Today I was going to write about creating the perfect peanut butter and jelly sandwich. However, because it is St. Patrick’s Day, it is a great time to write about and celebrate my love for Guinness. I know, I can hear your moans of disappointment. I’ll write about the perfect PB&J another time. Promise. Now, please understand, I rarely drink these days, because I have found that for me, anti-depressant meds and alcohol don’t mix well. If I enjoy one beer, chances are great that I will become quite sleepy within an hour and I will have a headache come sunrise. Still, my love for Guinness is as strong as it was the day I tried my first one.
Years ago, while traveling abroad, my friend met several people. She became quite close with two guys from Hemel-Hempstead, a town in Hertfordshire, England. Interested in visiting the guys again, she invited me on a trip to England in May 1997. It was my first trip across the big pond, and we had a wonderful time. While in England, we checked into the cost of flights to Ireland. The price was right, so we decided to spend a couple of nights in Dublin, staying at a Hostel.
When one goes to Dublin, it should be a rule to tour the Guinness Brewery. As an incentive, you are given a free half pint of Guinness after the tour. And, it was after the tour that I sipped my very first Guinness. The picture above was taken during this life-changing moment. The fact that someone next to us was wearing a team shirt documenting the month and year of this momentousness event was priceless. I enjoyed the half pint so much that I went up to the bar to see if I could buy another one. I was embarrassed to find out one could not buy pints or half pints, though I realized it was safer to limit the Guinness consumption. Plus, one need only walk a couple of blocks to find a local pub serving fresh Guinness.
My friend and I did not go pub hopping that afternoon, but it was the start of our love affair for Guinness. And during the rest of our trip, I took many pictures of glasses filled with freshly poured Guinness, topped with a shamrock drawn in the thick foam head. Nearly 13yrs later, my love affair with Guinness continues. If I am going to have a beer, my first choice is always Guinness, and I keep Guinness in the fridge just in case. Perhaps tonight, during our Wednesday night routine of PB&Js and a movie, I will enjoy a Guinness. Who knows, my traveling friend may enjoy a Guinness today, too. Are you afraid of the dark? Have a pint of Guinness. “Try it. You’ll like it.”
Lenore's Thoughts Exactly 
This is the aforementioned “friend” and I have a name -it’s Andrea. (Just in case you were wondering – not all of Lenore’s friends are in her imagination – she pays some of us large sums of money to like her!)
Lenore’s story is mostly accurate but I am here to provide some clarifying points. It is true, I met 2 really nice guys while backpacking in Europe and kept in touch with them after the trip. I did invite Lenore to go back with me. However I first had to convince her the plane would not crash in the Atlantic. (She subsequently enjoyed the flight because we had a really cool flight attendant. While napping he morphed into Father Christmas and bestowed upon us many gifts of yummy snacks!) And I digress. So we’re in Hemel-Hempsted and little-miss-flying-scaredy-pants decides we need to fly to Ireland, however I believe we were there for 3 nights, not 2. I’m anal, what can I say.
Anyways. Of the 2 of us, Lenore is the beer coinsurer. I know I don’t like cheap beer – Milwaukee’s Beast, I mean best, Budweiser, Schlitz – you get the drift, but I also didn’t have a taste for dark beer. Because of this, going to the Guinness “museum” and brewery wasn’t on my top 10 list of things to do while on this whirlwind trip in Dublin. But Lenore talked me into it. We had to pay to get into the “museum” (which was nothing more than a large room with a bunch of old brewery machinery) and along with it came the incentive – and here’s where Lenore was – are you ready – WRONG! The incentive was actually 2 tickets each for a half pint or both tickets for 1 pint of Guinness. Lenore went for the full pint while I decided on the half pint – just in case I didn’t like it, I could give Lenore my other ticket and she could enjoy another half pint. Well, I had my half pint and I LOVED it! Lenore never saw that other ticket because I sucked down my second half pint! One other point to note about the “museum” – the “pub” where they provided the incentives was at least 3 times the size of the “museum” and it was packed! Every pub after that we only drank Guinness!
Sadly, I only had a sip of Guinness tonight – I’m fighting some sort of crud and just wasn’t up to more than that and like Lenore. But every time I enjoy a Guinness, I think of Lenore and the first time I drank one. Thank you Lenore, for introducing me to a real beer!
Hey you! Get your own blog! Ah shucks, just kidding Andrea HT. Love you. Mean it!
And yes, you are real. Thank goodness for that, too. My imaginary friends are getting on my nerves!