Not that you can tell from the photos, but we visited Dublin in Summer. It was end of June and Mum’s treat for Dad’s 40th birthday. Yeah… he is old, I know! We landed in Dublin fairly early and the quickest and cheapest way into the centre was the Airlink Express bus. Before we knew it were walking down a very windy O’Connell Street, past The Spire of Dublin, a large, stainless steel, pin-like monument 120 metres in height. A bit further on and we crossed O’Connell Bridge over the River Liffey and found ourselves the edge of Temple Bar, where after dark, the area is a centre for nightlife, with various tourist-focused nightclubs, restaurants and bars.
We went in the first pub we saw, Fitzgeralds Bar, which turned out to be a good shout and we ending up making it our Dublin local. Two pints of Guinness and a breakfast roll to share please. This was a thing of beauty, a proper bear-sized sandwich with bacon, egg, sausage, black pudding and white pudding. It hit the spot I can tell you! Fitzgerald’s is a classic, old time narrow pub with a warm vibe offering typical grub, cocktails and draft beer, plus live music and it gets the Bryn thumbs up 👍
We spent a very enjoyable few days in Dublin and of course there was plenty of eating and drinking… it was definitely a good craic! As well as the checking out Dublin’s street art, which you can read about via the link, we saw lots of interesting buildings and monuments as we walked the street of old Dublin town. The place is brimming with history and culture and… Guinness. Of course, there is much more to Dublin than Guinness, but whilst you’re here, you simple must have a few pints of the black stuff. The dark Irish dry stout originated in the brewery of Arthur Guinness at St. James’s Gate, Dublin, Ireland, in 1759 and became one of the most successful beer brands.
We had to join in the fun, so sank a few in the The Auld Dubliner pub in Temple Bar. Whilst we were in the area, we went to Gallaghers Boxty House, the iconic eatery in the heart of Temple Bar, where they serve “the humble spud, made beautiful”. We had the house chowder (Smoked & Fresh Fish in a Potato & Fennel Broth with Stout & Treacle Bread) and then the Gaelic Boxty (Medallions of Irish Fillet Beef, Irish Whiskey, Black Pepper & Mushroom Cream Sauce, Boxty Pancak and, House Salad), washed down with the Jack Smyth Red Ale. It was nice, but Mum said the Boxty wasn’t as good as a Polish potato pancake. We weren’t going to argue with Mum when it comes to Polish food. Yes, Mum… we agree!
Talking of food, we have to mention the frankly amazing burgers we had at Jo’Burger. Mum had the Ikqezi, which was a chicken burger (but you could choose which meat you wanted) with caramelised chilli banana, bacon & goats cheese. [Edit: sadly this place closed at the end of December 2018, so we can’t go back again 😢]
What a great time we had and as usual, when we were getting a later flight home, we found ourselves a nice pub to chill for a few hours before heading to the airport. Our destination this time was The Hairy Lemon, which you can read about by following the link. By now we were overflowing with Guinness, so time for a few pints of the other drink of choice in Ireland, Magners Irish Cider or Bulmers as it’s known here. Cheers!