When I found out my dad was coming to visit this weekend,
Well... I was grinning ear to ear.
But what to do with him?!
Well, there's only one place to start really. Brown bread.
The visit with my dad this weekend began with a huge
hug, some laughs, and of course, some brown bread
(which he quickly finished).
My dad came in Friday afternoon and the day began
with some greenery. Not the green countryside that you
might have expected, but rather... a delectable bowl
of... well, Greens!
I think the salad is making him blush.
After chowing down, we wandered over
to St. Stephen's Green... a beautiful park
with a BUNCH of people. It was the first
day of the spring that was seriously hot and
sunny in Ireland, so people were making sure
to suck in every ray of sunlight.
We did the same:
Red tulips... so pretty!
My favorite pick-up line:
"you know, if I were a gardener, I would
put your tulips and my tulips together."
Dad feeds the ducks. And snacks on their bread...
After some ornery birds who refuse our offerings, my
dad and I suddenly bumped into none other than:
SAM AND CAROLYN! What a small world. Seriously.
The birds weren't so happy to see us, but as least these
lovely ladies were :-)
Fast-forward 2 hours. We're in Howth!! What is Howth
exactly? Well, it's a delightful little fishing village only
20 minutes outside of Dublin. The perfect getaway.
Clearly, I'm super excited about taking a picture here.
Saturday morning we woke up bright and early to a delicious
breakfast at the King Sitric B & B in Howth. The accommodations
have a beautiful restaurant upstairs, so we spent the morning
munching on local Irish cheeses, home-made jams, and locally
made (and I mean LOCAL as in right down the street) smoked salmon.
Yum. Yum. Yum.
After a relaxing breakfast, we hopped onto the Dart
and headed for the city centre. Dad and I had a rigorous
day scheduled. First, explore the Temple Bar food market,
then see a matinee, and THEN go to a funky cool restaurant.
Will we manage it all?!!!
Of course we will. It's me we're talking about here.
I'm not about to let one fun thing slip our agenda.
Here I am sitting at the Gaiety Theatre, eagerly awaiting
their production of 'Foxrock and a Hard Place"...
SO FUNNY.
After the show, dad wanted to try his first Irish fish and chips.
We searched, and we searched... and he ate.
Well he's looking CHIPper, if I do say so.
We explored for a couple more hours and I took
him to the Ha'Penny Bridge Inn... the location of my
first Slam Poetry victory!
Doesn't he look proud.
After working up an appetite, we ventured into
Temple Bar and found "Chameleon." The ultra
hip, funky, cool, collected awesomest place ever
(or so it looked) restaurant I had been meaning
to try. And so we tried it.
Dad orders his 1st Bulmers! He loveeeeeed it!
Ain't we just a sight for sore eyes.
And the meal... quite a sight too!
Curry tempeh, a potato fritter, sweet potato spring rolls
I approve! So tasty.
I didn't see my dad complaining either:
Fixated on the food. I tried to have a conversation with
him over dinner, but he told me I was distracting him
from the experience. Pffff. Foodies these days.
We walked a bit after dinner, and I showed off the actual
Temple Bar. Festivities were in full swing, and a fun band
was playing American classics. All the way to Ireland, and
you get America. Fascinating.
Getting groovy.
Some more exploring, and we ventured to the Liffy River:
Dad was in modeling mode. What a looker ;=)
And I couldn't just leave him modeling all by his lonesome...
Looking mean in green.
Just before heading back to Howth, I snagged myself a
sweet treat to cap off a sweet afternoon. Pistachio and strawberry
gelato were the flavors of choice. Sin-sational. Mmmmmm!
I want it nowwwwwww. Hmf!
Sunday. What a day.
We woke up Sunday to a spectacular sky. Clear
blue, and a pounding sun. I even got an unexpected
sun burn! (don't worry Grandma, it was SUPER tiny)
After breakfast, it was time to explore.
Off to the Howth Fish Markets!!
What's more exciting than some smoked mackerel?
SQUIDS! Obviously.
What a pain in the Seabass. They don't look happy.
I don't think this is a situation they can claw their way out of.
I'm pretty sure something fishy is going on around here.
I just can't put my finger on it...
So where do these fillets end up? Well, sorry vegetarians
but they're headed for plates.
Dig in diners!
DONT WORRY THOUGH. The seals were safe.
We wandered by the water, and there were a bunch of seals
waiting to say hello!
I tried to start a conversation with him,
but his lips were SEALed.
And some sail boats.
Don't rock the boat baby.
Before we knew it, lunchtime had rolled around.
Howth has a spectacular Sunday food market, so
we decided to get ourselves a picnic.
Little girl mesmerized by the cupcakes. I don't blame her!
Dad gets side tracked with a head massage. Interesting.
And then I get side tracked too... with a balancing act.
Like daughter, like father.
But then we found lunch:
Mozzarella, sweet onion, tomato, roasted pepper and pesto crepe.
Is your mouth watering? Because it should be.
Of course, we had to get a few pestos to add on to taste:
Sun-dried tomato hummus, basil pesto,
hot pepper pesto and olive tapenade...
Plus a few more snack to try.
Various olives, stuffed sweet peppers with goat cheese,
grape leaves, and cheesy tomato bread.
Right... just a snack dad.
We came, we saw, we ate...
He slept.
zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...
Naptime.
We decided to rest the remainder of the afternoon...
and it was a good idea. Who knew eating could tire
you out so much? But let's not forget the scenic
exploring. A lot of walking, picture taking, head
massaging, balancing... and well, an adventurous
day to say the least.
Finished off with a delightful goodbye dinner:
Dad's official Irish Guinness!!! Foam lip afterwards. Classic.
And of course, he finishes with the fish n' chips.
I finish with a... more complicated version:
What can I say? I'm a classy gal.
Thanks for a great visit Dad,
Miss you already!!
