Monday, June 6, 2011

St. James Gate, Guiness!!!!!!!!!!



As part of our quick trip to Dublin this March for my Irish cousin Katie's wedding, we of course had to make a stop at the Guiness Factory, St. James Gate Brewery. It's the only touristy thing we did on our 72 hours in Ireland, but it was the obvious choice. Guiness may be my favorite large-batch beer, and it was one of the first real beers I ever tasted--my cousin Steve shipped a 4 pack to me for my 21st Birthday. See this article for an explanation of why I hadn't tried a Guiness before I was 21.

You don't actually get to tour the factory, instead it's a museum in the shape of a pint glass. The museum circles up something like 9 floors, culminating in a rooftop bar that looks out over the factory. My mother likened it to Disney World for adults, and I would have to agree. My favorite part was the memorabilia museum, which traced the iconic advertising and marketing of the brand over the years. That, and the pouring instruction. Somewhere up near the top we stopped in and received instruction in pouring the perfect Guiness, which we of course had to master before we were allowed to consume the glass we poured. I left with my very own Guiness pourers certificate. Think I can add that to my list of certifications on my vita?

More to come soon from Ireland, including the majestic wedding of my cousin Katie and her husband, Ben.





The 9,000 year lease....yeah, you'd love to get locked into those terms.







Somehow I bet the real yeast gets locked into a safe more secure than this one.


The water comes from the Warwick Mountains, not the polluted River Liffey as is commonly assumed.





















My cousin Lacy, husband Drew, and my Dad before we learn the art of the perfect pint.



Nice pour Dad!



I just had shoulder surgery from a ski accident, so I was glad to see that my splint allowed me to still pour a pint.






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Friday, June 3, 2011

Homecoming

Here we come! In just over two weeks we bid our farewell to Turkey, return to North America for a quick five weeks to visit friends and family, and then we are off to Korea. We'll be in Boone, Washington DC, Colorado, and Greenville. It's a quick trip to be trying to get to so many places, but since we haven't been home in 2 years (minus a long weekend for the spectacular wedding of Erin's brother Alan and his betrothed, Vanessa). And, from here on out, we get annual flights home with our school in Korea, so we won't have to go two years again without seeing everyone. Here's the itinerary, we hope we get to climb, run, drink beer, and listen to bluegrass with as many friends and family as possible. Get in touch on my Colorado #, 303-800-6476 and leave a message!

Arrive in Boone June 22
Stay in Boone (except for anniversary weekend of the 25th at Leatherwood) until July 1
Leave for DC July 1, driving with Rhett Baker
DC from July 1 to July 6
Leave for Denver (from DC) July 6
Colorado from July 6 to July 14 (for Erin) and July 19 (for Tim)
Erin arrives in Boone (from Denver) July 14
Tim arrives in Greenville (from Denver) July 19
Greenville/Asheville/Boone from July 19 to August 1
Leave for Korea August 1

Here's some photos from our last moments back home:

Glen "tons of fun" drops us off at Denver Airport


Here's all the baggage we took to Turkey, I hope we can get it all back!


One last, small Grand Marnier in the hot-tub before leaving for Turkey...


And one last Colorado Family portrait.

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