Friday, October 1, 2010

Here's to Arthur!

Nain's note:  This post was written while in Ireland, one day after the exciting celebration of Arthur Guinness Day....enjoy!

Now I don't think I have hidden the fact from all of you that I'm an avid Guinness drinker (Hell, it was one of the reasons why we picked Ireland as a honeymoon destination), and it couldn't have been more perfectly planned that we picked a week where the entire country of Ireland takes a day to celebrate the man himself, Arthur Guinness.  (Don't you love my hat?  So Irish, isn't it?)

It was our fourth day in Dublin, and we had seen signs all over the place advertising the occasion.  What was to happen was pubs everywhere were going to celebrate Arthur with a toast at exactly 17:59 (or 5:59 p.m. for those of you in the States) on September 23rd in Mr. Guinness's honor.  T had gotten an email about it before we left for Ireland (because, of course, we are both fans of Guinness on Facebook and receive regular updates...) so we were pretty pumped.  We were so pumped, in fact, that we decided to brave the "party district" of Dublin, called Temple Bar, to celebrate and be a part of the madness.

We started at a pub where had previously had dinner called the Auld Dubliner.  We got there around 2:30 that afternoon, which seems early, but trust me, you had to get there early.  The place was pretty full at that point.  We were lucky enough to score a table and decided to hole up there at least until the toast before we explored the area. 
 
They had live music, great food, and the Guinness was, of course, flowing.  As the afternoon progressed, the place got more and more crowded until around 17:00 (5:00 p.m.) when you could barely even walk around.  Fire codes were being broken, I'm sure.  It was near impossible to get to the bathroom at that point because the crowds were so bad.

As the hour approached, it hit 17:59, the time for the toast.  With pints of Guinnes in hand, we joined the revelry and toasted to Mr. Arthur Guinness.  The crowd erupted in cheers, clinking glasses all around and then into song, traditional Irish pub songs, of course.   It was by far one of the coolest things I have ever witnessed.
We finished our pints (let's be honest, these weren't our first pints, but still...) and decided to walk around outside to catch some fresh air since breathing room was sorely lacking in the Auld Dubliner.  Man, even the streets were insane.  People were out drinking, singing, dancing.  Garda (Irish police) were out everywhere to police the crowds.   This is a picture of apparently something big going on.  We couldn't tell, but there was this huge crowd, and everyone was cheering and trying to take a picture so I can only assume it was something big.  So, here's my picture, attempting to figure out what was going on. 
Wandering around to find our next pub destination, we made the mistake of running into apparently the very end of a fight, as there were police surrounding a group of men, one of which had about three stab wounds dripping with blood.  Yes, I could have done without seeing that, and it's a bit too much for me so we turned around. 

The next two bars we hit were the Oliver St. John Gogharty's and the Quay's Bar.  Both were equally as crowded and lively.  It was so much fun, and everyone was so friendly.  We had a wonderful time, as we were just happy to be a part of it all.  I felt like I had come home to my motherland. 

Ironic thing, though, while at Quay's Pub...we found seats next to two Irishmen, a couple from Spain and a lady about my age who was also a lawyer but was from Italy.  How crazy is that?  I met a fellow lawyer!

T and I had so much fun we have decided to carry on the tradition and have our own Arthur's Day, minus the police and stabbings, of course.  It'll be at our house next year with some Irish music (not live, but hey, we can only do what we can do), Irish cuisine, and a keg of Guinness, of course. 

I should tell you guys that as I sit here, handwriting this post so that I can type it out later when we return home, I am sitting in a cafe with T, drinking coffee and enjoying a delicious berry scone.  I'm so European.  My God, I could just live here.


Happy belated Arthur's Day, everyone!




19 comments:

  1. Looks so fun. I've never been to Ireland despite being Irish and can't wait to make the trek there some day!

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  2. It looks as wonderful as I have imagined..friday follow here

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  3. MB and I are avid Guinness fans as well!!

    How fun that you got to be there during that-- it was kismit!

    & you look freaking adorable, Mrs. European Cafe!

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  4. I was thoroughly enjoying this post and that picture T took of you at the end clinched it. Awesome!

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  5. What a reason to celebrate. Even more fun for your honeymoon. Love scones, too bad I have to make my own to get good ones.

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  6. Looks like a blast! Congrats again! Visiting from Blog Frog.

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  7. How fun!? I am glad you guys had a good time. I could probably have gone without the stabbings too but I guess you take the good with the bad, right? I would be already planning next years event.

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  8. What an awesome post!! Ireland for a honeymoon is a great idea!! I'm going to visit a friend who lives in Dublin at the end of the month. It'll be my first trip to Ireland and I can't wait. This post just got me sooo excited!!! I think I need to start training myself to enjoy Guinness so I can fit in with the locals.

    found you on BF ff...Congratulations on your marriage!!

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  9. Looks like you guys had a great time. I'm so happy for you!

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  10. How fun! I'm glad that you had a good time and I'm so glad that you're back ;)

    Congrats again!

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  11. I'm so happy you shared your pictures with us! Looks like you had so much fun on Guinness Day. What are the chances you'd meet another lawyer while visiting Ireland, pretty cool!

    Again congratulations! Have a great weekend

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  12. It sounds like you had a blast! I am rather jealous. I've never been to Ireland, but I sure would love to go!

    I think it is a great idea to have your own party next year! and I'm glad you'll leave out the stabbing.

    Have a good weekend!

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  13. Dude, this post was exciting! How absolutely seredipitous that it coincided with your honeymoon!

    And the fight?! Damn. I would have died. I once saw a guy bashing in another guy's head in the middle of the road when I was in high school and I still have nightmares about it. Being face-to-face with real life violence is just...gah.

    You look so serene in that photo!

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  14. How fun!
    Now I'm jealous! I wish MJ and I have such a good time during our honeymoon! :)
    Hey, did you meet a couple from Spain? I've got some friends in Ireland! Did you talk to them?

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  15. LOVE Guinness. What an awesome honeymoon!

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  16. wow that looks like it was fun. love dublin!

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  17. Hello stopping in to check out your blog from buddy notes on blogfrog. Enjoying your site and will stop back soon
    Following.

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  18. How fun is that? I mean I don't enjoy beer so def. not Guiness but I can appreciate the fun of Arthur's Day!!

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  19. Love your hat! So glad you were there for Arthur Guinness day- it was just meant to be. You and your beloved beer and your new hubby :-)

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