I’m too old for Dublin. The pubs, the nightlife, the dancing, the music, are things I would have enjoyed immensely 15-20 years ago. But back then, I was trying to raise a tiny human being. So I spent my hard-earned travel dollar on Disney trips instead. Was it worth sacrificing all that fun for the obligatory pilgrimage to Mickey Mouse mecca? I will not know until my kid picks a nursing home for me. Stay tuned.
Amidst all the pubs (there are thousands!), this is the holy grail. Temple Bar. I had to wake up early to get a pic by myself. Otherwise, it’s a madhouse.This is in Temple Street, the hub of all bars and nightlife.The pub is all about draft beer. Guiness, to be specific. I’m not a huge beer fan so we opted out of the Guiness tour and instead we took a Jameson whisky tour. “A good story cannot be devised, it has to be distilled”. This is a highly recommended tour even if you’re not a big whisky fan. It is fascinating how whisky is tightly woven to Irish history.Other than Temple Bar, this another pub that’s noteworthy. Established 1198. That’s a lot of years and a lot of beer.
This is definitely a lot of beer for a non-beer-drinker. Beef and Guinness Stew. So rich, so hearty. This is one beer dish I could totally dig.
Ireland is beautiful and delicious. Their cuisine speaks a lot of its history and is really worth a visit.
It’s for the books now and it’s time to start planning for the next trip — Madrid!!!
My family and I chose this country for this year’s summer vacation as a “dry-run” for a big New Zealand adventure scheduled hopefully for next year. We want to do a long RV trip around the country. With the narrow streets and right-handed vehicles, Ireland sounded perfect for such purpose.
The wild Irish ways (drinking and singing and bar-crawling) did not extend to its cuisine. Don’t get me wrong, I still found good eats . Like I’ve always said, the foundation of good food, is fresh authentic ingredients. Ireland, with it’s rich vegetation and healthy livestock, is all about quality ingredients. Let’s just say that the potato famine, which played a huge part of their history, remained where it is, in history.
We spent 2 weeks driving around in our little car through narrow, winding roads, taking in all the quaint yet breathtaking scenes around us. This is the tiny town of Doolin.As expected, fish and chips were everywhere. This is the best of what seems like a dozen orders that we had throughout the trip. This was from McDermott’s Pub (Doolin). Batter was light, crisp and not greasy. The chips were hand-cut and seasoned, also very crisp. Not the healthiest, of course, but that’s not why were writing a blog. Haha.
Ahh…gin and tonic. This is what got me through the stress of this vacation. Yes, stress. We travel with a very strict itinerary. That’s the only way to maximize the experience. So sometimes….it can get pretty hectic and stressful. This is why God made alcohol.
Cliff of Moher as taken from the south side. Picturesque views will be interlopedwith these food pic because how could i not include such beauty?Lambs are a thing here in Ireland. They are cute and wooly and they are delicious. This was at a restaurant in Fanore (another tiny village). There’s only one restaurant in the village. It has a very colorful door, you wont’t miss it.This is a fun pic of us being dorks in the cliffs. Obviously, we lived to tell the tale of goofing off without falling off the cliff. Just don’t try it, folks. The Irish believe on natural selection so they don’t put fences on thousand feet high cliffs. This is from an enormous fort in Inishmore (the biggest of the Aran Islands). Having a snack at the lovely Aran Islands. The honey cake was delicious!DIngle is a lovely village made even lovelier by the gin that it produces.We had a day trip here and did a little “pubbing”This is not an Irish dish. It’s pork belly. Dingle is a bit touristy so restaurants kinda want to keep up with the trendy dishes. This isn’t bad, but I’ve had better (in fact, I can cook it better! )Cork is renowned for its good food and fresh produce. This is their famous English market.The market boasts of the best of what the Atlantic can offer.
This is one really tasty seafood linguini, perfectly complemented by blueberry gin and tonic.
This wraps up the first part of my wild, Irish food adventure. The next part is concentrated on Dublin, as we spent a few days there. Stay tuned!
