Friday, May 9th, 2025
Our first Friday in Ireland was a free day. Originally, we had a site visit planned to the IFCO, the Irish Film and Classification Office, however this trip got rescheduled for next week, opening up the day to explore.
We started the day by eating breakfast at this adorable cafe called Lemon Jelly Cafe. I had a beautifully crafted latte and a lemon zest crêpe. Although the portions were on the smaller side, it was the perfect amount of food and it tasted light and fluffy with a little bit of sweetness and a bit of tanginess from the lemon as well. Case and point, it was delicious!
After we ate, we joined a few other friends for some shopping at St. Stephen’s Green Shopping Centre and Grafton Street. The street features a plethora of shops that we perused. We went inside an Irish sweater shop, the Disney store, the Lego store, and even H&M to take a look around.
My favorite store, and the only purchase I made, was at a Celtic Jewelers where I bought my very own Claddagh ring. I was planning for this purchase and was far from disappointed!
After an afternoon of shopping, we went to Stag’s Head, a well known pub. I officially got to try the Beef & Guinness Stew (that I’ve been looking forward to trying) and it was pretty good. Additionally, as an avid Coca-Cola drinker, I tried my very first Irish Coke at Stag’s Head. I found it interesting that it came with a lime, but it was definitely tasty. The real sugar flavor (as opposed to high-fructose corn syrup) was a noticable (and enjoyable) difference.
Although I probably would have liked to see more of Dublin in that free day, it was still a pleasantly relaxing and surprisingly fun afternoon.