An Appetite for Adventure

10pm: Check ya later, NYC! Six hours and an Ambien later, “Hello, Dublin!” Sean and I descend upon the land of the leprechaun ready to hit the pavement and the pub for a speedy jaunt in our ancestors’ stomping grounds. Upon boarding our flight, I chuckled at all the funny Irish names until I realized that … um, we both have funny Irish names, too. Doh!

Ireland must have known I was coming, as the day was unusually clear, though much colder (~55-60F) than we packed for. Since Sean studied in Dublin a few years back, I had my own personal tour guide, free of charge.

My first impression of Dublin? Bagels. Yes, bagels! Everywhere. I only ate two meals in Dublin, and guess what they both were? Bagels. Sean insists this is a new phenomenon. Whatever it is, it was certainly unexpected.

We spent the next few hours meandering through Sean’s old haunts: Temple Bar with its colorful and plentiful drinking establishments, Grafton Street with its upscale shopping, St. Stephen’s Green and the River Liffey. Dublin’s center is rather small, making our short stop extremely manageable.

After enjoying the sights, what I have now deemed “The Fruitless Quest” began. Craving a beer he recalled from his Irish adventure, we strode in and out of no less than 10 pubs in search of McCafferty’s, what we now know is a decidedly English beer that has fallen out of favor with the Celts. Disappointed he couldn’t find his beverage of choice, but still up for a pint, we settled into Temple Bar (the pub) for a big glass of Irish ale. Having little in my belly and choosing a pub that served nothing but oysters, I promptly passed out on our airport shuttle and the flight to Rome.

Click here for pics:

[08.05.26] Dublin