Today was our big day in Dublin as we purchased the Dublin Card & tried to visit as many sites as possible. From the hotel we had to go all the way up O'Connell street to the tourist office to buy the card so our first stop was the Au Post Museum in the GPO building. It had some information about the 1916 uprising but it was mainly about the history of the post office so we didn't stay too long. Heading west we walked to the Jameson Distillery & had to wait for about 30mins for the tour so Sean did some shopping in the gift shop. The tour was the usual guided explanation of displays showing the process of making whiskey and then at the end we could try the product. Luckily they had a choice of straight up or with ginger & lime which I had and surprisingly actually enjoyed. Once we had finished the tour we realised it was raining & we were without our coats so decided to have lunch in the Jamieson cafe where I had a very tasty chicken casserole with rice. Unfortunately it was still raining after lunch so we just had to press on although we did have a half way stop at the Bracken Head pub which is the oldest in Dublin. Just to get out of the rain of course! Our next stop was the slightly tacky Dublinia museum which shows Dublin in the Viking then Medieval times. I did get to dress up like a Viking so I guess it wasn't all bad. Next door we visited the cathedral including the crypt where a mummified cat & mouse are in a display after being stuck in the organs presumably playing chasey as well as the usual church stuff. Upstairs in the main part of the church was the body of Strongbow- not the cider but the Viking king. Back out in the rain we went west again towards the Guinness storehouse which in the end we were both a bit disappointed with as it was ridiculously busy & just had the usual interpretive boards about the ingredients & brewing process and a very tacky 'tasting experience' with vapor stands to 'enhance the experience'- whatever!! We thought the highlight would be the Gravity Bar which has 360 degree views over Dublin and a free pint of Guinness but it again was so crowded it was hard to see out & the Guinness tasted the same as everywhere else. To compare we next took shelter in a small pub called Ryan's across from the brewery where we easily got a seat as there was only a few locals inside. The Guinness tasted just as good here. We took a bus into Temple bar & tried a few of the house brewed beers at The Porterhouse then popped across the road for some Italian Bruschetta & pizza. Our final stop for the day was a pub which had some live Irish music before catching a taxi back to the hotel as it was still raining!