Wednesday, August 4, 2010

"Wine comes in at the mouth And love comes in at the eye; That's all we shall know for truth Before we grow old and die. I lift the glass to my mouth, I look at you, and I sigh." W.B Yeats

a little miscommunication led me to being dropped off at the wrong Dusseldorf airport and ended up spending a speedy, yet expensive, 80 kilometer ride to the right airport in a futile attempt to just miss the flight anyways. luckily, i made some friends to keep me entertained overnight as they too were stuck in the airport awaiting an early morning flight to Copenhagen.
 a quick sleep on the Starbuck's couch later, i was on my way to dublin and soon to find myself in front of a steamy basket of Elephant & Castle's spicy chicken wings. oh, they are always glorious. it's the perfect place for brunch, lunch on your own, or dinner, but they don't take reservations and it's always busy. don't go to Dublin without getting wings at Elephant & Castle (the rest of the menu is tempting too). and FYI - the NYC sister restaurant does not have the wings. 

i love dublin. 

fallon & byrne is a fantastic store too full of unique and gourmet products. mesmerized by the cheese counter, i asked for some samples of irish cheeses and bought 3 different kinds: crozier - a creamy blue cheese from raw sheep's milk from tipperary, st tola - a soft organic goat cheese from co. clare, and i believe it was coolea - a gouda-like cow's milk cheese from co. cork. not only were they "local" irish cheeses, but the guy behind the counter knew the names of the farm and even the farmer's name who produced these cheeses. 

the funny thing about dublin is that i don't know if i would like it as much as i do if i were a tourist. architecturally it's not as beautiful as some cities i've been to. the typical rainy, mild weather seems to cast a dreary, grey spell over the city that i can understand would change a visitor's perspective. but, having been there so many times in my life, it is a comforting place to me - i love going back to the same places and walking along the familiar streets and even more so, i think the people are adorable. it's bustling, young, friendly, hip, and fun. good craic.

some dublin recommendations:

No comments: