Monday, August 17, 2009

The enchantment, the quirky, the mystical and the food

I am slowly coming out of my emerald isle fog. I became reacquainted with Yeats in Dublin but my heart is on the West Coast of Ireland. I ate mostly Italian food (widely available - but they put cream in their carbonara - my Italian genes were not sure about that - but at least it's great Irish cream!) and also managed fish and chips and salmon.

The quotes are all my beloved Yeats. And while I remain true to my Italian-food heritage, Irish literature has always been part of my spirit.

"Come away, O human child! To the waters and the wild.
With a faery hand-in-hand, for the world's more full of weeping than you could understand"

I searched for a faery and if I had found one I might have followed. But alas, I am not a child.

"But now they drift on the still water; Mysterious, beautiful; Among what rushes they will build,
By what lake's edge or pool
Delight men's eyes when I awake some day
To find they have flown away."

"Although I can see him still, The freckled man who goes to a grey place on the hill
In grey Connemara clothes, At dawn to cast his flies."

"I have spread my dreams under your feet; tread softly because you tread on my dreams."


Amid all the grandeur of Trinity College, there labored a man. Trimming the grass with giant scissors. I smiled.
And now we move on to the food.

Italian pastries at Carlucci's in Dublin.


A late dinner at Da Pino.

Pizza! It translated very well to Gaelic.
`
Galway had McCambridges with fresh, small doughnuts filled with chocolate.


Where we got our morning coffee and sat to people watch.

And to gaze on giant barrels of pesto.

The Western Bar in Galway where we finally had an Irish meal - that was truly delectable.And dined on fresh fish.



Salmon with a mound of crab salad, Can you taste the sea air?
`
I am slowly coming around to"real life." (Really, really slowly!) And will be visiting you tomorrow. Meanwhile, another excitement came into my life. I shall be reporting on the performing arts in the Twin Cities for Examiner.com. If you are so inclined, visit my article - here - which is an interview from the Minnesota Fringe Festival 2009. I bet some of you guessed I would manage to end this with theatre! Good night for now. Sweet dreams and I will see you tomorrow.

23 comments:

Rachel J said...

As an Irish-Italian, I am not too surprised about the abundance of Italian food available in Ireland. But I wasn't expecting a barrel of pesto! Very impressive.

Heather S-G said...

Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh...infinity! Believe me when I tell you I have tears in my eyes right now. I want to be inside each every single one of your photos...experiencing these amazing experience in a place I long to visit...thank you :)

Barbara GF said...

What great photos, Claudia, and your choice of accompanying verse. What an inspiring time you must have had - thanks for sharing. Now, a barrel of pesto, awesome!

theUngourmet said...

Mmm! I'll take the bucket of yummy pesto! :p

What a great trip!

Cookin' Canuck said...

Ireland is on my list of must-visit places. I had no idea that there was such a strong Italian influence there. Fun post!

Lyndas recipe box said...

What gorgeous pictures you posted; and that pesto looks amazing too!

Wanda..... said...

What beautiful cliffs to have seen in person...lucky you!
I know you were in Ireland, but pizza, pesto, and salmon are such Mediterrnean foods...nice to know there's more than Irish potatoes and corned beef to be had.

Your interview was impressive Claudia! Welcome back!

Anonymous said...

Looks like you had a great vacation! All the foods look delicious! When we were in Dublin, I spent a good amount of time in search of an authentic Shepherd's pie and couldn't find one in the city. A modern cuisine with international influences is much more popular there right now.

Foodie with Little Thyme! said...

Welcome! We missed you here in the blog world.
The trip looks so wonderful! Thank you for sharing!

Claudia said...

Thanks all for the affirmations. Glad to be home (wort of). And to FIVE STAR FOODIE: Apparently you must go to the smaller towns for authentic Irish cooking - Dublin is all about being European!

Barbara Bakes said...

I hope to make it to Ireland one day. Looks like you ate well!

unconfidentialcook said...

I love everything in your post--really, really!--but that barrel of pesto will stay with me forever. I'd like to dive right in!

figtree said...

Oh my !!What a trip!!! Thanks so much for sharing it with all of us!!Figtreeapps

Pat @ Mille Fiori Favoriti said...

Hi Claudia

Welcome home! Your photos are so lovely and the Yates quotes fit them perfectly.

Weren't you surprised how many Thai restaurants there were in Dublin? To eat authentic Irish cuisine in Ireland we learned to eat at a pub, or a hotel at lunchtime, when they have their wonderful carveries. I did a whole blog post about the Irish foods we ate in Ireland on my blog the last time we were there.

You have made me want to go back!

Katy ~ said...

I have longed to be in Ireland. I dream of retiring there. Your photos make me so wistful; I feel as if I am missing home.

Reeni said...

I love the giant barrels of pesto! What beautiful pictures and delicious eats. It looks like a lovely time - I can see why it's slow getting back in the swing of things. Good to have you back!

Daziano said...

Cream in your carbonara... uuUUuuuuhhhHHHhhh

But at least your photos are GREAT! Thanks for sharing this!

Angie's Recipes said...

I love those barrels of pesto!

Thanks, claudia, for stopping by my blog. :-)
Angie's Recipes

Donna-FFW said...

Claudia.. thanks for transporting me to another world with such gorgeous pictures and lovely verses!!

Anonymous said...

That's AWESOME, Claudia, that you are reporting for the Examiner! CONGRATS!

And oh em Gi!! I LOVED your photos...I felt like I was right there with you, breathing the Irish air, smelling that awesome aroma of the wonderful food...thanks for sharing with us!

OysterCulture said...

Perfect timing for me, I'm off to Ireland in a few weeks and looking for ideas - thanks for all the wonderful information

OysterCulture said...

My mom has family from Ireland and has always dreamed of going, and it never seemed like it was going to happen, so the opportunity presented itself for me to take her. I let her pick the destinations and for two weeks we are going to explore the island of her ancestors, and maybe knock on the doors of a few strangers to see if we're related. It will be a fantastic time to reconnect with my mother in a way I had not been able to do given that we live so far apart. I am very excited at this opportunity, and you just made me more so by the chance to study these wonderful photos. We're staying very close to Trinity while in Dublin but will soon venture to parts farther afield.

Claudia said...

Oysterculture: You can walk to just about anywhere from Trinity. Dublin is filled with history, art, architecture, literature, music and good food. But I hope you get a peek at the countryside. It's like getting into a time machine and visiting the past.