Dublin
Here I am in St. James' Green, a central park in Dublin with lots of benches, birds, and trees. This is my first pic after arriving in town. The air was so fresh!
As I was walking down the street, I heard music coming from this pub, and decided to duck my head in to see what all the fuss was about. Turns out the Brazen Head is the oldest pub in Ireland, and has some of the best live music in town!
How can you think about Ireland without thinking about their favorite pastime - drinking? Haha! I toured the Jameson distillery to see what all of the fuss was about. Apparently they take it pretty seriously.
Whiskey is more valued the older it gets, basically. Pictured below is whiskey at different ages. From the bottom right going counter-clockwise is whiskey from youngest to oldest. As it evaporates, the whiskey that disappears is referred to as the "Angel's Share".
A local Irish friend recommended this tucked-away favorite restaurant "Queen of Tarts", run by a pair of sassy Irish ladies who finally opened a restaurant after friends told them for years they should. It's almost always crowded.
This was so good! I got the tomato and cucumber breakfast tart with salad and potatoes. That wedge of bread was great too! Check out the plant in the teacup to the right too. What a charming little restaurant.
Tralee
After Dublin, I drove south to the coastal town of Tralee. I began couchsurfing here for the first time on this trip. I love meeting local people! Here's my rental car parked outside their house.
Here's a pub that I was told had the best charm and food. They weren't kidding. Check out that head above the door.
Bangers and mash. A traditional Irish food, best enjoyed on a chilly Irish day, of which there are many.
On the wall of the restaurant was this peculiar version of the Last Supper. Can you imagine if all these people actually sat at the same table at once?
Here's a collection of four paintings I saw on a wall outside a pub that I really liked.
There's pretty much a pub on every corner in Ireland. I liked how yellow and rock this one was.
After Tralee, I headed west with some fellow couchsurfers on some very small, twisty country roads. Here's an old coal factory that was barely visible in the morning misty air.
Sometimes you just need a little coffee on the road. This particular truck had some charming people, but not so charming coffee.
Some pics of the countryside of Ireland.
Cork
The next city I went to was Cork, which is in the southwest of Ireland. Here's my host Palou, a guy from Portugal who loved soccer and meeting new people. Here we are cheering for Portugal in the Euro Cup...which they lost that night to Spain.
You might notice it was pouring rain outside. This is a common occurrence in Ireland.
Some countries have a common sink area in the bathroom between separate gender areas. This is how you know both can come through the same door! Ladies, don't forget your purse!
We went to a great farmers market to purchase food for a homemade dinner. Here's some treats: A cup of piping hot chocolate with fresh mint, and a bar of chocolate with real rose pedals.
Here we are having dinner together! Fresh mussels, salad, and a bunch of other goodies from the farmers' market.
On the road again! I stuck to the lanes labels personally for me, "B-Town" :)
Dingle
Continuing on my driving tour of Ireland, I drove up through Killarney's National Forrest and visited Ross Castle. There sure are a lot of castles in Europe.
Dingle is a small town at the tip of one of the peninsulas on the West Coast. You can be assured to find some of the best fish and chips in the world in any coastal town in Ireland. This was the place.
These things were huge! Two fresh fillets deep fried right before me and wrapped in two sheets of paper. I must have devoured these in less than 5 minutes.
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