Guinness Stew and Sausage Rolls

I'm writing this post post-fried mars bar, and I'm in a bit of a sugar coma.  There is a shop on my walk home on the Royal Mile that advertises "we sell mars bars in batter" and as I had a bit of a stressful day at work today, I decided to indulge.  I wanted to try it at least once before leaving the UK (fried everything - even pizza! - is the thing here). 

Thoughts: It was caramely, chocolate meltiness and tasted like a  s'more - I enjoyed it. I wanted to take it home before eating it, but when I asked the lady behind the counter for a bag she looked at me as though I were crazy and told me that you have to eat it right away. "Would you like a wee fork?" she asked. So fork and fried mars bar in hand, I finished my walk home - and the mars bar was done when I got there.

On to less edible things: I spent last weekend in Ireland, trip details here. I'm part Irish (with a middle name like O'Shee, how could I not be?) and really liked the country I can (sort of) call home. I even found a place called O'Shea's that could belong to a distant relative -  my middle name, which is my mom's grandmother's maiden name, was changed at immigration. 

Two other interns and I flew to Dublin Thursday night and got into the city around midnight. Dublin at night is sketch, like all good cities, but we managed to find our hostel, Isaacs, just fine. Cleanliness wasn't a priority there, so it wasn't the most pleasant stay, but at least the beds were comfortable. 

We were awoken Friday morning by construction work being done in our hallway - literally right outside our door - around 7 am. We had to navigate around construction guys and their ladders and other equipment to get to the bathroom. Oh, hostels. 

The weather in Dublin was glorious! Friday was the first time I have actually felt warm outside since I left the U.S. We shed our coats and donned sunglasses for our walking tour around the city - a completely free tour - that gave us a comprehensive view of all the major sights:

[caption id="attachment_269" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="City on the River Liffey"][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_270" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Unfortunately the only leprechaun we saw."][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_271" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Dublin Castle"][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_272" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Christ Church"][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_273" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="You know you're in Dublin when..."][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_274" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="The Temple Bar in the famous Temple Bar district - a tourist mecca."][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_275" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="The beautiful Trinity College."][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_276" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="St. Stephen's Green - a lovely central park that was alive with locals and tourists wanting to enjoy the sunshine."][/caption]

After the tour it was on to the number one tourist destination in Ireland - the Guinness Factory. I don't think it deserves that distinction, but as it is the thing to do, we couldn't miss out. We hiked out of the city center to where the storehouse is located and participated in the Guinness "experience." The admission fee includes a pint of fresh Guinness at the end of the tour in the Gravity Bar, which has 360 degree views of the city - pretty darn cool. The tour is arranged to take you on a winding route through the largest pint glass in the world - but can that really exist? hmmm.

[caption id="attachment_278" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="I was the only one to actually drink and finish my pint - I am Irish, after all!"][/caption]

The Irish say that if you drink a Guinness you don't need a meal, but I still wanted to try some Irish food, so the girls and I went to O'Neill's, a pub in the city center. Sarah, my friend from Notre Dame who studied abroad in Dublin last semester, highly recommended it and I'm glad she did. I got the Guinness and beef stew, per her suggestion, and a heaping side plate of vegetables. mmmm

[caption id="attachment_279" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="O'Neill's"][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_280" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Mah dinner. p.s. I ate pretty much the whole thing."][/caption]

We were pretty tired that night so we then just went back to the hostel and attempted to get a good night's sleep. That didn't exactly happen, but we awoke the next day excited for our tour to Wicklow and Glendalough - the second most visited places in Ireland. Some USC students who were in Dublin a few weeks ago highly recommended going to the South, and I always enjoy getting outside the city. I wish we could have seen more, but I'll be back, as the tour guide kept repeating.  

Our bus driver was a bit condescending to the tourist set (makes you wonder why his job is being a tour guide) but the tour was great otherwise. Wicklow is a national park known for it's beautiful mountainous scenery. Glendalough means "valley of two glacial lakes" and was a stunning sight.  It actually reminded me of Yosemite quite a bit.

[caption id="attachment_281" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Within Wicklow - Loch Taye, I believe? "][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_283" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Famous bridge because P.S. I Love You was filmed here - I had never seen the movie but just watched it - tearjerker!"][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_282" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="The ladies at the loch."][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_284" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Cemetary that's part of an old monastery in Glendalough."][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_285" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="An Irish dog - wearing clothes!"][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_286" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="Shore of the upper glacial lake."][/caption]

 

[caption id="attachment_287" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="The other girls were creeped out, but I thought he was a pretty one!"][/caption]

After taking in the Irish non-cityside, we arrived back in Dublin just in time for the Ireland v. Wales rugby game. Temple Bar was the place to be, and we found seats in a room full of crazy, middle-aged, drunk Wales supporters. It was really fun being around people who were so invested in the game - but also just there to have a good time. I think we amused some of the people - one man kept stopping by to tell us he loved us and kept insisting he could explain the rules to us if we needed. The Irish are very friendly, sometimes overly so!

After witnessing Ireland's close victory, we went to Messrs McGuire for some pub fun. It's a multi-level place on the river, and it was a really lively place to be. I had a pint of cider, but just one - drinks are very expensive in Dublin! My cider was about 6 euro, and that's pretty much standard.  We are certainly lucky here in Edinburgh that drinks are typically between 2 and 3 pounds (1 pound is roughly 1 euro). 

The next morning we tried to go to mass at St. Patrick's, but for whatever reason they weren't offering the typical mass, so we went to a close-by church, St. John's, that was also very nice. I was suprised to see that even in Ireland, what I usually think of as a very Catholic place, mass attendance was very low and mostly composed of people over the age of 50. 

[caption id="attachment_288" align="alignnone" width="500" caption="St. Patrick's."][/caption]

Then it was pretty quickly to the busy Dublin airport and back to Edinburgh. A very nice weekend, all in all. My homeland is pretty cool.

More thoughts about Ireland:

- I really liked Dublin, but I didn't really see many Irish people! There are 4 million people living in Ireland and 8 million tourists go through the country every year. We were constantly surrounded by Americans on holiday - but that may be because of the types of places we went to.

- Even though mass attendance wasn't what I expected it to be, it is very evident that the Irish still place much value on Catholicism -- Catholic churches are everywhere, and most places are closed Sunday morning so that people can go to church - even the city buses don't run. 

- I really like sausage rolls: sausage wrapped in a buttery, crusty bread. I had two on the trip.

- The whole of Ireland only has 7 Starbucks, good for them! Other Ireland-owned coffee shops have been offering good deals since Starbucks started expanding there and it's worked so far. I haven't been to Starbucks one time since I've been in the UK, and I'm not planning on it.

This week it's up to Inverness in the Scottish Highlands to visit my MSP's constituency and this weekend I'm planning a day trip to Leith (port city next to Edinburgh) with some of the interns.  From Scotland, with love, until next time.