Ireland, Part Three

November 24, 2012

On our third day in Ireland, we drove from Dublin to Limerick. We decided to stop in Kildare for lunch.

It was a small, adorable town that is definitely worth a stop.

We quickly found a pub serving food all day and stopped in at Silken Thomas. I had a tasty toasted sandwich with ham, cheese, onions, and tomato. I had the potato and leek soup with it. The husband had a duck wrap with vegetable soup. I'm not usually a big fan of veggie soup (I'm talking about the typical beef broth with little frozen veggies floating in it). This was delicious, creamy, pureed soup. The potato and leek was my favorite though. Great prices and a yummy meal - it was a winner.

We drove on to Limerick, which is about 200km from Dublin. This was our first look at some of the Irish countryside. As expected, it was gorgeous. Here are some views from the passenger seat.

As you can see, the day was a little misty and grey. But for the end of November, everything was still very green. The rolling green hills were really pretty.

We arrived in Limerick and could walk down to the city centre from our hotel. We walked around St. Mary's Cathedral just before it started to get dark. The cathedral was built in 1168 and is the oldest building in Limerick still in daily use. 

Walking up to the church.

St. Mary's Cathedral.

The small cemetery on the church grounds.

We walked down to the city centre as it became fully dark. We did some shopping and made our first trip into Dunnes Stores which is Ireland's largest retailer. I guess it's kind of the Irish equivalent of a supercenter. There were clothes (like any department store) and also a grocery store inside.

It was chilly walking around outside, so we ended up stopping into Flannery's Pub for Irish coffees.

The coffee was delicious and served with ginger nut cookies.

While we were enjoying our coffees, the Wales vs. New Zealand rugby game began, so we stuck around to watch some of that with the locals. I don't really understand rugby, but I think I could get into it. I enjoyed it anyway, for the atmosphere alone.

We walked down to The Oyster House at the Locke Bar for dinner. They had a pretty good selection of Irish craft beers, so I went with the Galway Hooker. I couldn't turn down the fish and chips. I'll mention now that the fish and chips in Ireland are served with minty mushy peas. These are exactly what they sound like. I didn't dislike them, but the flavors together are a little strange.

Nonetheless, the fish and chips are amazingly good.

The Locke Bar.

After dinner, we walked back to the hotel and relaxed in front of the tv. We watched some British X-Factor and The Graham Norton Show.

Next up is Part Four, in which we enjoy the full Irish breakfast and go to the Cliffs of Moher. I took a lot of pictures there, so be patient with me if it takes a couple of days.