The Allen's Family Vacation 2011 - Ireland!

Isn't it funny when you are on a family vacation and something happens and you think "omg I feel like the Griswold's!!!" That's how I feel every single vacation with my family and I love it. No, we haven't had to strap any dead Aunt Edna's to the roof of our family truckster but there are still more vacations to come. Not only are the National Lampoon's Vacation movies my favorites (Family, Christmas, European, Vegas, and don't forget the made for TV ones) but I happen to think I have some hilarious family members. I often find myself wondering why we haven't been asked to do a reality show...



The next few blog entries are of our Ireland Family Vacation!!!
Kurt and I traveled the coast of Ireland with my parents (Steve and Mary Jane) and my awesome Aunt Maxine and Uncle Vic. It was a blast and we made many many memories :)

Day 1, Dublin


Today we decided to tour around Dublin and give ourselves an extra day before hitting the open road. We took a bus tour that aloud us to hop on and off at any site. If you get off the bus to look around, another will be along to scoop you up to your next destination. Very touristy BUT it is highly recommended because it is a cheap and reliable way to get a look at the city and learn what exactly you are looking at. If you are lucky, you will have a comedian for a driver! You get a 2 day pass on this bus which means you can split up the sites. We weren't all that interested in walking around every statue so we soaked in the view and rode our happy butts to.....THE GUINNESS BREWERY!

Guinness was pretty neat! It is somewhat interactive and very educational. I'm sure any brewery tour is exactly the same but hey we're in Ireland and it's the Guinness Brewery. We learned what all went into Guinness: barley, hops, and good ol' H20. You walk through the process of how the ingredients are prepared, the beer is fermented, yada, yada, yada then you get a sample :) I don't necessarily care for Guinness but I will say after 2.5 weeks, it's growing on me. After we walked around other exhibits, we had a big decision to make. Where to drink our FREE pint of Guinness. You can A. drink a pint on the top floor (the highest point in Dublin) or B. learn to pour your own and receive a certificate for "Pouring the Perfect Pint". Of course I wanted the certificate...what can I say? I'm a sucker for free souvenirs.

The 6 Steps to Pour a Perfect Pint:
1. The glass must be a clean and dry 20oz. tulip pint glass
2. The glass must be at 45 degree angle
3. Fill the glass 3/4 of the way
4. Let the beer rest and form the head
5. Top off the beer - it should be just above the rim of the glass
6. DRINK!

Here we are angling our glasses

 Allowing the beer to rest

 Topping it off

 The perfect pint! 

 Cheers!!!

We also stopped by the prison, we saw the Spire or the Stiletto in the Ghetto, Molly Malone, and various gardens and churches. It was a looong day!!! We wrapped up the night with a special 5th Anniversary dinner for Aunt Maxine and Uncle Vic! :)