CupcakesOMG!: Tour of Ireland Part I: Dublin

Question: How many days does it take your body to recover from 7 straight days of binge drinking?

I left Ireland two weeks ago and yet I'm still fairly certain my liver is working overtime to right the many wrongs I committed against it. But despite any damage I may have done to my internal organs, it was totally worth it to see the sheep (more on that in future posts), the landscape (ditto), and to drink unpasteurized Guiness (more on that in EVERY SINGLE POST I DO ABOUT IRELAND!).

The first stop on our itinerary was Dublin. We landed at 6 in the morning, Irish time, and immediately went to pick up our rental car. I then proceeded to scream in terror for the next 45 minutes during the drive to the city center. Irish roads are narrow as ish y'all, and driving on the left side of the road is realllllllll trippy the first few times you do it.

After battling morning rush hour traffic, we arrived at the Four Seasons. I was really excited to see our room, not only because I had never stayed at a Four Seasons, but because I needed to pee like, real bad.

The beautiful fresh flower arrangement greeting us upon arrival at the Four Seasons

I'll say this: the Dublin Four Seasons IS incredible, but the room itself was fairly modest. It was quite large, but the bed was "springy" and the TV was pretty out of date (not that we spent any time in the room watching it, of course).

On the upside, however, I believe that any hotel worth its salt has great toiletries and a terry cloth bathrobe in the room, and in THAT way, the Four Seasons did not let me down.

Both Kyle and I had been to Dublin before, so we did less sight-seeing than we did eating and drinking, however, we did manage to stumble upon a real live bagpiping band...??? Is that a thing, what I just said? Ah, well, anywhere, here:

Both of us had done the Guinness brewery tour (which, btw, you must do, even if you aren't a Guinness drinker), so this time we decided to take a tour of the Jameson Distellery. Iiiiiiiiiittttttttt...wasn't as good as the Guinness tour. Unless you're a big whiskey drinker DYING to see mannequin reenactments and a taxidermied farm cat (yes, really), save the 12 euro and just hang out at the bar and get a really well made Irish Coffee or Whiskey Hot Chocolate.

We also stumbled across a random farmer's market which I OBVIOUSLY photo-documented wildly.

I don't care what luxury bread is; all I know is, I need it, and I need it yesterday!

The Irish may not be known for macarons or pain au chocolat, but they probably should be.

I even managed to find a paleo dessert amidst all the potatoes and beer!!

I was dying...DYING...to try this smoked goat cheese. I get the feeling it would be absolutely amazeballs in this.

On our last night, Kyle and I went back the The Pearl Restaurant, where we ate at on our first trip to Dublin. It was also the same night he told me he loved me for the first time. And in answer to the question you're asking? No, he did not propose to me. I know, right??? Oh, but anyway, the Pearl is fantastic French cuisine. Definitely go there and order the pumpkin risotto.