How to do sightseeing in Dublin

So, Dublin, what shall we do today? It's not even raining (surprise!). The sun shines and it's slightly warm. The perfect day to do the walking sightseeing tour.

First stop, St. Patrick's cathedral. The entrance fee is 4,50 EUR. No, I'm not that into cathedrals. I could spend that money on a pint.

Next stop, Christ Church cathedral. Entrance fee 5,50 EUR. No, still not interested. I could have another pint for that.

Finally, Guinness brewery tours. Entrance fee 18 EUR. Yes, absolutely.

We can view the entrance to the home of Arthur Guinness.

Then, a long walk towards the start of the tour.

Here is an interesting fact I didn't know: the chemist who worked there was one of the first data scientists.

The four basic ingredients for making beer are barley, yeast, hops and water (due to my frequent visits to the Human Fish brewery, I knew that already).

Barley, in a huge swimming pool display

They claim that they have been using the original strain of yeast since the very beginning. A sample of the yeast is kept in the director's safe just in case something happened to the yeast in production.

Hops are imported from several countries

The water comes from the same water source

They do their own roasting

Mashing

Boiling

Some historical vats

Fermenting

And finally, when it's done, each batch is professionally tasted. The guy on the middle screen says that each time he tastes a batch, he asks himself: "Would Arthur like it?"

Some barrels from the old days

Barges that transported the barrels to the port in the old days

Ship that transported the barrels to Liverpool in the old days

Yeast waste

In order to learn how to taste Guinness, visitors must wait in a queue to be instructed

Smell

And taste, each visitor gets a shot glass

History of Guinness commercials and ads

We didn't go to the Guinness academy, the queue was too long. The brochure says that they teach you how to pour a Guinness

And finally, we get our own drinks, included in the entrance fee

Slainte

The best pizza in the world

Malta

I never expected that Malta would be the place where I would get to eat the best pizza in the world. After all, pizza is pizza, right?

Malta is just a stone's throw away from Sicily and the Italian influence is evident. Pizza, pasta, cannoli, espresso coffee are available everywhere. Marko and I knew better than to believe the giant sign that proclaimed the best pizza in the world above the restaurant where we were headed for dinner. We knew it was just a tourist trap. We were actually lured there by the smaller sign that offered free mulled wine with dinner. It was the holiday season and why not take advantage of a free drink?

It turned out that the pizza was really the best pizza I have ever eaten. The crust was thin and crispy, not too thick or too salty as is often the case with typical pizzas. The toppings were all fresh ingredients, such as sliced cherry tomatoes, rucola, prosciutto and Parmesan cheese. It was flavored with just enough good olive oil to keep it light and delicious. Since I didn't expect it to be anything special, I never bothered to take a photo of the restaurant or of the pizza itself.

And it wasn't just pizza that drew us towards Italy during our brief vacation on Malta. To wash away the taste of the terrible filter coffee that was served with our hotel breakfast, Marko and I spent each morning lazing away in a Sicilian coffee shop across the street. As we were drinking our espresso and tasting the cannoli, I couldn't stop wondering why we had never visited Sicily. Another place added to my list.