The Guinness Storehouse

Guinness is an important part of the Irish culture, but you don't need to go to the Guinness storehouse to experience a part of Irish history. You can find it served pretty much everywhere. the founder was Arthur Guinness. He started his successful business in mid-1700s, and by late 1800s, the company went public.

The company's logo is a golden harp, trademarked in 1876. The Irish free state government was formed in 1922. So, when the government decided to use the same harp on official buildings, their passports, and coins, Guinness filed a complaint. So the government had to flip the harp image.The above photos show the differences between the two harps.

The Guinness storehouse is super crowded with tourists knocking you around, and jumping carelessly in front of your camera. A few might offer a nonchalant "sorry," but good luck trying to get a decent photo. I had no plans to come here, because it's a tourist trap, but at some point, I thought skipping it would be like coming to Los Angeles, and not visiting Hollywood. It had to be done. And if I wasn't there with my friend Dominika, I would have left after 45 minutes.

There is a cafe, a restaurant, and a bar. For extra fees, you can have your picture displayed on your Guinness, sample drinks at the tasting room, and learn how to pour Guinness. It also has a shop with an array of souvenirs.

My favorite part was the rooftop bar where they give you a free Guinness, and you can kickback, and enjoys the views. Dominika and I only had a few sips, because it was too early in the day to be drinking, and the classic Guinness is super strong like a mixture of heavy espresso and dense beer with bitter undertones.
 

This was interesting. A car competing with a horse carriage. Most carriage horses are abused. When we went down, we looked at the two of the carriages. Those horses did not look happy, and now that I know better, I would never ride one.