Dublin Part Three - More Food - A Green Hen and a Town

10th October

Deb and I nearly getting blown off the penthouse balcony!

We got up at about 9am and pottered about until our breakfast arrived in the room and was laid out for us in the dining room.  It was lovely, and though morning are the times I don't usually have much of an appetite I wolfed it all down! It was sad to pack up our things to leave the penthouse, I doubt we'll ever be back. I went upstairs for one last look, and onto the balcony for a windy photo with Deb, the unseasonally mild weather had definitely given way to a more autumnal chill.. It also meant the end of my birthday celebrations, what a fab time I have had over these last few weeks, I wish I turned 60 every year.

We caught a taxi back to our apartment at Smithfield. Marian was out exploring, she was soon back, it's amazing how many things she managed to see in such a short time, she definitely made the most of her short time in Dublin! Unfortunately she had to return home and we saw her off to the airport later in the afternoon. Afterwards we all went to bed to try and get some sleep as the late night was catching up with us!  I rested, but could not sleep though I really wanted to.

Dianne in The Green Hen

That evening it was our girls night out, and Deb and Dianne were treating me as a last birthday gift, so kind of them as they had already been so generous to me bless them! For our Dublin trip we all chose a new restaurant to go to, tonight was my choice, The Green Hen in Exchequer Street, a French restaurant, can't go wrong with French food with me!  We got a taxi and almost immediately were stuck in a horrendous traffic jam.  The driver told us there was some big event happening in the city that night. We ended up being 20 minutes late for our table though the staff were completely unconcerned at that, I love that Irish laissez faire!

The restaurant was full, posters from old French films on the walls, the atmosphere lively but not too much so that you can't hear each other talk.  I had goats cheese salad with beetroot, walnuts and figs to start and it was scrumptious. Then duck confit with fondant potato, cherries and baby vegetables was equally fabulous it was the most succulent duck I've had! Portions were generous and none of us was able to find room for a dessert, we just had a cappuccino. Also, amazingly we had no wine at all! We all felt it was a very good idea to detox that night lol!

The Duck Confit Main

We had the Early Bird menu which was 19.50 Euros for two courses or 22 Euro for three, excellent value. Service was friendly and attentive, I felt sorry for the servers as they had to run down stairs to bring the food and also up another flight to tables upstairs, they must be fit!

We caught a taxi back to the apartment (no traffic jam this time). Dan had  had a pizza from the restaurant beneath the apartment block which he said was very good, he was pleased to hear we had enjoyed our meal so much. We didn't stay up very late, we desperately needed to catch up on our sleep!

October 11th

A sign in the Docklands

Too soon it was our last full day in Dublin we had vague plans but nothing definite. While in the city it had not escaped our attention that Bono was in town! A mutual love of U2 brought us all together over 20 years ago and because we get along as people and not just as fans, real friendships were borne form this. We did not expect the band to be in Dublin, as far as we knew they were in New York, but no, they were home. So we decided to go to the Docklands and check out their studio there, though we were aware that it looked like they had a new studio in County Wicklow, but we had to check :). We caught the Luas to Mayor's Square in the north Docklands, I can't believe how that area has changed, gone are the derelict buildings and now it's full of apartments and shops and cafes.

We walked over the graceful new Samuel Beckett Bridge and into the South Docklands and into the familiar territory of Hanover Quay. As we expected it was all quiet at the studio, though there was some pretty amazing non-U2 graffiti on the surrounding walls.

We had a leisurely lunch at the nearby Spar and enjoyed what was now a lovely sunny day.  After years of constant change during the age of the Celtic Tiger things were now static, there had been no changes since we had last been there in May 2012. The southern end of the quay still had areas untouched by the bulldozer, and the old, natural stone buildings still looked out over Grand Canal Dock as they have done for many, many decades. Where the concrete works used to be opposite the studio was now just a vacant lot within it's walls. Kind of nice that the concrete, steel and glass structure haven't taken over all of the Docklands.

The Beautiful Samuel Beckett Bridge
and where the big concrete works had been now was just a vacant plot.

We headed back to the Luas stop and then all did our own thing for a while, Deb went back to the apartment, Dianne and Dan went to The Writer's Museum and I went shopping. Later we all met up again at the apartment.

That night it was Dianne's choice of restaurant. It was not actually new to us, but had changed hands and was now called The Town rather than the Town Bar and Restaurant. Inside it had changed very little, it was a bit brighter, but still had the same relaxing ambiance. To start I had warm beetroot and goats cheese salad (for a change!) followed by a very tender beef fillet, cep puree, roasted onion, madeira sauce and colcannon. Again I couldn't manage a dessert, but Debbi and Dan managed to find some room, Deb finds it hard to resist creme brulee! Everyone enjoyed everything they had and though it is quite an expensive restaurant it is top quality. It was so nice to spend the last evening enjoying good food and wine with great friends, some of the best things in life.

We caught a taxi home and Dan got chatting to the driver who was from Nigeria. He said it was hard to learn to find his way round the city because: 1. the names of the street change - you can go down a straight road and at some point it will start to be called something else. I'd never really thought about that before, the same is true in the UK. 2. People often don't know the name of a road that a certain pub or restaurant is on, so he had to learn where all these places were. He also told us that there were 1,200 restaurants in Dublin, so it's some feat to learn where they all are.  Also, it means that there are plenty more new ones for us to try in the future!

October 12th

Dianne and Dan left at 9.30 on their way back to Canada via Heathrow, sad to see them go, but I knew that I would be seeing them again in December, so the parting wasn't as hard as it might have been. Not long afterwards Deb and I vacated the apartment and left our bags with the concierge before heading to The Clarence Hotel for a last drink.  Then it was the usual taxi to the airport, have a meal, mooch round the shops before flying - in a tiny Aer Arann propeller plane - back to Manchester. Sad goodbyes to Debbi, unfortunately she is not coming on the holiday at New Year, so it could be a while before we meet up again, but we still keep in touch a lot online.

So that was it, a fabulous week in Dublin. I want to say thanks to my all my wonderful friends for coming (and a special thanks to Deb for her organising!) it was special to share my official 60th with you all. Can I be 60 again next year??

Dublin 2 - A Horse Fair, Dolphins and All Dressed Up and Nowhere to Go!

May 6th

The Horse Market at Smithfield

I was woken up by the sounded of the clip-clopping of horseshoes, it turned out a horse fair was taking place at Smithfield.  The fair happens on the first Sunday of every month and has been doing so for around 400 years. The horse market is controversial due to accusations of cruelty and occasional violence between the traders and authorities have been trying to close or move it for a few years.  As we watched from our balcony we noticed there was a police presence and a large area was barricaded off where the traders looked at and tested out the horses and we saw nothing untoward whilst we watched.

Today we decided to do something we hadn't done for a few years, spend a few hours mooching around our favourite areas of South County Dublin.  We took the Luas to Connolly Station and then changed to the DART and headed out to Killiney.  The trip on the train is a wonderful journey as it runs along the scenic coast of Dublin and Killiney Bays.  I never tire of the view of Killiney Bay as the train emerges from the tunnel under Dalkey Hill, it is stunning.

Killiney Bay

It was a blustery, showery day as we walked the short distance from the station to the beach, but it is a fabulous place whatever the weather.  The tide was in, and we walked along the beach which only had a handful of other people on it.  Suddenly I noticed black fins in the water off-shore - it was a small school of dolphins frolicking in the sea.  I'd heard that dolphins now frequent this area but never expected to see them!

After our walk we got the DART and went one station north and got off at Dalkey. We went to The Queens pub for a late lunch.  It was very full, we found one table, but soon were surrounded by a horde of "merry" young men watching the football on the TV nearby (I seem to be getting plagued by loud alcohol-fuelled men on this trip!)  Luckily there was now space at the other end of the pub and we moved there.  We had a delicious lunch for a very reasonable price washed down with Irish red lemonade.

Declan and Me

We intended to have a browse in The Exchange Bookshop on the main street, but were sad to see it had closed just a month earlier.  What a shame, it was a great place to potter around in.  After this we headed back home.

That evening, our friend Declan came round to our apartment, we hadn't seen him for a while so there was a lot of catching up to do.  We had a lovely evening, I'm so pleased that we had managed to meet up with all our Dublin friends on this trip.

After he left Debbi and I had a few more bevvies, just for a change .

May 7th

At lunch time we went to Bewleys Cafe Theatre.  For E8 you get soup, soda bread and a drink and see a play lasting 50 minutes, excellent value.  We have been many times and have always really enjoyed the play. The Cafe Theatre is a medium sized room above the floors of the cafe,  filled with tables and chairs with the small stage set on a dais in one corner.  The huge windows are covered with thick, red velvet curtains.

We got our soup, soda bread and water and found a table from which we had a good view.  The play we were seeing was A Galway Girl by Geraldine Aron starring Joe Hanley and Clare Barrett. It depicts a marriage from the start to the death one one partner.  Beautifully acted, Maisie and Dermot saw their different dreams gradually drift away as the years passed by.  Ending up living separate lives of quiet desperation in the same house until death did them part.  Very moving and at times very funny,  so typically Irish.  I love the intimacy of this theatre, I've seen plays here for a very long time and have never been disappointed, if you are in Dublin go there, you won't be disappointed - lunch and theatre for E8 to E12 (depending on which day you go) that's what I call good value.

We went back to our apartment and later got dressed up for our meal out at one of our favourite restaurants The Town Bar and Grill.  It was a windy, very wet night and we took a taxi there, paid and were left on the pavement looking at a padlock on the door of the dark restaurant!  There we were, all dressed up and nowhere to go being buffeted by the wind and rain.  We had to find somewhere else to eat.  The nearest place was Buswell's Hotel, we stumbled in hungry and windswept, but their restaurant was closed too!  We checked out the menu in the very quiet bar but we wanted fine dining and a place with a bit more life.  Debbi  told the barman what had happened and asked if he could recommend another similar restaurant nearby and he suggested Marco Pierre White's Restaurant.  He was such a wonderful, helpful man that he even offered to ring the restaurant and book us a table, how lovely of him!  Then he took us to the door and showed us where to go and indeed, it was close by.

Us in Marco Pierre White's Restaurant

It was almost full and had a good atmosphere, the decor mainly brown and cream with a row of black and white photos of celebrities from all eras around the room.  The waiting staff were  pleasant and informal and the food was good.  We both had goats cheese and beetroot to start, it was a large portion and gorgeous.  I had ribeye steak which was very tender, accompanied by chips.  Deb had her favourite meat, lamb which she said was also very good.  I'm certainly not a fan of Marco Pierre White, but his restaurant in Dublin is excellent. So the night was saved for us by the barman at Buswell's Hotel, thank you!

I emailed the Town Bar and Grill and they apologised and said they had sent me an email saying they would be closed that night but I never received it, it must be floating up with the Northern Lights in cyberspace or something.  They offered free cocktails next time we visit Which made up a little for our inconvenience and disappointment.