It starts with a pint of Guinness

This morning we left London just as early as we started the past two days. We hauled our giant backpacks down the six flights of stairs to the lobby of the hostel, checked out, and off we went. From the Queensway tube station we rode to Victoria station where we took the Gatwick Express back to the airport.

*Note, I snagged another orange and raspberry juice from Marks & Spencer (which Kate lovingly calls Marcus Spencer). I want there to be a drink like that at home, sadly, I don't think one exists.

Checking in for the flight was painless, but the line for passport control to get to the gate was insane. Two huge lines snaked around the airport, but then moved quickly, so that's really all that matters.

Our flight boarded a bit later than the designated time and it was a full load. Getting a seat wasn't difficult and after that it's all a bit blurry for me. I remember taking off and waking up just a few minutes before we landed. Going through customs was a long process and by the time we made it through the line our bags were waiting for us in luggage reclaim.

We hopped a city bus to Dublic city center and were at the hotel a little over 30 minutes later. We dropped our things and walked the 200 meters or so down the street to the Guinness factory. The self-guided tour took an hour or so to include having a pint of fresh Guinness in on the 7th floor in the Gravity Bar.

Kate took her loot back to the room, we grabbed gloves and scarves (it's quite windy here!), and took another bus to the area of Temple Bar. We walked through the streets some before stopping for dinner at The Old Mill to eat. I had a bowl of cauliflower soup and Kate had a fixed-price meal consisting of a small salad, chicken, and chocolate mousse for dessert (I plan on getting some ice cream in just a bit).

So now, here we are, hanging out in an internet spot and just about ready to find a coffee bar we saw earlier in the evening to sit and relax before going back to the room for the night. We're beat! St. Patrick's Cathedral and Trinity College are in the plans for tomorrow - I hope we don't get lost, Dublin isn't the easiest city to navigate.