Today was a quiet day to adjust to the time difference - no one even budged before 8am! All we really had time for was a tour of the Jameson Distillery - before we completed our flight route, arriving late to Amsterdam.
Our guide asked who has never tried Jameson - Kate and Chris were the only raised hands in the room. Following the tasting, Kate reported, "A taste of disgustingness filled my mouth."
Our guide asked who has never tried Jameson - Kate and Chris were the only raised hands in the room. Following the tasting, Kate reported, "A taste of disgustingness filled my mouth."
Taste-testing the whiskey
We all liked learning a little bit about Irish whiskey production on our Distillery tour
John Jameson had a tradition of rewarding his workers at the end of a long shift with a glass of Jameson - called the "Daily Grog"
We were rewarded with a glass of daily grog at the end of our tour. Even though he downed his samples on the tour, Chris says the grog (Jameson with ginger ale and lime) tasted better than straight shots but still isn't good. His comment was followed shortly by slurping noises as he emptied his glass. Kate noticed that they only serve non-alcoholic drinks that look like whisky: ginger ale and apple juice.
Slainte! = cheers (or Jeremy's version: "schlalala")
A quick peek at Trinity College
Our brief layover in Ireland was well worth it and highly enjoyed by all. The Irish are a kind and generous people, making it easy to be a tourist here.
When you go through immigration at the airport, you never know exactly what to expect. At Netherlands' immigration, Greg went to the passport agent first, so I joked uh-oh he isn't going to know the answers. Although they let him through, it scared Kate so she made me go next. The guy asked me if I've been here before. I joked with him to ask Kate a hard question she can't answer; he asked her how long we are visiting (she passed). He asked Jeremy if he was part of the family (he passed). He asked Chris if he was the last one and if he just bought his Guinness shirt (he passed). He was a nice guy with easy questions!
Our brief layover in Ireland was well worth it and highly enjoyed by all. The Irish are a kind and generous people, making it easy to be a tourist here.
When you go through immigration at the airport, you never know exactly what to expect. At Netherlands' immigration, Greg went to the passport agent first, so I joked uh-oh he isn't going to know the answers. Although they let him through, it scared Kate so she made me go next. The guy asked me if I've been here before. I joked with him to ask Kate a hard question she can't answer; he asked her how long we are visiting (she passed). He asked Jeremy if he was part of the family (he passed). He asked Chris if he was the last one and if he just bought his Guinness shirt (he passed). He was a nice guy with easy questions!
Immediately we could smell the weed.
The train between the airport and Amsterdam Centraal, a short ride, has been kaput for the last 8 days so we had to get off after one stop and run across to another train terminal. Nothing like a little exercise at 9:30 pm! I asked how would we do it without following people? Chris, an excellent traveler - but also the last in our group to make it to the new train platform - replies, "I could have gotten here." So Jeremy sarcastically says, "Ok you German speaking a-hole," to which Chris responds, "They said it in English!"
With the hour time change, we arrived at 10:30 pm and tired Kate, looking around her room, already wants to know when are we leaving for the next place. (Greg said he might be asking that too.). She is sharing a huge room (by Amsterdam standards) with her brothers and the frosted glass bathroom door has (see-through) holes for knobs. Our room, on the other hand, is so tiny there is nowhere to put our bags. I looked into many different hotels and knew the size was the norm - at least our stairs are practically normal and not a typically steep Dutch ladder!
Kate on one of the 3 beds in their "large" room
Chris and Kate's solution to the "see-through" bathroom doors
Our room, big enough for just the bed
Beautiful Amsterdam canal at night
