Ireland

After an early flight from Iceland to Dublin, Ireland, we had the whole day ahead of us to explore around the city. We caught a bus from the airport and it dropped us in the city centre somewhere. We had to figure out how to get to our hostel, Avalon House, which was about a mile away, lugging our bags and working up a sweat, but we found it and settled in for a bit. Turns out we got the "penthouse" suite, basically the only private room in the place, on the top floor, with it's own balcony. The unique space made up for the bed that was probably harder than the floor. No matter - we didn't spend too much time in there anyways. 

First order of business: food. The Mad Egg, in particular. Our friend Arijana recommend this and a few other places as she had just come from Dublin prior to us meeting in Iceland, and it was no let down. For all you people back home in San Diego, this is Dublin's version of Crack Shack. Maybe better? We got the Honey Baby Sandwich (Fried Chicken w/ Cinnamon Rock, Honey Butter, Candied Bacon, Lettuce & Pickles) & Buffalo Chicken Tenders to share. And the Chicken Salt Fries - oh my goodness these were especially delicious. The seasoning is made with fried chicken skin (genius), rosemary, thyme, sea salt and it was finger-lickin' good. We were tempted to get more, but - chicken salt fries are still fries. I had an apple cider to wash down the tasty eats, and it reminded me how yummy and crisp cider is, as an alternative to a citrusy IPA. 

We spent the day walking around the city, cruising over to Temple Bar area in the late afternoon. We settled into the Norseman, which had a lovely him + her duo singing covers of various artists. My priority was getting my hands on a Guinness, as soon as we sat down. We had just watched Anthony Bourdain's "The Layover: Dublin Episode" on the flight over to get a good feel for where we might find ourselves, and although this wasn't one of the top places for the best pour of Guinness, it was smooth and chocolatey and damn tasty. We grabbed a blue cheese burger there too. It was a little underwhelming, but still good. We knew we were in tourist central, so we enjoy the spot for a little while and moved on. 

We walked through Stephen's green park, took a walk through Trinity College, and found ourselves drifting towards a beautiful melody echoing through the streets near an old church and the Molly Malone statue. This city is alive. These people are alive. There's an unmistakable sense of wonder here, and we felt it every-time a drifting tune caught our ear and pulled us into a pub or street corner. 

A young guy playing drums with a full step up in the middle of a busy street square. A blind man jamming on a metal bucket with some spoons. An angelic voice swimming around a girl with a guitar, part singing and sometime whistling the tune. And one of my favorites - a group of lively young kids wanting in on the action, threw a hat out in front as they lined up against a wall and all 6 of them started belting a musical song. Rob and I were so delighted by this inventive form of entertainment he walked up and threw some change in the little boy's hat. I think their parent's were eating together at the restaurant nearby and out of potential boredom and creativity, they organized a show for the passers-by.

Later that night we found ourselves in the most intimate little pub with a live open-mic acoustic set, filling the small room with the most talented artists passing around the spotlight to one another after a song or two, both original and covers, but only voices and instruments - no amps or mics or speakers. We had originally meant to see a big show down to Whalen's, a pub and music venue with a few different venue spaces for live performances and a separate comedy area, but this little pub, Bourke's right next door, was meant to be. It only fit about 30 people, so we squeezed ourselves into the little dark hallway entrance, shoulder to shoulder with some Irish and some visitors, but it seemed within a matter of minutes we were all instantly close friends sharing this experience together. It turns out one of the visitors from Canada, knows a mutual friend from back home from church. I love when that happens. You get to chatting and someone you meet across the world has ties to your world back home. 

One of our favorite artists was this young Irishman from the countryside, and he played a Van Morrison song so incredibly well, Rob and I were gaping at what was happening right in front of us. I went to talk to him afterwards, letting him know how talented and entertaining he was, and asked how he learned to play and sing like that? His response was gold. He learned to play guitar from a young age, hinting that there wasn't anything else to keep him entertained out in the country in a simple and drab environment. His Father loved Van Morrison, so he started learning and playing his songs when we has a young lad. 

What was most interesting to me was that it was all so simple. He didn't have voice and guitar lessons that his parent's paid for and dragged him to week after week. He needed to entertain himself, learn, and feed his creativity because life was simple and there weren't distractions like so many of us have (phones, tv, toys, video games...etc). There are a lot of talented musicians in Dublin, and I wonder if this is the case with most of them. 

Reeling from such a magical night, we walked home around midnight, grabbing a delicious wood-fired pizza at Dublin Pizza Company along the way. We guzzled down the pizza as the pizza maker, Tomasso, was telling us about his move 5 years ago from a small coastal town in Italy to Dublin to pursue work and get out of his small going-nowhere-if-I-stay-here town. 

The rest of our time in Dublin was spent walking around, finding traditional and modern cuisine, sipping pints of frothy Guinness, and finding where the best live open-mic music was going on for that evening. 

The Long Hall, is an old victorian pub from the late 1800's, and is one of Dublin's most well known places for good pints of Guinness and it's ambiance. Apparently this is Bruce Springsteen's favorite pub when he is in town, and this is the spot that I learned about from that Anthony Bourdain episode. One night, we wen to O'Donahue's, another popular spot, for a more upbeat open mic session. My favorite was Half-blind Jim jamming away and a guy who did rendition of Criss Cross's "Jump Around" - a 90's favorite & one-hit wonder.

We found an amazing breakfast spot called Hatch & Sons, not too far from our hostel. We went on a mission one morning to find the best Irish Breakfast, and I think this place did the trick. It was located underneath the main building on the street, with stairs down to an open patio and then an open kitchen & sitting area inside. It was simple but beautiful. We both opted for the Irish Breakfast which was a cast iron skillet of baked eggs, streaky bacon, roasted tomatoes, and Irish sausage, served with a side of Irish soda bread - although this one wasn't sweet but more hearty and grainy. It was probably meat overload, as they didn't skimp on the bacon, but it was tasty and filling! 

One of the days we rented a car and drove out to west coast of Ireland to see the Cliffs of Moher. I've been to Dublin one other time, and I was excited to see the countryside and what the buzz was about this area. Getting through the city was the most difficult part, as the streets are impossible to read, and everything is one way or chaotic. We both were white-knuckled, Rob gripping the steering wheel and gear shift, and me holding on to the door with one hand and the other clinging to my phone with the directions. 

The highways were fine, but the country roads were the most narrow roads I've ever seen, barely wide enough to fit two small cars passing by each other (thank goodness we didn't have to pass a bus). After three hours of stressful driving, we finally made it to the Cliffs. Crowded with tourists and tour busses, I could feel Rob's eyes on me as he said "these cliffs better be the best damn cliffs I've ever seen." And they were. 

We walked along the path marked "proceed at your own risk", literally right to the edge of the cliffs. I preferred to stay closest to the wall, but Rob enjoyed laying down, strapping his camera to his hand and wrapping his arm over the side of the cliff. I held onto his leg, feeling like I needed to do something. We got some pretty amazing shots and the rain and wind had just kicked up, so we decided to make our way over to the little beach town of Lahinch. It was so charming. The streets were lined with cafes, surf shops and seafood spots. We walked down to the sand and checked the waves - all wind blown, but enough action for a surf camp to get out there. It was the stormiest I've seen the ocean in a while, and there were loads of locals grabbing foam boards and heading down to the surf. My favorite were these two old ladies we walked passed, who had grabbed their matching white swim caps, and giggled all the way down to the water, admitting they were a little crazy for doing it. Nothing was stopping these cheeky ladies from finding something adventurous to do. 

After the beach, we found the coziest and most delicious cafe to grab lunch at. Joe's Cafe in Lahinch, had plenty of healthy options for lunch, which I was particularly excited about after eating heavier food for the last couple of days in the city. I had the special, which was an amazing veggie quiche with goat cheese,  olives, courgette (zucchini), peppers, and parmesan, served with a side salad that was laced with shredded carrots, olives, roasted red peppers, red quinoa, a flavorful mint couscous cooked with curry spices, cumin, and raisins, all served with a balsamic dijon vinaigrette. Simple but flavorful and different enough for me to write it all down so I can replicate it at home. Rob had a yummy mushroom chicken quesadilla with homemade salsa and the same big side salad. 

Our final day was spent roaming about the city and doing some work. I had my eye on a healthy cafe/market called the Good Food Store, and I grabbed a  Superfood wrap with sweet potatoes, carrots, avocado, red cabbage, lettuce, pepitas and green goddess dressing (loaded with basil and herbs), with a side of mushroom potato soup - perfect in the drizzly afternoon. This cafe was such a great spot for a variety of whole foods based items, some GF or vegan options offered as well, with a great ambiance for sitting down to do some work or read a book.

One of the chalk signs on the walls read "You don't have to cook fancy or complicated masterpieces - just GOOD FOOD from fresh ingredients." -Julia Child. I think her and I would have gotten along well. It was fun perusing through many of the old book stores and finding some of her old cookbooks. 

It was just starting to rain and we decided to hop in a taxi for the airport instead of walking to the bus (about 1 mile away), and we were so glad we did because our taxi driver was full of all kinds of knowledge to share: Ireland, culture, politics, religion, food, and the way things are. Through his thick Irish accent, he took us through the climate of the culture and politics of his country, which we are always trying to learn more of in the places that we visit. It turns out that he used to be a cook, working his way up to be a chef, but once kids came along and he needed to spend more time with family, he opted for taxi driver so he could best support his family in a most sustainable environment. Besides, he loved to share his story and this seemed to be the best way to do so. 

Before we knew it we were en route to Amsterdam. But not before the Ireland airport security insisted that we separate all of liquids and put them into a small ziplock bag. 1 small bag per person. And it had to zip up all the way. We're traveling for months, and I definitely brought enough essential oils to fit in one bag of their own, not to mention the rest of the toiletries...Please just imagine Rob and I each in two separate security lines, both ripping our bags apart and trying to shove everything in bags that we know won't close. My security guy felt bad for me and said he would finish zipping it, but Rob tried to handle his and turns out he got the top to zip, but basically had to put a huge slit across the side so it would zip. My bags had to be checked another 2 times, and I wish I could say we were the only ones dealing with this insanity, but about 50% of people were enjoying the same thing. I'm all about security, this was a bit ridiculous. 

Anyways, we made it - on our first Ryan air flight of the trip and all, and currently enjoying the Netherlands! I can't wait to share about Amsterdam - We've been here for the last few days and it's been absolutely amazing! 

Here's the list of places in Dublin where we found good food and good ambiance:

MUSIC & PUBS

Whelan's (Bourke's pub) - larger music venue for shows, comedy nights and smaller setting for free open mic shows. 

O'Donahue's  - more upbeat open mic - half blind jim and a guy who did rendition of Criss Cross's "Jump Around" - a 90's fav, i still remember my sister's cassette tape of that song. 

The Long Hall - Guinness and ambiance

The Norseman - Temple Bar area (so it's touristy), but the ambiance is worth stopping for a pint and the music. 

Molly Malone Statue  - meander over by Trinity college and on most days, find yourself hearing live music echoing through the streets.

FOOD: 

The Mad Egg - like San Diego's Crack Shack, but somehow tops the list with their chicken salt fries. Amazing and sustainably sourced fried chicken and goodies. 

Murphy's Ice Cream - the most creamy and delicious ice cream. We had sea salt ice cream (yep, no caramel, just sea salt and sweet cream - YUM), and a scoop of Irish Coffee. Best combo!

Hatch & Sons - delicious Irish breakky and coffee in a simple and inviting setting. 

Dublin Pizza Company - the best wood-fired pizza in Dublin and the bonus is that they are open late... so after all the open mic sets we saw, we'd head there for a late night bite. 

Keogh's Cafe -  Raspberries scones with fresh raspberry jam and Irish butter.

The Good Food Store - Superfood wrap with sweet potatoes, carrots, avocado, red cabbage, lettuce, pepitas and green goddes dressing - basil & herbs, with a side of mushroom potato soup - perfect in the drizzly afternoon.

Joe's cafe -  in Lahinch (over by Galway) - cute cafe, great for brekky or lunch. The healthy cafe has a solid menu with a good variety. I had an amazing veggie quiche with goat cheese & veggies, served with a side salad with a delicious curry couscous. 

Click to see all my favorite pics from Ireland!