There's more to stout than Guinness. You'll find out, traveling from one county to the next in Ireland. Order a Guinness & the bartender may sneer at you. They serve Murphy's. The only stout worth drinking. Stay in Ireland long enough & you'll understand the subtle differences. We liked the creamy, thick "head" of Murphy's. But preferred the flavor of Guinness.

Did you know the hand-knit sweater you want to bring home is not really hand-knitted? The machine used to make it is hand-run. Qualifying it for the term. Did you really expect the piles of sweaters offered at the Dublin Woolen Mills to be hand-made? By the click, click of knitting needles in someone's parlor? That's not to say you can't get a truly hand-knit sweater in Ireland. Like designer Lainey Keogh's. But more traditional, cable-stitched sweaters were what we opted for. Still really well-made. And expensive. Keeping us warm. Maybe too warm. And come to think of it, they tend to be a little scratchy around the neck. Choose carefully when you're over there. To get the most out of your Irish purchase where you'll really use it...back home.

The room "closest to heaven" isn't hard to get in Dublin. Just stay at the Kilronan House www.dublinn.com. It's the nice way of telling you the attic room is yours. Bright, airy & an exhausting walk up. First morning there, we overslept, missing breakfast. A gentle knock on the door at 11 am brought us a tray. Beyond the call of duty we thought! Facing us were the sunniest-side up eggs we ever saw (undercooked for our tastes, but perfectly Irish-style). Good thing we only had to walk down after that. Would we stay again? Yes. But only for a couple of nights. To get to know a few wonderful Irish people, like Kilronan's Michael Dougherty. And to experience an Irish-style home in a beautiful neighborhood. Then we would move on to the trendy Clarence. We'd be anonymous to the owners. But there's an elevator.

P.S. Have a dinner at the Grey Door. But head to the basement level, known as Pier 32. A better price. More relaxed than upstairs. Music occasionally. A good place when you tire of all those nouveau restaurants sprouting up in Dublin.

And get a "Guinness at Night" t-shirt, found in many souvenir shops. Yes. We're recommending a t-shirt. This one is really worth your spare change. Whenever one of our gift recipients wears it, the simple graphic logo always gets "Where can I get that shirt?" Online at www.the-irish-shop.com/guinness Much cheaper bought in Ireland.