Irish Food and Culture

The thing that I've enjoyed throughout the trip so far is the Irish culture. Every part of it has been a thrill. After the sea voyage we went to Murphy's Pub in downtown Dingle. The thing that was really cool is that on the wall behind the bar there were patches from American police, firefighting, and rescue squads. Not just like one or two, I want to say about 50 or so that were all different. The "chips" or fries as they are called in the states look nothing like they do in Ireland. I'd more relate them to breakfast potatoes than our "french fries," and horrifying to me, no ketchup. Mayonnaise is what you get, and surprisingly it actually was very good with chips, I enjoyed it. For dinner we went to the Chart House which is one of the best restaurants in Ireland. There were awards all over the wall, most notably Food and Wine Magazine voted them the best in 2007 and 2002. I had Basil and Mushroom Soup and Irish Chicken, and finished off with Irish Chocolate Pudding. I know my mother is probably drooling at this point, and rightfully so, because it was delicious. I have also discovered that white wine is completely disgusting. One glass of Chardonnay from South Africa and I had made my decision. Following the dinner, we all heard music down the streets and went to investigate. We found in a pub (there were other pubs that were the same I'm sure) a band playing Irish folk tunes. Although we only stayed for a single song, that was enough to get the little thrill of the Irish culture. Upon returning to the hotel, Wade and Patrick said I had to sign up for the full Irish breakfast in the morning. I agreed, not knowing what I was getting myself into, but looking back on it, the meal wasn't bad. The meal contained, 1 blood sausage, 1 sunny-side-up egg, 2 pieces of bacon, and 2 "normal" sausages. I tried everything but the normal sausages, I was full by that point. The blood sausage wasn't bad, jsut its kind of like veal, once you figure out how its made, it's ruined. For those who don't know blood sausage is the same as a real sausage except they dont drain the blood out of it. Overall though the food has been amazing, as have most of the drinks, but I'll wait on that topic until the end of the trip.