An Afternoon In Dublin

With the end of exams behind me, I decided to visit some friends in Dublin for the weekend. With all the obligatory catch-ups, and end-of-university celebrations out of the way, we spent an afternoon wandering around the city. Dublin is a fantastic city to explore. It is seeped in history- everywhere you look there are statues and monuments to great literary or political figures. And it doesn't hurt that there is a pub every 50 yards! 

After a stroll down Grafton Street listening to the street musicians we began to get a bit peckish, so we decided it was perfect time for lunch at The Market Bar. 

The Market Bar is a tapas restaurant set within an old warehouse (supposedly it was once a pig abattoir). With its red brick walls and lofty ceilings it has a great laid-back atmosphere,  and with it's lengthy bar I can imagine it to be an ideal place for a few casual drinks and nibbles with friends in the evening. 

With our eyes far larger than our stomachs we ordered two "large plates" which were far too much food for just the two of us.

I ordered the chorizo and feta salad (much to my friend's disapproval- 'how could anyone order a salad in a restaurant?!'), however it was delicious, spinach piled high with fried, spicy chorizo and drizzled with a balsamic honey dressing.

We also had the confit of duck, which was incredibly rich (thank god we also ordered the salad!), which arrived in a thick red wine sauce on a bed of cannelloni beans. 

Other than the food, my favourite aspect of the Market Bar was the decor. One wall is completely covered in shelves of old shoe blocks, while the others held some interesting (and bewildering) pieces of art.

Branches for antlers??

Feeling rather over-full off we went vowing never to eat again... until we reached Yogism. Yogism is a frozen yoghurt shop which allows you to self-serve a variety of flavours and toppings, and then... (here's the best bit) you are asked to guess the weight. If guessed correctly you are given it for free. Who can resist dessert when there's competition involved?!

Unfortunately our guess was 1 gram off the actual weight... next time I'm going back with a better guessing strategy! The shop has a bunch of old toys and games so we settled in to play (highly competitive) a game of Jenga. 

Until next time Dublin, you've been 'great craic'!

Love,
Fiona x