The Trifecta 

The Book of Kells, Guinness and Jameson all in one day. Only three things but my day was packed and busy.

The Book of Kells exhibit is a very well known exhibit at trinity college. I actually did a project and presentation about it in one of my classes. From the research I did, I became interested in the exhibit and had an urge to go see it one day. I had no idea that day would be so soon. The exhibit was smaller than most but still really good and interesting. There were pages from the books that were blown up to a larger size and were illuminated by light to make the colors and designs stand out. A part of the exhibit was the Old Library. This library has a barrel vaulted ceiling and is lined with busts of influential people. The library also holds a harp that is very old but well preserved.

My next stop was the Guinness Storehouse. This tour led me through and I learned about everything that goes into making their beer. From the grains to the water they use, there are very specific ingredients and quality they use and need.

They had a section that taught you how to taste the beer and another that taught you how to pour it. We all got to pour our own pint of Guinness which was pretty cool. Throughout the entire tour with the different sections of the tour you slowly learned about the history behind the company as well as the beer.

A two hour tour and one hour in the gift shop and I finally made it out. I actually had to leave after the tour and come back since I had the Jameson tour right after. Gift shops are dangerous lets just say that.

The Jameson tour was very similar to the Guinness. We had a guide this time instead of it being a self tour. It was more calm and personalized than the Guinness. We learned about the entire process from where the grains come from to the aging process. We tested three different types of whiskey Jack Daniels, a Scottish whiskey and then of course Jameson. They were all different and it was interesting to taste the different flavors in each.

There were a ton of Californians on this tour mostly from San Francisco, the tour guide was even from California. Californians must love their whiskey.

Too much money was spent but my excuse is “but when will I be back?” which is a completely valid point. It was a busy and full day which is what I am here for.