How is your Summer going? Already the evenings are getting shorter and there is a coolness in the air at night. I haven't taken much holidays off work yet but I have had a few days enjoying the good things in life... spending time with friends and family, nice food and enjoyable times...
Friday I took the day off work and met up with some old friends in Dundrum which is on the south side of Dublin for those of you who may not be familiar with the area. As you may have noticed I am not a city person and only go to the city an odd time to meet with friends or shopping. So off I went in my little red car to have a catch up with my friends. We decided to have lunch in
Jamie's Italian. I didn't realize that Jamie Oliver has over 30 restaurants worldwide. I ordered a plank pizza and it was really delicious, followed by cheesecake which I didn't finish as I was so full. Overall it was really tasty. It was quiet enough for a Friday which was nice as we could spend a bit longer chatting to each other. The decor is industrial style with lots of fruit,vegetable and meat hanging from the counter which we were not keen on as it looked almost fake. The food was lovely though and I would recommend it. Have you visited any of Jamie's restaurants?
Last weekend , I was more in my comfort zone when we visited the
Tullamore Show with my sister in law and her partner. The Tullamore Show is the largest Agricultural Show in the Country. It is located a few miles outside Tullamore town in County Offaly. The weather wasn't great but we made the most of it, wellies, hats, umbrellas and raincoats were out. There was an array of home craft and goods on display from the competitions which we spent a long time looking at, followed by lots of pedigree cattle, sheep, pigs, hens, etc. I enjoyed the sheep shearing competition, but we missed the sheep dog trials. There were a lot of market stalls and food stalls. Overall it was an enjoyable experience and is worth a visit, even if you are not a farmer, a farmers wife or even from the countryside. I didn't have a proper map of the show so found it a bit difficult to navigate my way around. Next time I will keep the map that came in the Farmer's Journal. Agricultural Shows are very popular here in Ireland celebrating and showcasing all things agricultural, the livestock, the way of life, food, craft, our traditions, heritage and customs.
Dear Ashling,
ReplyDeleteHow lovely to meet up with some friends and share a nice meal and lots of chat and laughter. Good friends are a treasure. And it sounds like Jamie's food was a sucess as well. I've never been to any of his restaurants but apparently he's opening one here in Sweden as well so I'll definitely have a go. :)
Your visit to Tullamore Show sounds like a great day and I like the way they do a big thing of all agriculture. Not only the animals and machines (like they often do here in Sweden) but the whole concept of life in the country.
Take care Ashling and hope you'll have a nice start of the new week.
Charlie
xx
Your plank pizza looks great!
ReplyDeleteWould you believe living in the Midlands that I have never been to Tullamore Show!? It always seems to coincide with something like cemetery devotions this year, maybe next year!
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