To Scone Me is to Love Me

Let's not beat around the orange marmalade.

The way to a girl's heart is through her stomach.

That's not right is it?

Well, if you think it's not right,

apparently you have yet to try an Irish scone.

For some reason, there's the notion that tea and scones

are a tradition limited to the English-- and while the act

does run true for the Brits, it's equally true for the Irish.

While wandering Dublin city late last Saturday afternoon,

I found myself surrounded by tea pots. From classy china,

to paper to-go containers, tea is the talk (and sip) of the town.

I tried an Earl Grey that afternoon, to fully "look the part"

and found myself face to face with a mysterious woman.

Check her out:

Let's call her Marie Antoinette.

(she looks like her, right?!)

Marie and I spent a lovely hour sipping tea

and people watching... see people below:

The cafe's menu:

Many more fun things to try

in the future!

After quenching my thirst, I discovered a hidden market

in the curvy back streets of Dublin.

From flowers to bananas, there was a lot of color and

a lot of commotion! (The banana-seller was quite adamant

about selling me her bunch, but I stood my ground)

I continued to walk across the river (River Liffy) to

Grand Social where they host a vintage market on Saturdays.

Behold, a table of glorious corsets:

While admiring the silks and sequins,

I suddenly saw a familiar face...

Sarah was at the market too!!

We tried on some fun outfits, explored the stands a bit,

and laughed over the crazy coincidence of bumping into

one another in the massive city.

Hand-made music posters.

Silk-screen tee shirts, clunky hand-made

jewelry, funky buttons and cool shades.

Cupcakes. Lot's of them. Soooooo pretty!

And finally, the vintage clothing...

A fashionista's dream and a Blast to the Past.

Keep it trendy,

Sam

The week that flu by...

FINALLY.

It has been a full week, and my flu symptoms are finally fleeing.

It's about time.

This was me a week ago:

But now, after many healthy doses of Vitamin C boosters

and about 1,000,000,000 immune system kicks later:

We seem to be making some process.

Take that you pesky virus.

Today began at 10am with my Irish literature class.

After I gave a glorious presentation on

Waiting For Godot by playwright Samuel Beckett...

(My speech was was quite moving, even sensational, if I do say so myself)

we discussed the play for a few more hours... and then ended at 1pm

Fast-forward to early evening.

My roommate Carolyn and I are in dire need of a relaxing night,

but we're desperate to get OUT OF OUR ROOM.

Solution? Movie and dinner date obviously.

WE hopped onto a bus and sped over to

Bewley's Oriental Cafe...

Outside.

Inside.

Carolyn had been ra-ra-ra-ravvvvvving about their:

feta cheese salad.

So we went. I mean really-- who can say no to feta?

One heaping bowl of

greens, pesto dressing and feta cubes later...

(Now readers I KNOW WHAT YOU'RE THINKING.

No picture? Nope. Use your imagination!)

We're at the Savoy Movie Theatre. About to watch...

THE ADJUSTMENT BUREAU

I mean honestly, who can say no to Matt Damon?

(probably the same person who can say no to feta cheese

salad... and well, that person just is NOT any fun)

BUT guess what is fun?

Yup. Sour cherry gummies.

Take that Matt Damon Disliker/Feta Fighter:

Even the sour-est have a sweet side.

Peace, love and flu-free symptoms...

Sam

Birthday :)

Happy Birthday Grandpa!

That's right, today's the day.

Sending you a big birthday hug from overseas!!

Girls Night(s) Out

Hey all!

So after my mom and sis visited, I realized that there is a lot of Dublin I still haven't explored...
So my mission for the week was to get out and about.

First on the list was to find some great live music...
didn't exactly succeed. Sarah and I explored Dublin Tuesday and Wednesday evening in the hopes of finding some crazy music venues, but the crowds didn't seem exactly jumping. I guess St. Patty's day really took a lot of out everyone last week!

Luckily, we still managed to enjoy ourselves and found a chill music scene at

The Grand Social:

(The Upstairs Venue... ultra cool atmosphere)

The band we caught the tale end of... Beatles look a like?

The vending machine downstairs... picks, strings and capos.

HOW COOL IS THAT?!

When we were leaving the Grand Social,

Sarah and I realized that we had actually just missed

the crazy concerts. Apparently early that evening the venue

had held a charity event:

Darn it! We missed it. But we'll be back!

While wandering the streets of Dublin that Tuesday night,

no music was to be found. But there was evidence that people

were enjoying themselves...

Welcome to Dublin.

The streets around 10:30pm were COVERED with empty kegs.

Looks like someone was thirsty.

Wednesday night Sarah and I were determined to find music.

So, yet again, we trekked into the city searching for some good beats.

Didn't find any... but found some fun cocktails!

It's Sarah! At the Twisted Pepper. Turns out, once again,

we missed a night of crazy music.

Only this concert was cancelled... so maybe we'll catch

a rescheduling next time we explore. Fingers crossed!

The outside:

The inside (on a crazy night...)

I plan on capturing this crowd before I leave Dublin.

Expect a blog post on it!

Thursday evening, Sarah and I planned date number 3.

That's right, things are getting PRETTY serious.

Ha, but really-- we're serious explorers guys.

And we found some COOL stuff.

Such as:

Milkshakes. THE BEST milkshake in fact.

So cool, so creamy... so perfect.

Welcome to Shakes. Dublin's finest milkshake bar:

Inside menu:

(Sarah was really excited to be there. Clearly.)

Sarah and I both decided on the "Monkey Business"

under the VIP drinks section (of course)

The drink was a combination of nutella, banana,

cadbury chocolate, caramel, whip cream, ice cream...

and a little bit of heaven.

Words can't describe.

Should I drink it?

Okay twist my arm why don't you...

Turns out this milkshake shack is right next to my internship.

Oh man. Dad, might wanna ship me some elastic pants.

An hour later, quite full and sugar-ly satisfied,

Sarah and I milkshaked our bums over to the Gate Theatre.

Here's the theatre!

For a measly 15 euro (go student tickets!), the 2 of us snagged

some amazing seats to the theatre's current production of:

God of Carnage...

a hilarious black comedy about 2 families

arguing over their sons.

The poster.

Not only was I seriously impressed

by some brilliant acting, but the stage setting

was unbelievable. Looked like an Ikea.

Am I right or am I right?

Well folks, that crazy week of exploration has really gotten to me.

Looks like tonight's going to be an early night. Sweet dreams!

Side note:

How they serve ketchup here. So cool.

(Well, at least how they do it at the Gourmet Burger Kitchen)

St. Patrick or Treat??

Guess who came to visit this weekend? MOM AND JAXIE!

What a treat (now the title of this blog post makes more sense... yes?)

Rawrrrrrr, fierce cats are the Friedman women.

SO, Thursday morning (St. Patrick's Day)

these 2 lovely ladies arrived at the emerald isle in search of music, fun...

and me!

After finding me (or rather, I found them), we searched the big city

of Dublin for some Irish celebration,

and man was it EASY to find!

Crowds and crowds of locals and tourists flocked the streets

to watch the St. Patty's parade. It was wild. It was crazy.

It. Was. GREEN.

The 3 of us could barely see the parade from where we stood...

the crowds were 5-7 people deep! Maybe we should have

borrowed this strategy:

That's right ladies and gentlemen. On top of telephone booths.

Now that's what I call resourceful.

After some time getting squished, pushed and brushed,

I decided to introduce mom and sis to my prized possession:

Bulmer's.

Mom approves! (Some added black current

for a bit of extra sweetness = perfection)

Big sis and little sis re-united!

After introducing them to the music madness and pup scene,

It was about time I introduce them to a real. live. leprechaun.

Luckily, we found one.

Searching for the little (or in this case large)

green man seriously worked up our appetites.

So I introduced the ladies to my beloved

leek and potato soup. And let me tell you,

no one does a leek and potato soup

better than Ireland.

Scrumptious!

Jaxie can't handle how good it is...

Once mom and Jax got settled into the swing of things,

we tackled some of my favorite Dublin destinations:

- Cornucopia- vegan/vegetarian cafe. SO yummy.

- Queen of Tarts- adorable place for tea and lunch <3

Yogurt and granola. Crunch-tastic.

Cheers!

- George's Arcade- best funk-tastic indoor market

- Om Diva- fabulous fashion from now and then

- Wildchild Originals- great vintage finds and deals

- The Long Hall- a beautiful and old library at Trinity

- The Spire- a large pin-like stainless steel monument. So cool.

And lot's more.

We also tried something new that I've been

meaning to check out. Improv Night

at The Bankers by "The CraicPack"...

HILARIOUS!

Lot's of laughs later we went on...

ON THE VIKING SPLASH TOUR!

We're sort of badass. After all, we were vikings for a day.

The Viking Tour is an awesome way to experience Dublin.

It was a 1.5 hour bus ride that took us around all

the major sites of Dublin city.

And then after we saw them all... it took us IN THE WATER!

Quite the splash.

After three long days of touring, shopping, eating, walking,

dancing, drinking, sitting, comedy clubbing and a lot more...

We relaxed at a cafe and bid farewell shortly after.

Thanks for visiting guys!

What a sweet visit :) ... like our last yummy meal!

(Date and pistachio cake and some gingerbread cookie)