we're baaaack! i never truly understood what jet lag was until i spent 18 hours traveling home with an 8 hour time difference. i was also there for 14 days, so it's been quite the adjustment. it's like being hungover yet drunk and the same time. woof.
despite the jet lag , the experience was unforgettable. i spent the first week in dublin working (my company has an office there) and then TS came out to meet me and travel!
first of all, irish people are seriously the BEST - so welcoming and friendly. they're like the southerners of the UK - our cab drivers chatted the entire trip, and we never met a stranger at the pub. it made the experience that much better to know we were so welcomed. i think traveling with a red head didn't hurt, either ;)
my first week was spent mostly working, but i frequented many restaurants, pubs, shopping, and of course, the infamous temple bar neighborhood. the live music, crowded streets, and international crowd singing (mostly) american music was definitely a fun night. i was hurting the next day, but it was well worth it!
the second week i spent with TS, we checked some of the "touristy" spots in dublin off our list - guinness storehouse, dublin castle, trinity college library, the national gallery, saint patrick's cathedral, grafton street, jameson distillery, numerous pubs and bars. but we also just walked around, grabbed late afternoon coffees, took naps, and always ended the night with a pint at a pub. it was the kind of lifestyle i could definitely get used to.
we also took the irish rail to a small town on the west coast of ireland called Galway - it was basically a mini Dublin, but way closer to a lot of the scenic ireland coastline. we took a tour of the country, the burren landscape, and the infamous cliffs of moher. it was stunningly beautiful and hard to even really absorb in the moment.
now, we're just getting back in the swing of things at home. it's been nice to relax and readjust.
but then wait! i just found out i'm off to tokyo next week for work! i'll do my best to get some recipes up before then, but when i'm back it's all health food from now on to get ready for this kind of big thing called a wedding we have coming up :)
till then,
xoxo, #chefhaley