Dublin - Baile Atha Cliath

  Dublin - Baile Atha Cliath

In the life you can never predict what will happen, which people you will meet, which road you will cross. And of course sometimes you can't predict the place here you will be living. Isn't it great? the excitement o the surprise and of the unknown, the continuous challenge.

It happened to me to move to Ireland, I will spend here some good time (a couple of months? more? less? who knows...) so for the moment I am learning to appreciate the irish culture, and enjoying life in Dublin, meanwhile I can improve my English...

The "harp" is the coat of arms of Ireland (from the Brian Boru harp), the name of an irish lager and the symbol of Guinness.

Dublin is not a large city, but it's not even too small, I 'd say a "medium size city", which is very good, because it's easy to move from one part to the other, and it is not so busy. The public transport is very well organized and precise, on the other hand it is also very expensive and there are not good value subscriptions; in my opinion the best option for medium terms travels is the "Leap card" which allow travelers to save round 10% of every ticket cost  (cost of the card: 5 € at Dublin Bus, in O' Connell street).

I must admit that Ireland's capital city is not one of the most beutyful urban example I ever seen, and at a first glance it seems a grey, rainy city. Which is true but, beyond that, the city has an extraordinary night life, with hundreds of pub, and a strong and fashinating culture that, if the traveler is honest and open enough, can be quite charming.

You will meet a lot of Irish people, mostly very nice, funny and kind, and you will see even more people from other countries: maybe not all of you knows that Dublin is unbelievably young and multicultural...I think that In the city centre there are probably even more foreigners than natives.

You will learn not to fear the rain, because some drops fall everyday, sometimes continuously, but never heavy. I can't say the same thing about the wind, which is impetuous. 

One thing that really was unexpected for me is that there is not a Central Square in the City: from an Italian point of view you'll agree this is quite shocking. However there are some small and nice squares, like the Grand canal square, and some enjoyable parks like Merrion square and St. Stephen's Green, where you can have a break in the amazing green of the lawns.

Dublin is a city that Should be "lived", therefore my brave and valiant Traveler, bring yur coat and sharpen your bottle opener, be lazy and meet people and you'll have a great time!!

Not to miss:

A pint of stout with fries and relish at the Porterhouse, in parliament street, a few drinks at The Church, and the Sunday late breakfast at Avoca. Don't forget also to eat a burger at Joe Burger, if you are brave enough.A day trip to Howth, to see the cliffs and the seals, and eventually try a delicious chowder (I love this fish soup, i think it's really tasty). 

About Museums I would advice to visit the Chester beatty library, near the castle: very nice and free and the Kilmainham jail, chance to learn something about Irish history. Also the Book of Kells in Trinity is interesting, especially for the  library hall, but honestly 8 € ticket is too much.

Pull me up / Tiramisu

Sun is shining again in Dublin! to celebrate we will make a good Tiramisu today!!

What you will need is an electrical whip for the eggs, a bowl and a baking tray to put the cake when ready. And, of course, the

Ingredients: (4 people)

• 3 eggs
• Mascarpone, 250 gr. (no, you can`t do it with different types of cheese, I`m sorry)
• Sugar, 60 gr
• Biscuits, they have to absorb the coffee..We normally use the Sponge fingers, "Savoiardi"
• Coffee, let`s say a cup of it, or something like that. 
• Cocoa powder

What to do now: first of all we open the eggs, paying attention in keeping separate the white parts from the yolks. We always have to be careful with eggs, precise like surgeons and quick like samurai, otherwise pieces of the eggshell will fall in the bowl with the yolks, and you will be wasting the next 40 minutes trying to get them out of it ( this always happen with Carbonara sauce too).

After that we can replace our Katana, put the sugar in the yolk`s bowl and blend. Than add the mascarpone and blend again. If you have a moka for the coffee you can prepare it, if you use Nescafe (which I don`t recommend) you can turn on the kettle. If you have a coffee machine, high five! Then, with the whip, beat the egg whites until stiff, and put them in the bowl with the rest of the stuff. Stir well now, until your arm starts hurting!

Here we are, your cream is ready. Taste it, and if it tastes bad it means that you used salt instead of sugar.. if it is good on the other hand we can finish the recipe.

Time to use biscuits. First of all we have to cover the baking pan with a first layer of sponge fingers, and spread over it a little bit of coffee, not to much because we need the first layer to be solid. Then we cover with cream, and add another layer of biscuits, this time with more coffee (don`t go too far, though) and cover again with more cream. If you still have biscuits and cream you can set up a third layer.

At the end, cover with cocoa powder and put your creature in the fridge for at least a couple of ours before eating!