This is how my day started.

But let me explain --

We visited Saint Michan's Church in Dublin, which if you didn't click on the link before to see -- it's not known for it's decor. Nope.

It's known for the mummies underneath it.

Very cool, worthwhile visit though. The mummies pictured above are each 400 years old -

said to be (from left to right)

- a nun

- a criminal (notice the hand is cut off)

- anonymous female (?)

And this guy that I'm pictured with below is 800 years old.

He's a Crusader. What a stud.

& the strangest part wasn't going into (what looked like) storm cellars to climb down into the dim-lit caves below the church. No, the strangest part is that Crusaders are buried with a hand extending out (so the living can shake their hands). Traditionally, it's good luck to touch the hand of a dead Crusader. So, incase you were wondering -- you can't tell very well by this picture, but yes... I am touching a dead guy's index finger.

Next stop:

Guinness Storehouse!

Guinness Girls :)

You can't go to Ireland without drinking a Guinness. These people like their Guinness so much, it's probably even a law.

Anyways, I will be putting a video montage up soon of the Storehouse, so I'm not going to bore you with any details. Plus, I believe there are at least 5 people that I know of that follow this blog and are going to experience it for themselves in March, so I don't want to ruin any details for them :)

However, I will say that the best part of the tour by far is at the tail end of it -

Grabbing a free pint of Guinness at the top of the Storehouse, overlooking the entire city of Dublin from all angles. Breathtaking -- it honestly made me take a step back and for the first time, truly appreciate being in such an amazing city.

The pictures don't capture the whole feeling, but they certainly attempt to:

We got there right as the sun was setting; perfect.

(The view will also be on the video, once I edit it and put it up!)

Afterwards, we were treated to a 3-course meal

(Guinness stew is the bomb - don't believe anyone who tells you differently)

& traditional Irish music and dance. I'll put those videos up right after this post. You might have even seen them before you got to this post.

After, we went to a pub in town - O'Donoghues - for a pint or two and headed back to UCD.

Some were more worn out than others...

Videos up soon!