2018 Ireland/Scotland trip - Day 2 Full day in Dublin, Ireland
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| Breakfast, glorious breakfast!!! |
My favorite thing about traveling in Europe is the breakfast. I always make attempts at emulating them when I get home but it just isn't the same. Bread tastes better. Butter definitely tastes better. Everything is fresh and real tasting. The Morrisson hotel in Dublin, Ireland does not disappoint. We got up around 9am and all went down for breakfast. I did wake up at 3am like I thought I might since I went to bed at 8pm but I managed to fall back asleep for another few hours. I sure needed it. Breakfast is included with our room. We were able to choose from the menu and/or self serve from the breakfast room. Mom and I ordered a vanilla scented french toast from the menu to split. We all ordered coffee then we started out into the breakfast room to see what it had to offer. There was enough items on display that Dad was able to have a full Irish breakfast. I was in the mood for a more vegetarian meal. I started with porridge with honeycomb that I scraped myself. I added sweet and plump raisins to that as well. I also had loads of bread. Man, all bread over here is so freaking good! I had some white bread, grain bread and a croissant. I added some ham and brie to the plate to round out a possible sandwich. I couldn't pass up trying a hazelnut yogurt either. It was all amazing. I always fill up as much as possible on the included breakfast because it saves money later in the day when I skip lunch.
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| Crispy, gooey french toast. Even the porridge was out of this world! |
After eating more than our fill, we headed out to Trinity College. We got to the Long Library where they house the Book of Kells a little early for a Sunday. I sometimes forget that on Sunday in most places in Europe, you should always check to see what is open and what is not. There is usually at least a special schedule for Sundays because it is often taken off.
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| This is the page that the book was open to but I could not take a photo of the original. Look at those colors though! |
We decided to do a little shopping while we waited. I bought a Nicolas Moss serving dish, some perfume, a few gifts for friends and the BF and more. Once it drew closer to midday we made our way back to Trinity College and got in line. We only waited about a half hour to get in which is actually pretty good. We walked directly to the Book of Kells. They display a different page every day. My brother joked about the possibility that it could be the same page as the last time I was there. It was a new page to me, luckily. I was not able to photograph the actual page but I managed to find the same page in a coffee table book and took a photo of that instead.
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| The Long Room Library and in the center is the Brian Boru Harp, the inspiration for the national symbol. |
After enjoying the beautiful detail and colors of the Book of Kells, we walked the length of the Long Library. It is such a lovely library full of wood and old books. There are cases of historic books from a long time ago on display in the center of the room under glass cases. I think they turn those pages as well each day. At the end of the library there is the original
Brian Boru Harp that inspired the harp that represents Ireland today. You see this harp not only on Guinness products but on flags and badges everywhere.
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| Beautiful, irresistible donuts!! |
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| Worth every penny of the 3 Euro |
After the library tour we walked down Grafton street. I could not resist buying a Ferraro Roche themed donut at this crazy donut shop. We shopped our way back to the hotel where the boys took a nap. Mom and I headed back out in hopes to visit The Leprechaun Museum. It turns out that you can only visit the museum if you go on the tour with the "storytellers". We did not have the time for the full 45 minute tour so we....you guessed it...went shopping! I got myself an Aran sweater because...when in Ireland you must do that.
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| This is the sweater I bought. |
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| This is the ornament I got. Isn't it cute? |
We went back to the hotel, changed into our fancy duds and grabbed a taxi to the prestigious
Shelbourne Hotel. We had High Tea reservations for 4:15 and got there just in time. It was a fantastic tea. Our reservation got us a 2 hour seating with 4 tiers of delicious food as well as all and any tea we could drink. The hotel and the L
ord Mayor's Lounge are decorated absolutely beautifully. The flower arrangements are like sculptures and the Lounge where they serve tea has a gallery wall full of paintings on loan from the Irish National Gallery. It was very recently remodeled and has a quiet but elegant feel. We all opted to have the Champagne Tea which comes with a large glass of Laurent Perrier. When we were half way through our champagne the towers of food arrived along with our tea. I chose the Yunan Black Mao Feng which is a Black tea said to have a malty, fruity flavor with no bitterness. I quite liked it. My brother had a white tea. After I had the first bottom two tiers, I switched to the same white tea whose name I forget unfortunately but it was nice and light.
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| The little cakes. |
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| The set menu for tea |
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| The butter, jam and the glorious clotted cream. I used two of those tubs on my little scones. |
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| The tea selection, (one page of a few) |
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| The delicious sandwiches. |
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| The top tier of sweets. |
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| The whole tower barely fit into one shot! |
The tea menu is set and starts with two scones per person and a warm ginger cake on the bottom. I spread a little jam on each half of each scone then topped it with a good dollop of clotted cream. I am talking about one inch high of the cream because it is my favorite thing in the world. So good! The sandwiches were so fun to eat as well. Most were tasty, specially the goat cheese and tomato on pumpkin bread which I thought would have the least flavor but was just the opposite. The third tier had two cakes, one a cheesecake and one a poppy seed shortbread cake.
On the top tier there was a very chocolaty eclair and a visually stunning panna cotta. I wanted to finish with the panna cotta to have it as a palate cleanser of sorts but I could not fit any more food into my body so I had to leave it. If guests can not finish all four tiers, they box up the remaining bits for you to take home which makes me think this is a common occurrence.
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| I was so happy to touch a little lamb I couldn't even open my eyes apparently |
We were all so full that we decided to walk back through Grafton Street to get home instead of taking a taxi because we needed to move around a little. Since we
are in Ireland, we could not resist stopping in another cozy, adorable pub called The Long Hall for one more pint. The Long Hall is another beautifully decorated old pub with dark wood on the walls and old prints and guns hanging for decoration. I liked this bar because, once again, there were not a lot of tourists. There is something a little disappointing to come all the way to Dublin and then hear American accents. This trip I feel like there have been a lot of Italians also. But it is the Americans who seem to stand out the most because often they are the loudest in the room. We finished our quiet drinks and headed home to change out of our fancy clothes.
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| Me at the Long Hall |
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| The Long Hall in the light...Photo from dailyedge |
On our walk home we went back down Grafton street where there seems to always be street performers, activists and others. This walk we came across an animal rescue group who had adorable dogs for adoption and even a lamb! I got to pet the lamb. Good little lamby. We took a little detour on our way home to stop to take photos at the
Brazen Head which is the oldest pub in Ireland (dates back to 1198). On our way home from that we encountered a rainbow which was pretty cool.
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| Me at the Brazen Head, Dublin, Ireland |
The boys, once again, napped while Mom and I went out shopping. I had wanted a Guinness Christmas ornament that my brother had gotten when they visited here a few months ago. They were sold out of them at the brewery but I found a little shop in The Temple Bar region that had them. I was thrilled. I also found an Aran sweater that had a style I really liked so I splurged on one for myself. I wanted to buy the BF one but he thinks they are too plain looking. I think he would look really good in one of those old fisherman looking sweaters!
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| A double rainbow right over Dublin. |
After the good haul of shopping we gathered the boys up and went out in search of some Traditional Irish Music. We wandered around a little until we heard Irish music coming from a bar with Irish people standing in front. We got a table at the Trinity Bar and had more drinks and some appetizers. The food was very good. My parents each got a seafood chowder and my brother and I split the fried potato skins which were loaded with cheese.
After drinks and some good Irish music (although a bit too loud) we walked back to our hotel and went to bed.
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