How to Eat and Shop Your Way Through Dublin: No experience required

So when I last left you, I spent my first day exploring Dublin.



After boozing it up at Guinness Factory ;), Meaghan's cousin, Deirdre, who generously offered accommodate us , picked us up outside of the factory and whisked us away to suburbia aka the best part of the trip. I never realized how much I miss "home life." Home life, at least for me, means sitting on the couch, sipping a cup of tea, snacking, and watching movies. Deirdre’s house did not disappoint. Not only is her house straight out of an IKEA magazine, but she had a great movie selection. I’m very easy to please. We ordered Chinese and popped in a DVD. The night couldn’t have been better.

I'll take this set up anyday!

The next morning, we hopped on a public bus and traveled back to City Center for some more sightseeing and shopping. I’m about to share some top secret information with you. Ireland likes its alcohol, so it only seemed natural that we hit up the Jameson Distillery. We took advantage of our two day tour bus and made our way to the factory.

Oh let the Jameson sink in

After Jameson, we tried to navigate to this Leprechaun museum but somehow we got sidetracked shopping. Shocking? With four girls, in a new city, this was bound to happen. We discovered the Mecca of shopping destinations- Penney’s. I'm a very loyal Forever 21 shopper, but Penney's kicked Forever’s ass and I'm seriously contemplating another trip to Ireland just to go back. It had everything, and I mean everything. I was in love, but unfortunately my already over packed North Face bag allowed me to only  purchase the necessities , i.e. an infinity scarf , gloves and a cute new top. Only the essentials obviously.

Owns my wallet

 Shopping kept us busy for the majority of the day and it's safe to say that nobody missed the Leprechaun museum,

What do after a long day of shopping? hmmmm, EAT! Deirdre recommended a fabulous restaurant, Mongolian BBQ located in the Temple Bar area. It was great. You basically got to fill a bowl with a bunch of veggies, meats, sauces and spices and then hand it over to a chef who quickly sautéed your creation right in front of you. Very similar to the Fire and Ice restaurant in Boston if you’re familiar with the concept. I went a little overboard with the spices on my first round (rookie mistake), but I perfected the art for my second go around.

Round 1.

Working his magic.

The next morning Meg's cousin whipped us up a traditional Irish breakfast of eggs, sausage,bacon, English breakfast tea and toast with jam and butter. A home cooked meal was just what the doctor ordered. After our lovely breakfast, which lasted till 1pm, we went to the mall. Once again Penney’s lured us in, but I held strong...kinda. Okay I bought ONE thing.

The Spread

After shopping we decided to cook up a Mexican feast for Deirdre as a "thank you for putting up with us" gesture. Tacos are what we know best, so we all manned different jobs and easily conquered the meal. I know this may come as a shock to you, but this was Deirdre's first taco experience. I think we would have made Chipotle proud. Sadly the salsa suffered major causalities and didn't make it to the table. Note to self: Always buy two containers of salsa.

Sous chef's in action

Our little fiesta

The next day we spent enjoying the Irish countryside. I'll let the pictures do the talking:

Tissy and I representing the 412 @Wicklow

I'm too cute

Couldn't resist buying this little gem

Irish Sea

Whoever said, "don't cry over spilt milk," obviously never dropped their ice cream....I was devastated.

AND THEN WE WENT TO BONO"S HOUSE.

Where Bono parks his car

We didn't meet Bono, just his security guard, but nonetheless, it was still a pretty cool experience.

Ireland was amazing. Not only was stunning, but the company was perfect! The only downside to this adventure is that I got hooked on these shortbread biscuits that are nowhere to be found in Belgium, but I suppose I shall survive ...somehow.

SHOUTOUT to my mama!

Cheers,
Shayne