First Trip in Ireland

Perhaps the best thing about being in the UK is it's proximity to the rest of Europe (aka cheap flights!). I had a few holiday days to use up so as a last minute decision, Samir and I chose to go to Ireland! The decision was made because it was one of the cheapest destinations we can go to (factoring in flight ticket and general expenses), so off we went!

We arrived on a BEAUTIFUL Tuesday afternoon. It was so sunny and warm that it could've been any late spring or early autumn day! Samir came up with the suggestion to have Japanese food (you can already tell who is the trip planner between us). Initially, I was skeptical but I thought about it logically - Ireland = close to water, water = seafood, seafood = Japanese food, so off we went to J2 Grill & Sushi. It's a cute little restaurant located right next to River Liffey, a river that cuts through Dublin's city centre. Samir got the salmon terriyaki bento and I got a spicy prawn tempura roll bento. Guess what, it was actually really good!

After lunch, we tried making our way to bank to grab some Euro because planning fail BUT we walked by the Marker Hotel, which is known for their cronuts! As someone who comes from Toronto, it might be hard to believe that I am a cronut virgin, so sadly, I cannot make any cronut comparisons. We got two cronuts, one with a berry topping and another with passion fruit. The tartness of both the berry and passionfruit really help cut through the cronut which was really nice. I cannot tell however, if their cronuts weren't that big of a deal or if I'm just not that big a fan of cronuts. So while I did enjoy it and the hotel was also very pleasing to the eyes, it's not something I would think about doing again. p.s. hotel's pen was AWESOME and if you have heard of my Hilton pen story, you know I have a soft spot for hotels with good pens.

In the evening, we did a whiskey and chocolate pairing with Teeling Whiskey Co and Bean and Goose. When we arrived at the distillery, the pairing didn't start yet, so we went to the in house bar and damn did the bartenders put on a performance. Mind you, I don't go to fancy bars, but I was thoroughly entertained by the rhythm that they had. In hindsight, I wish I got a video of them making drinks! Our conclusion after the event though? Whiskey and chocolate goes great, but the single origin Ecuadorian chocolate from Bean and Goose deserves a special shout out!

After event cocktails (included!)

Post whiskey, we had to try another one of Dublin's must eats, burgers from Bunsen. I always say I'm not a huge fan of burger, but I think after my short time in Europe, I might need to stop saying that. The restaurant's entire menu is super simple! I ordered the cheeseburger, which was an awesomely juicy and beautiful burger.

I swear we did not just eat our faces off the entire trip but the next day we went to Elephant and Castle! This pub is famous for their spicy chicken wings! Check out my photo below, believe it or not, all that for just €13! That was enough wings to keep Samir and I satisfied for lunch! We made our way to the Trinity College, home to the Book of Kells. Sadly the book was off display that day, so we made our way to the Dublin castle. It did not look super interesting and you needed to pay to go in, so we just walked around the outside (cheap Asian problems). After, we went to the Dubhlinn Gardens right beside the castle. Sadly it was rainy and cloudy day, but I can just imagine how beautiful this garden can be during the summer! Fun Fact: Dubhlinn is Gaelic for Black Pool (and sounds awfully like Dublin, I wonder why)

Dubhlinn Garden

We also went to the Chester Beatty Library. It's weird that it's called a library, because it is more of a book museum. Books from different cultures were on display, showcasing how book binding and the art of making books has evolved throughout each culture's history. Kind of funny how we did not get to see the Book of Kells, but we still got to see a ton of awesome books! Not going to lie, the Qurans in the library was definitely the most intricate books I've seen. The book makers literally wrote "Allah" in gold ink and drew tiny flowers above a word to signify a new verse!

Oh, that day we also went to a photography gallery (I can't believe I forgot the name), but this photographer took photos of the Irish who are about to emigrate out of Ireland or those who have emigrated but are now returning to Ireland. With each of his photo subjects, he recorded their stories of why they wanted to leave / thoughts on coming back!

After all that, We made our way to Murphy's Ice Cream. They pride themselves in making everything naturally and locally in Dingle! Apparently, even they even make their own sea salt using Dingle's sea water! Our verdict after eating their Dingle sea salt ice cream? Oh yea, that's proper ice cream! We also got the chocolate ice cream flavour which made the sea salt ice cream taste even better after! Talk about ice cream pairing!!

Evening view in Dublin

Dinner at Musashi Noodles and Sushi bar was disappointing. So we will skip to the NEXT DAY! It took us 3.5 hours on the bus to get from Dublin Galway. It started pouring rain after we got into our accommodation, but we braved through the rain anyhow to get to lunch. Up until this point, if you just read about the food, you wouldn't think we are in Ireland. Cold, wet, and hungry, we went to McDonagh's, home to award winning Fish and Chips!

After some Fish and Chips and some wondering around the Christmas market of Galway, we went to Tig Choili, a local pub known for having live traditional Irish music! Samir and I ordered an Irish ale and the good old Guinness. Best part is that the vibe of the pub was pretty mellow until the music started and things started to feel... Irish... for the lack of better words!

We went back to the Christmas market after, apparently Ireland's oldest Christmas market. We tried the Roast Suckling Pork Bap from the Adare Farm Hog Roast stand and it was AMAZING! Call me skeptical but street food in Toronto isn't usually that great (compared to Asia) so I was shocked when the bap was really good! It was so juicy it was like someone was pouring pork juices into my mouth with every bite.

The next day, we did a day tour to the Cliff's of Moher and as though we were kissed by the luck of the Irish, the rainy weather the day before gave way to a beautiful sunny day! With our small tour group, we saw the Dunguaire castle in the village of Kinvara, we stopped by Doolin for lunch at Gus O'Conner's (someone say Guinness stew and seafood chowder?)

Doolin

Guinness Beef Stew

Seafood Chowder

We also stopped by the Burren, which landscape is said to be where Tolkien took reference for Mordor. There is also a cave called Pol na Gollum, translating to Hole of Gollum. Legend says that there was a greedy leprechaun who once lived in this cave, and a witch placed a curse that will turn the leprechaun into stone when he walked through the cave doors if he ever stole again. Of course he stole again, and the Black Head (which does look like a head) is said to be the leprechaun! They also pointed out where they filmed a scene for Harry Potter's Half-Blood Prince. Of course, we climbed the Cliffs as well!

Harry Potter spot, ish

Doonagore Castle (Panoramic view)

View of Cliffs from Galway Bay

Cliffs of Moher

After all that, we got back to Galway and then took a long bus back to Dublin. Our last day in Ireland was chill. We wanted to go to the Guinness Store House but we got lazy. Instead, we sent back to the Trinity College where we saw the Book of Kells. I definitely didn't think I would be that fascinated by a book but it was really cool. Sadly we couldn't take a photo where the book was, but I did take a photo of the Long Room, the oldest library in Ireland. It was also home of the Trinity College Harp or Brian Boru's Harp. It's one of three oldest surviving Gaellic Harps and is the model for Ireland's iconic harp symbol!

Inside the Long Room

View of Trinity College Clock

We ended our trip the way we started by going to J2 again! That's how bad our dinner at Musashi was that we felt like we had to redeem ourselves. Samir actually got the Salmon terriyaki bento again and I got the chirashi don!

Thank you Ireland for an amazing trip. I knew Ireland was going to be beautiful but what I saw was far beyond my expectations! I also cannot stress how amazingly friendly the Irish were, everyone was quick to give us recommendations and suggestions when they found out we were tourist. If we had known we would get so much help, we wouldn't have spent all that time planning! This time we only touched a small part of Ireland but I can't wait to go back someday for the rest of it (and for more Guinness!)


Listening to "Coldest Winter" by Pentatonix
Images by Me