Chrissy and I got up before the sun once again today…except this time, it was a mistake! We forgot about the time difference between Paris and Ireland, and that our phones wouldn’t change automatically. Thus we were up an hour earlier for our tour, and decided to grab some breakfast at a recommended place called the Pantry Restaurant. We had our first, great, full Irish breakfast, which consisted of a fried egg, sausage, bacon, black & white pudding, toast, and tea! I was very hesitant to try the black & white pudding, which if you don’t know, is made of pig’s blood (the black) and fatty parts of the pig (the white, but mized with bread and oatmeal). Our incredibly nice waiter convinced us to overcome our fears and to give it a taste. Sure enough, it was actually pretty good! Neither of us managed to eat the whole little cakes, but we at least made a good effort.
After breakfast, we met up with our group and guide for our tour of the Wicklow mountains. We were going with OVER THE TOP Tours, which had great reviews because of its smaller sized tours; they could only take 16 people maximum due to their smaller buses. As we drove through Dublin to leave the city, our guide told us a bit about Irish history, which I found absolutely fascinating.
Our first stop was a little town on the coast called Bray. Our guide told us that it used to be a really popular vacation town several decades ago, but that it slowed down once people started going to cities along the Mediterranean. It was still beautiful, and he made us tea & cookies for a late morning snack.
After a while, we were once more cruising along the coast and eventually started our ascent into the Wicklow Mountains. Before we knew it, we arrived at Guinness Lake! It was absolutely breathtaking; the lake was black, and the narrow, sandy beach provided a contrast to the lake, making it indeed look like a pint of Guinness. It was set in a valley with mountains behind it, and supposedly the property right by the beach is owned by a descendent of Arthur Guinness, who started the company. After this, we drove a bit further along the road and came to Glenmacnass Waterfall, which was more of a trickle than waterfall, but beautiful nonetheless.
Next, we went to the Monastery in Glendalough, which was pretty cool because it was built in the 6th century by St. Kevin. We walked through the old settlement and made our way around the two lakes. Again, these lakes were located in the midst of the beautiful Wicklow Mountains, and the views were incredible. We took so many pictures, and Chrissy and I actually ended up making friends with a couple of Scottish guys. We asked one of them to take our picture, and he looked at my lens, and playfully said I was a “disgrace to camera owners everywhere” because of how dirty it was. We both laughed as he proceeded to whip out his lens cloth and some other handy tool he used to give my lens a good thorough cleaning. EVERYONE IS JUST SO FRIENDLY.
On our way back, we drove around the largest man-made lake in Western Europe, which I thought was pretty neat. Apparently the guy who built it (can you build a lake? I don’t really know how to phrase that) didn’t even bother to knock down the houses that remained, and instead just let the water bring them to ruins as he filled it.
We returned to Dublin around 5:45, and even though we were exhausted, we managed to sprint to Queen of Tarts. We had a dinner scheduled for 6:45, and Chrissy wanted to make sure she got a little taste of heaven before we left for Galway. The two of us decided on apple scones, which were just as delicious as the carrot cake I tried yesterday. Happily munching on our scones, we walked toward The Brazen Head to grab a pint before our special dinner. The Brazen Head is the oldest pub in Dublin, and it was also my favorite. It had a smaller, cozier atmosphere than some of the other bars we went to, and the bartenders were extremely friendly. We nursed our pints of Bulmer’s while waiting for 6:45 to roll around, and when it finally did, we made our trek up the stairs to our special dinner: Food, Folklore and Fairies!
I read incredible things about this special dinner performance. Not only was the food supposed to be amazing, but also the stories and the storyteller himself. The little dining room was candlelit and gave off such a cozy atmosphere, and Johnny was so welcoming! He told us all about the history of the Irish potato, the famine, and Irish migration. He regaled us with tales of Irish fairies and the role they have played throughout history. He poked and prodded at our imaginations as he recounted other stories that have been passed down from generation to generation for hundreds of years. Throughout all of these stories, I was eating a delicious, traditional Irish meal of fish cakes, stew, and apple pie. I could not have been happier.
Hours later, we emerged with full bellies and the intent to grab a few pints before heading back to our hostel! We walked toward the Temple Bar, and stumbled upon a fun-filled pub called Mulligans. We had some more Bulmer’s and enjoyed the live (American?) music while chatting with some Londoners and Irishmen. We then moved on to the Temple Bar itself, which was so incredibly crowded that it was difficult to move. I actually wasn’t the biggest fan; on top of the crowd, the bartenders weren’t that friendly and it was difficult to get a drink. At least we checked it out, though!
We strolled back to our hostel, and I was so exhausted that I’m pretty sure I was asleep before my head hit the pillow.
Hey guys, I'm Katie! Welcome to my blog, where I ramble on about anything and everything. I'm 21 years old, a rising senior at Boston College and am pursuing a major in International Studies and a minor in French. I just returned from studying abroad at Sciences Po in Paris, so most of the entries from the past five months consist of my cultural experiences, my passionate love affair with French food, my close encounters of the third wine, and my ramblings about crazy French people. I love photography, traveling, reading, and cooking. I love all kinds of music; check out what I'm listening to at last.fm. I also enjoy a good tweet now and again. Check out some more random facts about me, if you're so inclined...
Une terre de verdure: Wicklow
Chrissy and I got up before the sun once again today…except this time, it was a mistake! We forgot about the time difference between Paris and Ireland, and that our phones wouldn’t change automatically. Thus we were up an hour earlier for our tour, and decided to grab some breakfast at a recommended place called the Pantry Restaurant. We had our first, great, full Irish breakfast, which consisted of a fried egg, sausage, bacon, black & white pudding, toast, and tea! I was very hesitant to try the black & white pudding, which if you don’t know, is made of pig’s blood (the black) and fatty parts of the pig (the white, but mized with bread and oatmeal). Our incredibly nice waiter convinced us to overcome our fears and to give it a taste. Sure enough, it was actually pretty good! Neither of us managed to eat the whole little cakes, but we at least made a good effort.
After breakfast, we met up with our group and guide for our tour of the Wicklow mountains. We were going with OVER THE TOP Tours, which had great reviews because of its smaller sized tours; they could only take 16 people maximum due to their smaller buses. As we drove through Dublin to leave the city, our guide told us a bit about Irish history, which I found absolutely fascinating.
Our first stop was a little town on the coast called Bray. Our guide told us that it used to be a really popular vacation town several decades ago, but that it slowed down once people started going to cities along the Mediterranean. It was still beautiful, and he made us tea & cookies for a late morning snack.
Next, we went to the Monastery in Glendalough, which was pretty cool because it was built in the 6th century by St. Kevin. We walked through the old settlement and made our way around the two lakes. Again, these lakes were located in the midst of the beautiful Wicklow Mountains, and the views were incredible. We took so many pictures, and Chrissy and I actually ended up making friends with a couple of Scottish guys. We asked one of them to take our picture, and he looked at my lens, and playfully said I was a “disgrace to camera owners everywhere” because of how dirty it was. We both laughed as he proceeded to whip out his lens cloth and some other handy tool he used to give my lens a good thorough cleaning. EVERYONE IS JUST SO FRIENDLY.
On our way back, we drove around the largest man-made lake in Western Europe, which I thought was pretty neat. Apparently the guy who built it (can you build a lake? I don’t really know how to phrase that) didn’t even bother to knock down the houses that remained, and instead just let the water bring them to ruins as he filled it.
I read incredible things about this special dinner performance. Not only was the food supposed to be amazing, but also the stories and the storyteller himself. The little dining room was candlelit and gave off such a cozy atmosphere, and Johnny was so welcoming! He told us all about the history of the Irish potato, the famine, and Irish migration. He regaled us with tales of Irish fairies and the role they have played throughout history. He poked and prodded at our imaginations as he recounted other stories that have been passed down from generation to generation for hundreds of years. Throughout all of these stories, I was eating a delicious, traditional Irish meal of fish cakes, stew, and apple pie. I could not have been happier.
Hours later, we emerged with full bellies and the intent to grab a few pints before heading back to our hostel! We walked toward the Temple Bar, and stumbled upon a fun-filled pub called Mulligans. We had some more Bulmer’s and enjoyed the live (American?) music while chatting with some Londoners and Irishmen. We then moved on to the Temple Bar itself, which was so incredibly crowded that it was difficult to move. I actually wasn’t the biggest fan; on top of the crowd, the bartenders weren’t that friendly and it was difficult to get a drink. At least we checked it out, though!
We strolled back to our hostel, and I was so exhausted that I’m pretty sure I was asleep before my head hit the pillow.