Why build an Irish pub in the basement? That is a rhetorical question, yes?

Being of Irish descent, I travelled to Ireland in 2003.  Two days in a Dublin bed and breakfast, followed by four days with a rental car and no reservations before flying out of the Shannon Airport. I explored until the sun began to wane, then found a place to spend the night and visited a pub. Or two.

Many wonderful stories (a shoutout to Mitchelstown!) but the most unexpected one occurred on the whiskey tour at the Jameson Distillery in Dublin. I was selected for the tasting at the end. Across the table sat a Travel & Tourism journalist from Brazil who later became my wife.  Seemed like a good enough reason.