Tonight's dinner:
canned tuna (that I wrestled out through a tiny hole cut with a knife - the can opener is broken) on crackers (my bread was moldy, threw it out this morning) with a side of the BIGGEST can of pineapple bits (this one had a pop top thingy, thank God) I've ever seen.
I NEED GROCERIES.
In other news, I think I only have one more day of classes.
"But Kathleen, classes don't end until November 27th, surely you are mistaken?"
Ahh yes, but I don't have classes on Wednesdays, I am leaving this Thursday for Paris and therefore missing the one class I have Thursday and Friday. Then next week there is a University-wide strike to protest budget costs on Tuesday, and I'm leaving Thursday for Belfast (again, Thursday and Friday classes getting nixed). So that leaves just next Monday. Whoops. What's up, exam week?
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Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Saturday, November 14, 2009
to market, to market
So in most of the cities we've gone to - Galway, Cork, etc. - the laylies and I have always tried to check out the weekend markets. Each one is different and features delicious foodz, homemade crafty things and fun art. Yet in almost three months, I still hadn't been to any Dublin markets. UNTIL NOW. And my life has been drastically improved since experiencing it.
All the markets of the day were in the Temple Bar area, where they run every Saturday, regardless of weather. The first one we (Kendra and I) came upon was the book market (and we all know how I feel about books, don't we?). There were several booths with new and old books, records and cds. Some highlights included The Cat Lover's Pocket Bible, Now That's What I Call Music 8 on vinyl (what???), and the UK edition of Northern Lights/The Golden Compass (I came thisclose to buying it despite the TWO U.S. copies I have at home...).
Next up we were on the hunt for yummy foodies. We easily found the fruit and veg stands, but spent a bewildered few minutes wondering if that was it (it wasn't much). So we kind of just wandered around until somehow we stumbled through an alleyway and tapped the correct pattern of bricks behind the Leaky Cauldron - uh, I mean turned a corner - and found ourselves surrounded by homemade deliciousness of all kinds. We then proceeded to make between two and five laps of all the booths, basically drooling on ourselves and everything else. The smells! The sights! Breads, crepes, rotisseries, lamb skewers, noodles... Mediterranean, Indian, American... Delish. Since we are both completely incapable of making such a serious decision as what to have for lunch, we decided to dwell on it while checking out the artsy part of the market.
There we wandered among jewelry (so many pretty and funky silver rings, especially loved the ones made out of antique spoons), knitted goods, clothes, paintings/photographs and SCARVES. At which point my willpower broke down and I purchased a GORGEOUS orange, gold and black pashmina with a peacock design. I plan to wear it every day for the rest of my life.
Back to foodies! After three more laps and lots more drool/indecision, lunch was finally purchased. Mine was a barbeque angus burger (burgers being another one of my great loves) on a delicious baked roll thing, and hot apple cider with a shot of apple brandy! YUM. Kendra ate rice and curry with the same to drink.
After exhausting the Temple markets we wandered through vintage shops and fun stores around George's St. and Grafton St. before returning home full and happy.
Next week: PARIS!!!! Eeeeeeeee!!!!
After that: Belfast!!! Oooooohhh!!!
After that: Studying. Oh.
After that: Brian gets here!!!! AAAAAAAAAHHHHHhhhhhhh!!!
All the markets of the day were in the Temple Bar area, where they run every Saturday, regardless of weather. The first one we (Kendra and I) came upon was the book market (and we all know how I feel about books, don't we?). There were several booths with new and old books, records and cds. Some highlights included The Cat Lover's Pocket Bible, Now That's What I Call Music 8 on vinyl (what???), and the UK edition of Northern Lights/The Golden Compass (I came thisclose to buying it despite the TWO U.S. copies I have at home...).
Next up we were on the hunt for yummy foodies. We easily found the fruit and veg stands, but spent a bewildered few minutes wondering if that was it (it wasn't much). So we kind of just wandered around until somehow we stumbled through an alleyway and tapped the correct pattern of bricks behind the Leaky Cauldron - uh, I mean turned a corner - and found ourselves surrounded by homemade deliciousness of all kinds. We then proceeded to make between two and five laps of all the booths, basically drooling on ourselves and everything else. The smells! The sights! Breads, crepes, rotisseries, lamb skewers, noodles... Mediterranean, Indian, American... Delish. Since we are both completely incapable of making such a serious decision as what to have for lunch, we decided to dwell on it while checking out the artsy part of the market.
There we wandered among jewelry (so many pretty and funky silver rings, especially loved the ones made out of antique spoons), knitted goods, clothes, paintings/photographs and SCARVES. At which point my willpower broke down and I purchased a GORGEOUS orange, gold and black pashmina with a peacock design. I plan to wear it every day for the rest of my life.
Back to foodies! After three more laps and lots more drool/indecision, lunch was finally purchased. Mine was a barbeque angus burger (burgers being another one of my great loves) on a delicious baked roll thing, and hot apple cider with a shot of apple brandy! YUM. Kendra ate rice and curry with the same to drink.
After exhausting the Temple markets we wandered through vintage shops and fun stores around George's St. and Grafton St. before returning home full and happy.
Next week: PARIS!!!! Eeeeeeeee!!!!
After that: Belfast!!! Oooooohhh!!!
After that: Studying. Oh.
After that: Brian gets here!!!! AAAAAAAAAHHHHHhhhhhhh!!!
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
A day of old and new loves
First off, I (+friendys) visited the Jameson Irish Whiskey factory on Halloween - at 10:30 in the morning. Perfect time for some whiskeyz if you ask me. The tour was great. We learned a lot about why Irish whiskey - particularly Jameson - is different from other whiskeys, like Scotch or American versions. We heard the words "triple-distilled" approximately 583920932 times. Then Grace and I were chosen to participate in a whiskey-tasting/comparison session, where we compared Scotch, American and Irish whiskey. Scotch (we had Johnny Walker Red Label) was the worst, because it has a smokey taste due to peat being present somewhere in the distillation process. American (Jack Daniels) had a much stronger woody flavor, while Irish was the sweetest. Jameson won, duh. Actually we were encouraged to choose Jameson as the best by our guide (I mean, we WERE in a Jameson factory), but I think I like Irish and American nearly equally. They each mix better with different things (i.e. Jack with Coke but Jameson with Sprite/ginger ale). Also, the Irish apparently drink their whiskey with cranberry juice, which Brian tried once and it was nasty. Weird! After the free shots during the tasting we got a free drink and a diploma!
Fun facts!!!!!
1. Ireland and America are the only ones that spell the word properly: "whiskey." Everywhere else spells it "whisky."
2. Jameson has hints of vanilla and honey because they don't use new barrels, but only barrels that have previously aged port or bourbon.
3. Jameson is the best-selling Irish whiskey in the world.
4. Jameson is a mix of malted and unmalted barley. Scotch only uses malted. They told us what the process of malting does but its complicated to explain/I can't remember it exactly.
Then lunch was on tap at the oldest pub in Dublin, The Brazen Head. Yum!
As for the afternoon/evening, I can sum it up in two words: RUGBY ROCKS. We went to a Leinster v. Cardiff (an English team, boooo) match. Leinster, of course, was superior in every way and won easily, and it was incredibly exciting. My interpretation of rugby can be described in the following formula:
American football
- forward passes (laterals only - Millsaps should know something about that)
+ way more pileups
- sissy pads and helmets
+ awesome cheerleader lift moves when throwing ball inbounds
- sissy timeouts (or at least as many of them)
+ brutality
- inches of fabric on shorts (shortyshorts are popular)
__________________________________
rugby
And its awesome.
Fun facts!!!!!
1. Ireland and America are the only ones that spell the word properly: "whiskey." Everywhere else spells it "whisky."
2. Jameson has hints of vanilla and honey because they don't use new barrels, but only barrels that have previously aged port or bourbon.
3. Jameson is the best-selling Irish whiskey in the world.
4. Jameson is a mix of malted and unmalted barley. Scotch only uses malted. They told us what the process of malting does but its complicated to explain/I can't remember it exactly.
Then lunch was on tap at the oldest pub in Dublin, The Brazen Head. Yum!
As for the afternoon/evening, I can sum it up in two words: RUGBY ROCKS. We went to a Leinster v. Cardiff (an English team, boooo) match. Leinster, of course, was superior in every way and won easily, and it was incredibly exciting. My interpretation of rugby can be described in the following formula:
American football
- forward passes (laterals only - Millsaps should know something about that)
+ way more pileups
- sissy pads and helmets
+ awesome cheerleader lift moves when throwing ball inbounds
- sissy timeouts (or at least as many of them)
+ brutality
- inches of fabric on shorts (shortyshorts are popular)
__________________________________
rugby
And its awesome.
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