Greetings all! My name is Justin Rappaport and I am a junior majoring in Sport Management with a minor in business. I am delighted to share with you my rundown of another great day on the Emerald Isle!
It's hard to believe we are already on day 4 of this amazing trip! Our time here so far has been nothing short of phenomenal, and I think I can speak for all of us when I say that we are in love with the Irish culture!
Today we had the opportunity to take time off from programming and create our own itinerary for the day! We all ended up deciding to take a visit to the Guinness Storehouse, one of the premier tourist attractions in all of Ireland and the world. It was actually granted the award of being the world's leading tourist attraction in 2023! The entire tour also happens to be within the world's largest pint glass, and as you ascend you learn about a different step in the brewing process.
There we gained an extensive background about the history of Guinnesses founding, the creation of the beverage from milling and mashing all the way to storing, a history of Guinnesses advertising campaigns, and we even learned the proper way to taste the draught! Honestly, the most unique part of the entire tour was the tasting room which was blindingly white and had 4 vats brimming with the smoke of the different aromatics that are infused into the beer. It was something straight out of Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory and added a whole new sensory experience to the tour! At the conclusion of the journey we all received a complimentary beverage, however, this was no ordinary Guinness. It had our faces on the head making it a much more personal experience! We then proceeded to the top floor of the pint glass, the Gravity Bar, which overlooks the entire city of Dublin and made for an even more surreal experience. It was awesome to be able to see all of the different landmarks including the Spire and St. Patricks Tower from such an elevated view.
After this initial tour, our fellowship decided to go our separate ways in the pursuit of different experiences. I along with Nicolas Cueba and Ryan Casano participated in a very intimate whiskey tasting at Roe and Co. Distillery (a subsidiary of Diageo which is also the parent company of Guinness). There we took a tour of the actual factory where the magic happens and learned of the brand's history from its explosion in the 1800s to its complete demise in the 1920s along with many other Irish whisky distilleries. This collapse was due in part to American Prohibition, World War 1, and the Easter Rising. In 2017, Diageo resurrected the once-renowned brand and production started up once again in 2019. That's almost 100 years after it originally shut down! We learned about the steps of the brewing process and tasted a selection of their products. We even had the opportunity to create our own signature cocktail! After these two tours, we headed home and rested up before our dinner.
For dinner our whole group along with the professors went out to Oscars Cafe Bar, and at the conclusion of the meal we headed into the city center to get some gelato. I settled on getting the Oreo flavor even though they all looked amazing. It honestly didn't taste much like Oreo, but it was still solid nonetheless. 7.1/10 on the rating scale.
This was another stupendous day on the trip and it was shockingly sunny yet again! Despite being infamous for the amount of rainfall Ireland receives, we have yet to experience any cloudiness or any rain! I think we all feel extremely blessed! Otto must have put in some work to get us this great weather!
Oh, one last thing I forgot to mention! Unbeknownst to me, Kansas State and Iowa State will be kicking off their football season in Ireland this year as a part of the Aer Lingus College Football Classic at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin. While we were relaxing in the Gravity Bar, who shows up but Willie the Wildcat and Cy the Cardinal along with an ensemble of cheerleaders to boot! It was one of the most random things I've ever experienced but it was an absolute riot!
Anyways, that's a wrap on the day. Looking forward to touring the Leinster Rugby Club tomorrow! Much love!
No comments:
Post a Comment