Doin' it - 20 Hours in Dublin!
A couple of weeks ago, two colleagues / friends and I decided to take a long layover in Dublin prior to heading on to our business trip in Paris (again...sigh). We knew that we would be pressed for time, and although I tried to make a plan, during our planning session, we really just ended up drinking a couple of beers at the County Clare and decided we would "wing it" when we got to Dublin.We landed in Dublin at ~8:30 AM and took an Uber to our hotel, the Jury's Inn at Christ Church (yes, Jeff, the one who booked that hotel got some razzing from me about choosing a "religious" place. I didn't expect that from him). I'm the one with egg on my face though, because the hotel was PERFECTLY situated and gave us access to everything we thought we might want to see (and, the name reflects location)!Derek, the third musketeer, had only ONE wish: a traditional Irish breakfast. So, off we went (around the corner!) to Copper Alley Bistro. After quickly perusing the menu, we all got the traditional breakfast, and enjoyed it. In fact, a friend of mine saw a picture of the breakfast and asked me if I had tried the black pudding. Of course I had! I tried everything on the plate!The traditional Irish breakfast consists of: sausages, bacon, black & white pudding, hash browns, grilled tomato & fried egg served with toast.
Jeff and Derek added beans to theirs, and Jeff and I added mushroom to ours. It was a LOT of food! My plate was left half full just due to the shear amount of food, but it was no indication as to how much I enjoyed this new experience.After breakfast, we set off by foot to see the east side of Dublin and circled back to the west side, seeing all kinds of sites. Of course, we toured the Guinness factory along the way!
We didn't have much time in Dublin, so we decided to go back to the Temple bar district (the "tourist trap") for dinner and drinks. We stopped into The Quays restaurant for dinner. I handed my card to our server, and he was on board with taking over. The only question he asked me was if price was an issue, noting that he wasn't planning to bring the most expensive item, but also not the least expensive. It was not.He brought me the most delicious lamb shank and potatoes I have ever had - Braised Wicklow Lamb Shank cooked in red wine with root vegetables, fresh parsley & thyme, served with chive mash & red wine jus.
Jeff and Derek added beans to theirs, and Jeff and I added mushroom to ours. It was a LOT of food! My plate was left half full just due to the shear amount of food, but it was no indication as to how much I enjoyed this new experience.After breakfast, we set off by foot to see the east side of Dublin and circled back to the west side, seeing all kinds of sites. Of course, we toured the Guinness factory along the way!We didn't have much time in Dublin, so we decided to go back to the Temple bar district (the "tourist trap") for dinner and drinks. We stopped into The Quays restaurant for dinner. I handed my card to our server, and he was on board with taking over. The only question he asked me was if price was an issue, noting that he wasn't planning to bring the most expensive item, but also not the least expensive. It was not.He brought me the most delicious lamb shank and potatoes I have ever had - Braised Wicklow Lamb Shank cooked in red wine with root vegetables, fresh parsley & thyme, served with chive mash & red wine jus.
That sauce! I surprised myself by eating a good portion of it (after sharing a few bites with the guys)! It was great that our server was cool with choosing a local meal for me , and that he brought something different than Jeff (traditional Irish stew) and Derek (cottage pie) ordered.After dinner we stopped at Temple Bar to have an Irish Whiskey (or two). It seems that a trip to Ireland would be incomplete without doing so (for those who drink alcohol), right?We had a 6AM flight in order to make our midday meetings in Paris the next day, so it was early to bed and EARLY to rise! In any case, it was a FUN 20 hours in Dublin.I'm looking forward to taking more time to go back over and see the countryside and everything the rest of Ireland has to offer (golf, hiking, etc). That's a trip I'll have to plan!Please chime in with your comments about your experiences in Ireland!Thank you, and happy holidays!KerPS. Coming soon - Adega at The 9, Cleveland.