as a comedian, so he regaled us with a few jokes along the way and even sang us a very sad song.  The bus came to a virtual standstill at one point, as there were two protests taking place in Dublin.  One protest was the Women’s March and the other seemed to consist of people protesting anything that they fancied – banks, water charges etc.  We hopped off the bus as we weren’t going to be moving for a while, and took the opportunity to show James and Amber the centre of Dublin, squeezing in an Irish coffee along the way to stave off the cold before heading down to Temple Bar for a pre dinner drink.

 

My birthday dinner was held at Darwins Restaurant, the theme of which is based on Charles Darwin’s “origin of the species”.  We all chose steak for our main course and were treated to a fine meal paired with excellent wine.  I think that we all ate too much however the meal was too good to leave on the plate.  We then waddled down to Temple Bar for a whiskey tasting at the Vat House Bar.  There was also a band playing Irish music.  Drinking whiskey and Irish music – it doesn’t get any more Irish than that.

The Irish weather didn’t let us down for a second day, so we took another scenic walk into the city, stopping along the way for a coffee. First stop was The Little Museum of Dublin, one of Michael’s favourite places to visit.  We decided against doing the guided tour as time was against us and instead wandered the various exhibits by ourselves.  I think James and Amber obtained a brief overview of Irish history.

Next, it was back onto the bus to head up to the Teeling Whiskey Distillery.  Teelings have been making whiskey since 1782, however this distillery has only been open since 2015.  Michael and I had visited the distillery before, however this was to be our first tasting there.  We sat up at the bar and young gentleman talked us through the tasting of 5 different whiskeys, imparting his knowledge and tasting tips along the way.  It was all very interesting and all of the whiskeys were very good.  We finished with a tasting of Poitin, a clear Irish spirit, famous for its alcohol strength.  It was actually very smooth, not at all like one that Michael and I had tried previously.  James and Amber purchased a bottle of single malt for Michael, which I am sure he will enjoy (and maybe share with me).

 

Michael’s birthday lunch was at FX Buckley where we all ordered the Sunday roast – beef rib roast.  We certainly had our meat quota over the weekend.  Once again the meal was paired with a good bottle of wine in pleasant surroundings.

We had time for one last coffee in Temple Bar before it was time to head home to pick up James and Amber’s suitcases so that they could catch the bus to the airport.  We took them to the bus stop where after a bit of a kerfuffle (they nearly ended up going to Belfast instead of the airport), we finally waved them off in a taxi instead.  It was a little sad saying goodbye however we know that we will see them again in March, when Michael and I will visit them in London.  Michael and I agree that this was our “Best.  Birthday.  Ever!”