| The Chew | The View | |
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| Veggie Shepherd's Pie, Home Fries, Potatoes GALORE | The Liffey River at sunset |
3/17~First Guinness
My First Pour of Guinness!
Our first night at the pub scene, and I had my own chance to pour Guinness. How do I explain the taste and process of a REAL Guinness? First, the pour has to be done 3/4 of the way first, then left to rest for 1 and a half minutes. The color will resemble more of a Coke colouring as it aerates and slowly turns to the signature black. Then it is topped off, and you are left with an incredible foam layering, which is the ice cream on this drinkable cake. Taking the first sip is like that first drop of rain after a drought--nothing can quench your thirst quite like that. The light cream melts away to reveal a smooth, barely carbonated beer that leaves you with a hint of bitterness in the back of the mouth. Not unlike drinking a smooth coffee, actually.
Puy Lentil Burger @ Gourmet Burger Kitchen
Ok, so you can't survive on beer alone (though some may beg to differ). Dublin has a surprising amount of young, trendy restaurants--though that notion becomes less surprising when you find out the average age of a Dubliner is 24!
The Gourmet Burger Kitchen gave me the perfect veggie burger to prepare me for my potato and puff pastry-filled journey to follow.
ST. PATTY'S DAY
Hot Whiskey @ Temple Bar
For St. Patty's Day, green was certainly the triumphant color: the streets were packed with people wearing fuzzy lime-green hats, hunter green scarves that proudly proclaimed "IRELAND" and shamrockin' sunglasses. The parade itself was less of a sight than the people who climbed onto poles, light fixtures, and trucks to see it.
The place to be is this area called Temple Bar, which is marked by the fact that every other venue is a pub--the most famous being Temple Bar itself! I first went in with Luia and we enjoyed a hot whiskey, which is this wonderful concoction of hot water, brown sugar, whiskey, and clove-studded lemon. It was 3:30pm, and we could barely move through the crowds. We met a mother-daughter team from Pasadena sharing Irish Car Bombs, and a Danish woman who inquired about our hot drinks. There were a couple of leprechaun-studded men who posed for us in the beer garden area. What a place!
The place to be is this area called Temple Bar, which is marked by the fact that every other venue is a pub--the most famous being Temple Bar itself! I first went in with Luia and we enjoyed a hot whiskey, which is this wonderful concoction of hot water, brown sugar, whiskey, and clove-studded lemon. It was 3:30pm, and we could barely move through the crowds. We met a mother-daughter team from Pasadena sharing Irish Car Bombs, and a Danish woman who inquired about our hot drinks. There were a couple of leprechaun-studded men who posed for us in the beer garden area. What a place!
We were back later that night for our very own pub crawl, which was well worth our money (boy can beers add up...I get why people forego eating in favor of Guinness). For once, the city was open late. Every other night, the city's nightlife ended at about 2:30am--just when it kicks off in good 'ol Barca :)
3/18~Guinness Factory
Guinness on top of the world @ SkyBar
What journey to Dublin would be complete without a visit to The Guinness Factory? It was a complete trip, a total tourist spot of a now non-functioning factory. You travel through the ingredients required to make Guinness, and one section--for water--displayed a waterfall where people felt this odd urge to take pictures. It's incredible what a gimmicky thing they could do to a curious tourist. The highlight of the tour was the SkyBar, where you can enjoy a pour with 360 degree views of Dublin. We had the pleasure of seeing a RAINBOW with our view, where it's the most inspiring to see one. I'm pretty sure rainbows were invented in Ireland.
@ Guinness Factory
Oldest Pub in Ireland est. 1198
With all that Guinness in our system, we had to have more pub food. The Brazen Head is Ireland's oldest pub, and right around the corner from our second hostel (The Four Courts Hostel). I had my greasiest fry dish of Battered Mushrooms with Homefries...it was literally the only vegetarian dish there!
3/19~Irish Countryside
Day trip to gorgeous countryside @ Wicklow
Since we were in Dublin for 5 days, we had the luxury of taking a day trip out to Glendalough and Wicklow. I seriously couldn't stop thinking of references in Victorian novels like Wuthering Heights, as we passed by actual MOORS. What is a moor, you ask? It's a pasture with this odd peet-like brush that looks like rolling fields of grain. The landscapes were stunning enough that movies like Saving Private Ryan and Braveheart were filmed there. AND we got to stop and take pictures in the bridge were PS I Love You was filmed. All I could wish for was Gerard Butler to pop out and propose. But I guess we don't all have the luck of the Irish, do we? ;)
3/20~Queen of Tarts & Shopping
PASTRY GALORE @ Queen of Tarts
There's a reason The Queen of Tarts is ranked as one of the top 3 eateries in Dublin. I don't think I've eaten so much puff pastry in my life. We ducked out temporarily of a free 3-hour Dublin City Tour to grab one of these treats at the Dame Street location.
Spinach Puff Pastry w/ Brie & Walnuts
That was just trip #1. Trip #2 was when we had a free moment at Cow's Lane, which is this cute street of boutiques and bakeries...and yet another Queen of Tarts. The focaccia bread that my roasted veggies were nestled between literally had tomato baked into the top. It had a wonderful Urth Cafe feel that brought me all the way back to LA :)
Roasted veggie sandwich with hummus on focaccia bread @ Q of T 2
After doing some souvenir shopping at the outdoor Designer's Mart of Cow's Lane, we headed to Trinity College to see the Book of Kells. After deciding that the 8 euro fee was too hefty, we headed to the Jameson's factory, which I actually enjoyed touring more. It was more of an intimate experience, where you had a personal tour guide take the group through the 7 steps of boiling, mashing, distilling, etc. in a very Disney-like set that you could touch and take pictures of. Instead of hopping aboard the India Jones ride, your reward for waiting is the whiskey. I got to try a cranberry-whiskey drink, which was SO YUMMY. And apparently they drink it with apple juice in Russia, which is my next mixture to sample.
Jameson's at the end of the rainbow @ Jameson's Factory
Needing another injection of trend, we decided to end our trip at a hipster restaurant simply titled gruel. My cheese quesadillas with guacamole were good by virtue of simply having guacamole. Dear god, avocados are expensive in Europe. I definitely licked my bowl clean :)
Last Meal @ gruel
My trip was a wonderfully self-reflective journey, and also a beautiful first trip out of Spain to see the green and hospitality of another country. And let me tell you, the Irish are the most LOVELY and kind people. From the woman in the first hostel who wouldn't let us leave without giving us glasses of juice to give us energy, to the people on the bus who gave us food and wrote out directions on what to visit and how to get there, to the taxi driver who laughed at us for not pronouncing "Quay" as "Key," we met some truly hospitable, down to earth people.
Being with my GLPeeps, this group that I've been with since freshmen year, with whom I shared my first drink not so long ago in an Irish pub in Shanghai, that I really learned what our friendship means. It's a comfortable, warm feeling of being able to travel and not worry about entertaining. About caring so much about other people's wants, that you're truly pleased when they are.
I hope to share more travels with you all~
Cheers,
The Chew
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