coffeeandcastles-blog
Coffee and Castles
Welcome to Coffee and Castles! We are Gabriella and Kyle from New Jersey, USA. Follow us on our adventures where we seek worldly treasures between bold brews.
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Lapis and Gold
July 7, 2016 5:38 PM Kyle and I have stopped for some coffee while hanging out in Dublin; we do this a lot, but finally we have some time to blog. Yesterday was a long, but eventful day. Although not exactly logical in terms of location, we took a train from Dublin to see the Cliffs of Moher and Bunratty Castle (these are technically closer to Dingle, our first stop). Either way, we had a great day enjoying some incredible views. Today we went to the National Museum for more on Irish history -- this year marks the 100th anniversary of the Easter rising. The museum largely focused on the wars of the country as they sought independence from British rule. Comprehensive and informative, we both learned the Irish perspective we're often not taught when we studied the world wars. Afterwards we headed to Dublin Castle and the Chester Beatty Library, home to plenty of the world's historical treasures. The only scroll to contain all known Egyptian love poems as well as the letters of St. Paul are on display amongst other artifacts. But by far our favorite was the current exhibit on display -- a Ruzbihan Qur'an, one of 5 in the world. The pages were individually placed around a room and visitors received magnifying glasses to see his exquisite detail to the work. Tonight we'll head to the touristy Temple Bar area, popular amongst college students as well. Despite the crowds, we've heard, from a Dubliner, it is a fun neighborhood for pub crawling. - Gabriella P.S. You don't realize how much you need variety in your diet until you're only eating at pubs. Being a bigger city, Dublin offers all kinds of food, so went to an Italian restaurant for lunch... I couldn't help it. I needed something different. The cuisine in Dingle was excellent, but Dublin's pubs are lack luster in terms of grub.
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Grafton Street
Yesterday was our first full day to explore Dublin and I have to say it's not what I expected. I'm not exactly sure what I thought Dublin was going to be but definitely not what it is. Having grown up in the shadow of New York City most of my life I have a certain expectation for city grandiose. Dublin is not NYC and that is not a bad thing. The city is much smaller and lacks the enormous sky scrapers that block out New York's skyline, but it has a magic all its own. The River Liffey runs right through the city, offering a glimpse as to how Dublin used to transport goods in the old days. Today, the river is framed by a two lane highway on either side and following the road east, one will come across Grafton Street. Grafton Street is a beautiful, car-less road shopping Mecca with every type of store/restaurant you can imagine. From traditional Irish food to Italian, Indian, Mexican food and even a Starbucks! I've heard Grafton street is a tourist trap, but having visited it and seen where it's located in the city, it's much more than that. Located just south of Trinity College, Grafton Street seamlessly blends different forms of entertainment to provide a great place for college students, young professionals and tourists to peacefully congregate and enjoy themselves. -Kyle
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Sports
So last night was our last night in Dingle and after hiking out to the edge of the harbor during the day, we were looking to just grab dinner and chill the rest of the evening. We went to The Dingle Pub for dinner and caught parts of the France vs. Iceland game. The Pub was small and filled with a surprising number of French fans who went absolutely nuts after every French goal. I've got to admit, having never been a soccer (football) fan I've started to come around to the atmosphere the sport excites, if not the sport itself. It's intoxicating and you can't help but get emotionally involved. That being said, I found Gaelic Football to be the most interesting sport I've ever seen, outside of my usual selection of major American sports. It's like a combination of rugby and soccer. And where soccer can come off as soft, this sport has the hard hitting of rugby combined with the fancy footwork of soccer. If you're like me, you probably didn't know Gaelic football is Ireland's most popular sporting event. I quickly realized this when in Murphy's Pub and the entire place erupted when Kerry, Dingle's local team, scored. This sport is only played in two places, Ireland and Australia, albeit not under the exact same rules. Twice a year though, the Irish and Aussies meet up to play a compromised match against one another. From what I've been told it's an absolutely amazing experience to attend either the match in Ireland or Australia and I'd love for the chance to see it in the future. Would have to be in Ireland since my travel partner as sworn off Austria... as of now anyway ;)... Now it's time to go out and explore Dublin and more importantly find something to eat. -Kyle
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That cow hasn't moved...
July 3, 2016 4:28 PM It's finally sunny! 62 degrees and not a cloud in the sky. We're currently taking advantage by relaxing on Pax's porch with a glorious view of Dingle harbor, the hills, and various livestock. Yesterday we took an Archeological tour in the morning around the Ring of Kerry to see housing and religious sites from the 4th-7th century. Then after stopping in a pub for some lunch we read outside before heading down to town for dinner. Pretty sure we had the best salmon dish I've ever tasted at a restaurant called The Half Door. Kyle and I finished the night exploring some pubs for "trad" music and caught the Germany and Italy soccer game as well. Today, we walked out to some historic structures around the harbor, something Kyle has wanted to do since we got here. We will miss this place so much. Pax House was a perfect choice and I've never stayed in a better establishment. Tomorrow we head back to Kerry airport and Dublin awaits. Gabriella
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New Spuds
July 1, 2016 11:14 PM Today we made our way around Dingle Town stopping at shops, churches, and a fresco art center before enjoying some pub grub at Adam's Bar for lunch. The weather is unreal. It'll pour for five minutes and then the sun will come out. We were lucky to catch a sunny streak while we walked along the coast of the peninsula. Kyle is amazed that it stays light well after 10 PM and I'm loving each shade of green. We ate at The Chart House for dinner and it was excellent. Ireland is so much more than potatoes. The Wales vs. Belgium game was on in every pub on the way home and we went to Paudie's and Foxy John's to see the locals enjoy the match. Gabriella
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Irish Summer
July 1, 2016 7:44 AM Dingle -- Pax Guest House We slept for 12 hours. Yesterday we visited some of the town's pubs and had dinner at Murphy's. The main part of Dingle is less than a mile walk from Pax Guest House, where we're staying. The town is lovely and reminds me of a rainy Irish Calabria at times. Speaking of the weather, it's so cold! We've been informed you can expect all the seasons in one day. Regardless of the rain, it's so different out compared to the summer weather we left in New Jersey. 9:19 AM We just had an incredible breakfast, one of the reasons why we chose Pax (okay maybe that was my reasoning). John, our host, is an excellent cook, not to mention super helpful with our itinerary needs. I had the special: poached eggs, local smoked salmon, and asparagus. Kyle had the most decorative batch of pancakes. There was also a buffet spread of other items including scones with clotted cream. 😍 Yesterday was exhausting considering all the travel. But in order to adjust our internal clock, we stayed out as long as we could before heading back and passing out. We plan on expiring more of the town today. Gabriella
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Conversation with a Frenchman
While waiting for Gabriella outside the restroom, I struck up a conversation with a gentleman regarding how crucial it is to double check the bathroom signs in Dublin airport, as the men’s and women’s bathroom branch off from the same entrance. I am in the middle of enlightening him how this bathroom is set up in reverse of another bathroom I saw earlier, when an unwary woman walks head down into the men’s room, as if to prove my point. There is a moment of silence between us as we await her inevitable shock. We hear a sharp gasp and moments later the woman quickly shuffles out of the men’s room and into the adjacent women’s. As we share a laugh over this perfectly timed example, we discuss where we are from and where we are going. The man explains he is from Paris, that the best time to go there is September, and to definitely avoid it during the summer unless I want to fall victim to the locals sport of misguiding tourists to their final destinations. He then emphasizes that outside of the peak tourism times, the Parisians are perfectly pleasant to foreign travelers. My new found friend moves on to describe how Vienna is a must see in the winter and Prague is great, and cheap, anytime of the year. At the mention of Vienna I interject “oh yeah my girlfriend’s family is all from Italy, she goes their all the time!” :| He is very nice and does not point out my American ignorance of European geography and we continue to discuss places to travel in Europe and the best times to go. Our conversation comes to an end as our respective girlfriends emerge from the lavatory and we seal our brief friendship with a firm handshake. Most enlightening bathroom trip ever.
-Kyle
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Candy in the Bin
June 30, 2016 9:22 AM DUB We're currently waiting in Dublin airport for our connection to Kerry as we make our way to Dingle. An Irish 3-year-old is next to us giving sass to her whole family. *father goes to toss her candy* "Dad, if you throw my candy in the bin, I'll throw you in the bin." She's great. We have a bit more time until our flight. Our trip from Newark was pleasant enough, specifically because it was only 5 hours and 45 minutes, the shortest flight I've ever taken to Europe. I didn't sleep, but Kyle did, until I woke him up for our breakfast croissant. A shop called "Irish Memories" filled with stereotypical shamrocks and beer mugs stands in front of our seats. DUB resembles many of the airports in Western Europe, which isn't a negative. I expected the tourist items. I just can't wait to see the country. Gabriella
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Drink up!
Welcome to Coffee and Castles! Kyle and I will embark on an Irish adventure at the end of this month. We thought we’d create this blog to document our travels, as well as future trips. As we associate castles with our type of venture and have an affinity, or rather an addiction to coffee, the title fit. We hope you enjoy our ramblings, preferably with your own cuppa along the way.
We plan for this blog to include all of our trips. And while we didn’t document our first one, here is a a small tribute to President’s Weekend of this year which we spent in Simsbury, Connecticut. We stayed at The Simsbury 1820 House, a historical country manner turned bed and breakfast. The inn, staff, and town was warm and inviting, even in the -14 degree weather. We recommend the restaurants Little City Pizza and Plan B for casual grub, and Metro Bis for delicious, fancy fare. We also visited Hartford, a half hour drive from the inn, to see The Mark Twain House, and Rocky Hill, where the uncomplicated, yet worthwhile, Dinosaur State Park showcases one of the largest dinosaur track sites in North America.
Gabriella
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