Quick travel update. On the ferry from Ireland to Wales at the moment and they happen to have wifi onboard.
Over the last week we have been driving around Ireland. The land is ridiculously green and it seems to rain most of the time but the pubs and people are always warm and welcoming. We discovered upon entering the country that we would be in Cork for Arthur's Day - a newfandangled celebration all about drinking Guinness and listening to live music. It's organised by Diageo, who own Guinness and every second beverage brand in the world. So really Arthur's Day is nothing more than a clever marketing campaign. But the Irish don't need much of an excuse to go out and drink. This year numerous big name acts appeared in small pubs around Ireland. We arrived in Cork to find kegs of Guinness stacked up on the footpaths outside the pubs. Fatboy Slim was walking around beside the kegs at one pub, signing some autographs whilst having a smoke.
After visiting a number of pubs, each one overflowing with people, we were whisked into a small back room. There was a TV crew so we knew something was going down. A blonde girl started singing some pop songs and some people went a little bit hysterical - there was a little bit of Beatlemania about it all. Turns out the blonde girl was Ellie Goulding. I've actually never heard of her before but she wasn't that bad. And as always in Ireland, the Guinness tasted good. So we shoulder shimmy-ed the night away, black gold in hand, memorable stuff. Ireland is my favourite night out country so far. The people are friendly and hilarious and the pubs are the best in the world. Even Temple Bar, that infamous Dublin tourist trap, was worth an overpriced Guinness or two.
Before Ireland we were in Scotland. Again, terrible weather but well worth a visit. When the mist cleared the scenery was spectacular. The Scottish history is quite intriguing and we visited numerous castles and forts. My favourite being the castle used for filming Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Director, Terry Jones did the audio guide. I definitely have never seen so much laughter on an historical tourist site!
We spent three days tasting whiskey on the Island of Whisky: Islay. If you like your Whisky smokey and full of flavour then this is the place for you. I sampled one Whisky called Smokehead. The name says it all really, but the tasting notes were hilarious, I quote: "hints of engine oil and industrial smoke..." You generally wouldn't compare something consumed by humans with engine oil... but after sampling the "rocket fuel" I'd have to agree!
Over the last week we have been driving around Ireland. The land is ridiculously green and it seems to rain most of the time but the pubs and people are always warm and welcoming. We discovered upon entering the country that we would be in Cork for Arthur's Day - a newfandangled celebration all about drinking Guinness and listening to live music. It's organised by Diageo, who own Guinness and every second beverage brand in the world. So really Arthur's Day is nothing more than a clever marketing campaign. But the Irish don't need much of an excuse to go out and drink. This year numerous big name acts appeared in small pubs around Ireland. We arrived in Cork to find kegs of Guinness stacked up on the footpaths outside the pubs. Fatboy Slim was walking around beside the kegs at one pub, signing some autographs whilst having a smoke.
After visiting a number of pubs, each one overflowing with people, we were whisked into a small back room. There was a TV crew so we knew something was going down. A blonde girl started singing some pop songs and some people went a little bit hysterical - there was a little bit of Beatlemania about it all. Turns out the blonde girl was Ellie Goulding. I've actually never heard of her before but she wasn't that bad. And as always in Ireland, the Guinness tasted good. So we shoulder shimmy-ed the night away, black gold in hand, memorable stuff. Ireland is my favourite night out country so far. The people are friendly and hilarious and the pubs are the best in the world. Even Temple Bar, that infamous Dublin tourist trap, was worth an overpriced Guinness or two.
Before Ireland we were in Scotland. Again, terrible weather but well worth a visit. When the mist cleared the scenery was spectacular. The Scottish history is quite intriguing and we visited numerous castles and forts. My favourite being the castle used for filming Monty Python and the Holy Grail. Director, Terry Jones did the audio guide. I definitely have never seen so much laughter on an historical tourist site!
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| Barley on the malting flour: Laphroaig Distillery |
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| Lagavulin Distillery: peaty goodness... and a beautiful location |
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