Yesterday I headed up to Dublin for the day to check out the Bite Food Festival. As I usually do when I’m going anywhere I woke up at 4am – which was daft as the first train didn’t leave Sligo until 7am.
The dogs were not impressed with such an early start to the day and Puggly got his own back this morning by waking up early again!
Anyway back to the story. I was lucky that a friend of mine had given me a ticket to the festival, otherwise it was €10 to get in. As well as the different food providers there were cooking demos, talks and even the chance to have a cooking lesson yourself. I missed out on that because there was a queue but I enjoyed what I saw. Not that impressed by the Nespresso machine in the Irish Times section. It took ages to make coffee and it kept running out of water so the staff must have been walking to the centre of Dublin to refill the jug…bottles of water would have been a good idea.
Anyway I saw purple potatoes and even the pope! Kilkenny had a great display of their food and were very well represented. It was nice to see Prannie and Eithna’s by the Sea flying the Sligo flag. Sadly for me I was in one of my moods, I really hate when I’m like that because I don’t get the most of days out, I just wandered around for a bit taking pics and I left. I did bump into a Sligo friend though who told me there was a Winter Fest on at Dun Laoghaire (which must be the hardest town name to spell!) So I hopped onto the DART and went there.
I’ve never been in that direction before so it was great to see some of the Dublin seaside and it’s amazing how close you are to the sea, you’d never think about it when you are in the city. It was very cold though so I didn’t hang around Dun Laoghaire but I will certainly be back as it looks like a lovely town.
A quick DART journey again took me back to the city where I had a wander around Temple Bar. I love the place, it’s so vibrant. I found a great restaurant that had a lunch deal on: starter, main course and a glass of wine for €9.99! Sure you couldn’t go wrong, it was a lovely lunch too, lots of choice even though I just went for fish and chips, but sure I’m a creature of habit.
On the way to the Jervis Centre I found a flea market in The Grand Social. Lots of glittery trinkets were sparkling in the darkness and there was a great atmosphere. Be sure to check it out if you are in Dublin.
I made the mistake of attempting to look around Penneys! I didn’t stay long, it was my idea of hell with all the crowds. I loved looking around Arnotts, the shop is gorgeous, very festive and there were lots of kids (and adults!) very excited by the Star Wars figures.
I also went to the Jervis Centre and battled the crowds. I loved the decorations in The Ilac Centre it was lovely, very festive and colourful.
The train home was interesting, we got held up just before Maynooth or Moonooth should I say due to cattle on the line…only in Ireland eh! So that was my day in Dublin, very enjoyable as always. The rest of my photos are here.
Magnumlady Blog 
Lovely everything, but most I loved your comment with Moonooth, I could imagine all the cattle on the line, that’s what I love so much in our country, Ireland is so cosmopolitan, multinational, you name it, but so rural. It just reminds you of ancestral times and to stop and breath. Love your blog.
Thank you 🙂 Yes it’s a great mix of everything alright.
My own favourite place for eats is the Epicure Food Court just off Abbey St., near the Jervis Centre. All kinds of low cost international cuisines and a nice seating area in the middle. Have you been there?
Yes John, it’s a great spot. I just fancied Temple Bar for a change and the price couldn’t be beaten.