sláinte
Cork and the Middleton Distillery
Jyoti and I were lucky enough to travel to Ireland in the fall of 2015. The main purpose of our trip was visiting the old Middleton distillery in Cork. Dublin may have all the hustle and bustle of a major European city, but it was Cork and Kinsale that were the most memorable for us. We found a small bar in Kinsale, which had been open since 1690. We had a few pints, discussed the differences between Guinness and Beamish with the bartender (who recently moved to kinsale with his wife from Massachusetts!). We met a local who drank his Powers and Pep (Powers whiskey with a splash of peppermint schnapps), and got to enjoy a simple, relaxing time in a beautiful city we had no idea existed. Bonus - every time we told a taxi driver we were from Boston they would always say - "ah, the next Parish over". It's an amazing country with great food and even better people (and drinks!) - Aaron
24 Hours in Dublin
The summer after graduating high school, my parents treated me to a trip to the south of France. On the way back we had a 24-hour layover in Dublin. We rented a car and visited the small neighborhood where my dad studied abroad as a kid, checked out Trinity College, and ended up at the Guinness factory. But sadly, it had closed for the night. We consoled ourselves by going to the nearest pub. It was filled with locals and before we knew it, we were sitting at a table with a bunch of regulars. It was there we realized that Irish hospitality and friendliness was no myth. The DJ arrived and our new friends mentioned to him that we were Mexican. They played the Gypsy Kings and we danced all night (we didn't have the heart to tell them they were from Spain). It was a layover to remember. - Mariana
irish butter makes everything better
When I found myself faced with another a long road trip across Ireland, because my mother thought it would be fun to watch my father drive on the wrong side of the road (and the car) instead of booking trains like a normal person, I wasn’t exactly thrilled to be buckling my seatbelt again. But buckle I did. My sister and I set our headphones in place and prayed for a swift journey. After spending time in Dublin, Waterford, and County Kerry we were headed to Connemara, and eventually Killary Harbour.
After a long drive full of the greenest hills and farms I’d ever seen, we arrived in Killary. Why we were booked for a tour of the fjord after our car ride is beyond me because of the four of us, three of us suffer terribly from motion sickness. Luckily it was a lazy ride to the coast and the waters were calm. When we stepped off the boat we were starving. Our guide directed us to the small café up the street. And by street, I mean the one-sided row of centuries old tiny buildings that face the water.
We were tired, windblown, and ready for lunch. Not expecting much from the Blackberry Café & Coffee House, we wandered in hoping the fact that we were the only guests wasn’t a bad omen. On the boat I remembered sailing past some mussel beds so when I saw them listed on the menu, I relaxed instantly. Decision made. I often think about that bowl full of delicate, briny, perfectly prepared mussels. Just enough garlic, perfectly seasoned broth no doubt finished off with a little Irish butter. If we didn’t have an itinerary to follow, I think I’d still be there happily picking mussels off their shells with my fork. -Chelsie
more than a pint of plain
After I had devoured a few Pogues records and some bottles of Guinness lifted from a friend's family cooler following some indistinct long-weekend holiday in my teenage years, I knew that, as far as globe-trotting was concerned, Ireland was on the top of my list.
My first, and so far only trip over wasn't the carousing good time with the lads and a pint of plain singing the old songs I had always envisioned, but a trip with my sisters, fully subject to their whims and watchful eyes. A little more "When Irish Eyes Are Smiling" than "The Boys Are Back In Town" or "The Wild Rover," if you know what I mean. At the time, I would likely have complained at how relatively tame and "inauthentic" this most-anticipated trip to Ireland turned out. In hindsight I'm happy to report I don't have some wild story of running a rental car off the wrong side of some country road (that's easy enough to do sober.)
As the trip passed without too many foggy mornings, I could appreciate the actual fog! On the drive through the Burren, the pubs in the coastal towns of Clare, or walking the bouldered shore of Inishmore, I took in the natural beauty of the island and a serenity in the air which I'm not sure that I have felt anything quite like since.
My favorite manifestation of this sort of tranquility was a gray misty afternoon waiting outside the Galway train station and watching the goings on in the square. I saw a man with his dog following off-leash. The man went into the pub while his dog, seemingly knowing his companion would make short work of a pint, sat patiently waiting outside by the doorway. About 15 minutes later the man emerged and the pair jaunted off together.
But there was drinking too! Order a Powers 12 year in Dublin and your server may recognize you're no average Yank and take you through a complimentary "sample" (wink wink) flight of his favorite top shelf whiskeys on their menu! - Colin
