A Full Day in Dublin

After sleeping on and off during the night, we got up the next morning and were ready for a day in Dublin. Now, we did sleep in fairly late so we really didn’t need a huge breakfast (certainly not the full Irish breakfast I had the morning before). We had heard of this local cheese shop off of Grafton Street on Anthony Bourdain’s Dublin episode of “The Layover” and also a PBS episode of an Irish food show called “Clodah’s Irish Food Trails.” We looked around and on South Anne Street, a block and a half off Grafton Street, we found Sheridan’s Cheesemongers. Here it from the outside:

 They had a wonderful selection of cheeses from all over Europe but we were interested in specifically Irish cheeses. We sampled a bunch of local cheese, mostly in this area of the shop right in the front:

We decided on four different cheeses, all from Ireland. Three were from County Cork and one was from County Tipperary. We ended up with small pieces of a Coolea, a Cashel Blue, a Smoked Gubbeen and a Durrus. We then took a quick visit to St. Anne’s Cathedral at the end of South Anne Street who counted among their parishioners the author of “Dracula” Bram Stoker.

Then we headed back up Grafton Street to find somewhere to sample our cheeses. On the way back toward our hotel I notice a store called Marks and Spencer (M&S) and caught a glimpse of a sign that pointed down the escalator that said “Food Hall.” Now one of the things that Joan and I like to do when in other places is to visit grocery stores. It gives us a glimpse into everyday life in a place. We do this in other parts of the United States all the time so it would be very interesting in another country. Well the “food hall” was indeed a full blown grocery store. We wandered around for a bit and ended up buying some fresh rolls from the bakery to eat with our cheese.

We headed down to St. Stephen’s Green and found a bench in the center of the green and got out our rolls and cheese. Here’s what we saw:

Here also, are some quick pictures of our cheese and the rolls. Here is the Durrus:

Here is the Smoked Gubbeen:

And here are the Collea (on the left) and the Cashel Blue (on the right):

As soon as we opened up our cheese and started to eat it, we also found this little guy:

He was very interested in our cheese. So were we. As the cheese go, I enjoyed the Smoked Gubbeen the most. It was a Gouda style cheese that had a great smoked flavor. The Durrus was my second favorite as it was a semi-soft cheese. The Blue was also very good. The Coolea was a softer cheese that I wasn’t as fond of. For the most part I don’t like softer cheeses. Brie has never excited me so it is understandable that the softer Coolea was not as much to my liking. We ate about half of our cheese and then headed back to the hotel to put the rest in the mini-bar for breakfast the next morning. Then we headed out to use the second day of our hop-on, hop-off bus tour.

We rode the bus a few stops down the route and got off to see Dublin Castle. Since the G8 Summit, which was held there, just finished the week before, the state apartments were not open yet for tours. So we checked out the outside of the castle and then headed into Temple Bar. Our number one destination in Temple Bar was the Hard Rock Café. As you may know, Joan collects a shot glass and a pin from all of the Hard Rock Café’s that we come across. On this trip we could possibly hit six new Hard Rock Cafés and this is the first. It was a short walk from Dublin Castle and after finding our shot glass and pin we were back to catch the bus. Along the way back to the stop, we found a little restaurant that had a two-for-one deal for bus tour ticket holders and it was about time for lunch, so we stopped in.

This restaurant was called The Shack and was in an old building that back in the day housed a butcher shop.

It was a very small place as most of the places were that we had found in Dublin and it served traditional Irish cuisine. I perused the menu and decided on an Irish classic, Bangers and Mash. For all intents and purposes, Bangers and Mash are just Irish sausage and mashed potatoes. It seems the term "Bangers" dates back to the 1920s when, during rationing, sausages were made with water and could explode if not cooked carefully. Although modern sausages won't explode, the term "Bangers" has persisted. Joan also picked a very classic dish, Fish and Chips. Here’s what we got:

After lunch, we got back on the bus and rode the rest of the way around the loop. Among the stops was Phoenix Park which is an urban park two and a half times bigger than Central Park in New York. It also houses the Dublin Zoo which is the largest paid attraction in all of Ireland. The highlight of our bus loop though, had to be St. Patrick’s Cathedral. We took many, many pictures but here are a couple of the best ones:

We got off the bus at Trinity College and it was a short walk back to Grafton Street. At this point we were in need of a restroom so we popped into the McDonald’s. At this point I remembered the words of Dr. Sheldon Cooper in the TV show “The Big Bang Theory.” In one episode he stated that when using the facilities in a retail establishment, it is customary to make a small purchase. So, of course I fished out two Euro and got a couple more of these:

Delicious, deep fried Apple Pie. Thank you Sheldon!

Next time, our last dinner before flying to London for the cruise and we're still looking for Sticky Toffee Pudding.

Until next time,

Mike