Workshop Begins

 As I mentioned, we are on a photography workshop with Ira Block.  This one is a small group of 7 photographers and one spouse.  We have all traveled together before so there was no need for introductions.  This morning we did a walking tour of the main part of Dublin with a local guide.

Our hotel is very close to Trinity College, which up until the ‘60’s wasn’t actually assessable to Irish students!  It’s a very old and historic college.  The famous library is under restoration along with the books so that wasn’t on our itinerary. 



We then wondered down several streets and alleyways, through buildings that were once houses that are now retail centers, and past sculptures.  Many of these we had seen the day before on the bus tour but we got a more in depth explanation of the history. This included the famous Temple Bar (not to be confused with the area we were staying in also Temple Bar, and St. Patrick’s cathedral which is Anglican not catholic.  It was a nice, warm, sunny day so there were people out soaking up the rays everywhere.  






For lunch we ate in an old church, so the restaurant was aptly named The Church.  It was typical Irish fare but the building was quite beautiful.

After a bit more walking we got on our mini-bus to head to the part of the day I think we all were most looking forward to, the Guinness  Factory.  They have created a Visitors Center that has combined a very old facility with a very modern explanation of the brewing process.  As you ascend through the facility you learn about each of the steps involved.  At the very top of the center is a 365 viewing area where you can trade in your ticket for your own pint of Guinness (or a lager for those of you who don’t like dark beer).  After your beer break you descend into the main floor, massive, gift shop where you can buy anything and everything Guinness.  Needless to say we helped fuel the Irish economy with this stop!











For dinner, we walked to a lovely little Italian restaurant.  I’ll Vicoletto is a small space with big flavors.  Offering both pastas and mains, it made for a quite satisfying end of the day.

Tomorrow: A tour outside the city


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