Bewitching Kilkenny

An a whim we decided to book a last minute trip to Kilkenny on Friday 13th! Although I have lived in Ireland all my life I haven't visited much of my homeland at all. One of my 23 before 24 was to visit three new places in Ireland, which I have only managed one sadly! Kilkenny is a small enough city only an hour and an half from Dublin by train and has lots to offer! If you love history head to Kilkenny Castle for a great insight into Irish gentry life or take a walk in the gardens where we stumbled upon a playground...

We took an archaeological tour of the city on Saturday which was organised as part of a festival. Some of the sights worth seeing are the beautiful St Canice's Cathedral which is well worth a visit, and the Round Tower offers excellent views over Kilkenny and a peak at the Bishop's Palace beside it which is now owned by the Heritage Council. 

As we hadn't really planned our trip, I hadn't much time to come up with an itinerary or looked at places to eat. We tried a few places Friday night but most of them had no tables free! We ended up at The 67 Bar at Langtons. We were pleasantly surprised by the yummy food and the great atmosphere in this bar and the were glad we had ended up there! Langtons also own the kitschy little Bridie's Bar & General Store next door, which offers cute little presents and nostalgic items from yester-year! 

The place that really stood our for us was TBA Cafe @The Hole in the Wall! We found this place by accident and couldn't resist going down the narrow entrance and were delighted at what lay in store for us! With two sandwiches, a soup and a selection of cakes on the menu the choice was limited but I liked that! We both ended up getting The Archer which involved Parma ham, red onion marmalade, Sun dried tomatoes, grated cheddar and toasted to perfection. The sandwiches were delicious and the gigantic Hot Chocolate I got was impressive with it's blow-torched marshmallows! Their plum lemonade was so different but delicious! All in all a great experience, with nice staff, great surroundings (a Tudor Mansion built by Martin Archer in 1582) and simple, nourishing food!

We stayed at the lovely Pembroke Hotel with our room looking over Kilkenny Castle and a massive breakfast the next day! If you are looking for an AMAZING shopping experience head straight across the road to Shutterbug. Beautiful clothing with really unique pieces like my (really loud) silk shirt! Finally it was the Mick Minogue depiction of Dame Alice Kyteler  that really put the cherry on top of my trip. Minogue is an artist I have been following for a while now and his pieces are really unusual, so stumbling onto one of his works was a great surprise!

Kilkenny I'll be back! 

Here's to the Past

Just stumbled upon these photographs I took at the Trinity Fashion Show 2012. Thought I would pop them up on here because I love the way these people wear their clothes! Hopefully streetstyle will become a bigger part of my blog this year (and that the blog features a lot more content in general)! Especially love the last two girls outfits!

Dublin Days Out

Dublin Days Out

I have wanted to go cycling in Phoenix Park for ages so when I finally got a day off I headed out to give it a go. You rent bikes at the little lodge by the front gate and at €5 for the day what more could you ask for. Phoenix Park is a beautiful 1752 Acre area located in Dublin City, established in 1662 as a Royal Deer Park for Charles II. The park is literally huge, and cycling is by far the best way to see it! I was a bit nervous at first as the last time I was on a bike was about ten years ago, but it was one of the best days out I have had in Dublin ever. The highlight was when we stumbled upon the herd of deer casually grazing or that first sight of the beautiful Farmleigh House. Another great thing to do in Phoenix Park is Dublin Zoo which is a great day out. If you are looking for a cheap day out head to the Park, rent a bike, bring a picnic and you are set for a day of adventures!

As it was a special occasion I stayed the night in Dublin which involved an amazing meal at the Whitefriar Grill. We had the Gambas Pil-Pil on Crushed Tomato Toast and the Prosciutto, Cantaloupe melon, rocket, mint and white balsamic glaze to start. We both opted for the 8oz Rump Steak with Homefries, tobacco onions and pepper sauce for our main and I had the Fudge Brownie for dessert and he had the Eton Mess! Great service, amazing food with great combinations and really well priced!

The next day we popped into Bison Bar for some delicious BBQ food. Huge portions, really great setting and very reasonable menu. I got the Split Chicken which was beautiful but the portion was too big for me! He got the Ribs and Pulled pork which looked great as well.

We stumbled on a film being shot in Temple Bar which was exciting then headed to Brother Hubbard for some desserts. Loved the place! Great concept, friendly staff, lovely food and great non-smoking garden area! (Get the Brownie...so good we got another to take home!)

Another day off involved attending the March for Marriage in Dublin where I spotted the adorable equal-rights supporting dog and went grafitti hunting in Temple Bar :D

Phoenix Park info: http://www.phoenixpark.ie/

Bison Bar: http://www.bisonbar.ie/ 11 Wellington Quay, Dublin 2

Whitefriar Grill: http://whitefriargrill.ie/index.html 16, Aungier Street, Dublin 2

Brother Hubbard: http://brotherhubbard.ie/ 153, Capel Street, Dublin 1