An American in Dublin

I was in Dublin this past weekend with my husband and four other couples from Norway. While I may have been the only Yankee in the group, I was certainly not the only American in Dublin. There were 35,000 American football fans in Dublin to watch Notre Dame take on and clobber, Navy in the Emerald Isle Classic.

We didn’t go to the game but we found plenty of other things to do. For me the high point of the trip was seeing Riverdance at the Gaiety theater. The thrilling experience of pounding feet and swirling music left me breathlessly mesmerized.

We also went on a musical pub crawl. This is where a group of people are led to different pubs by a couple of Irish musicians, telling stories and singing songs along the way. Its great fun!

My husband and I decided against purchasing a hop-on-hop-off tour bus ticket, this being our ‘second’ trip to Dublin and all. Except for a trip to the Guinness Brewery, we decided to abandon our group of merry friends and strike out on our own for the day.

Knowing my love for tea and that I was going to Dublin, a few of my fellow bloggers recommended some new places to visit. With a list of addresses and a map of the city in hand, we set off with great determination…

This one was closed

The first Tea House we found (Tea Garden) wasn’t far from our hotel but unfortunately, not open. Just down the road we stumbled across the second place we were looking for. The Winding Stair Bookshop & Restaurant, formally known as The Winding Stair Bookshop Cafe. Named after a Yeats poem, this was a popular meeting place for writers, musicians and artists. Here I bought a book of Irish myths and a pack of Irish literary postcards.

We then headed over to the Temple Bar area, where we found Joy of Chá which was one of Dublin’s first tea shops. Here we sat and sipped on a cup of fresh brewed, Irish Morning tea.

Joy of Chá

Afterwards, we trudged across the city to the Portobello area and found Wall & Keogh, a small tea house loaded with a variety of different loose leaf tea. A very kind girl helped me find a Maté Energy Boost blend and an Improved Mood & Memory blend (don’t ask) which I took home with me. I haven’t tried them yet, but I’ll keep you posted.

By now you may be wondering how I got my husband to agree to this excursion… It was easy, for every tea house we visited we also visited a pub for a pint.

The perfect bribe

Next we made our way over to the more touristy, fashionable side of town to Clement & Pekoe. I left with 100 g of (my favorite) Mint Green Tea and some Gunpowder tea, which I had never tried but have heard so much about from all my UK blogger friends. I’ve now tried them both and give them a two thumbs up.

Clement & Pekoe

Last we caught up with our friends at Bewley’s, on Grafton Street where we enjoyed a delicious meal. Bewley’s is an Irish Co. that has been selling coffee and tea since 1840. I bought a box of Pure Sencha Green Tea bags for myself and a box of Irish Breakfast Tea, to bring home to a friend.

Bewley’s

It was a great day!

My tea stash

All tea houses can be found here.