Weekend Back in Dublin!

         This past weekend was a lot of fun, I made it back from Northern Ireland late on Friday, and on Saturday, I traveled with my host dad, Bill O'Dea, down to where Carlow, Wicklow, and Wexford Counties meet for a rural mushroom hunt in the Irish Countryside. Bill guides mushroom hunts during the Fall, where he leads hikes through the woods, helps people identify edible mushrooms, and then cooks up a feast of mushrooms for the guests. I went down as his assistant, and had a great time, learned something, and enjoyed some delicious mushrooms.
     On Sunday, it was a very nice day, so I convinced a few of the other girls in my group to go with me up to Howth, a quaint fishing village north of Dublin. We hiked along the cliffs of Howth Head, saw the Eye of Ireland, walked the piers, and stopped in at a harbor-side pub where I ordered a bucket of fresh steamed mussels, caught that day off Howth, with boiled potatoes and a pint of Smithwicks. It was one of the best, cheapest, and most authentic meals I've eaten along the Irish coast!

Forests of County Carlow

Laying out the Mushrooms in the Farmhouse

Bill and his assistant

Big Bill Identifying Mushrooms

Yellow Boletes- Edible

Beef-Steak Tree Fungus- Also Edible

Bluets- Edible

Young Ceps, very good eating

The Eye of Ireland

Howth Head and Dublin Bay

Howth Harbor

Steamed Mussels

A very satisfying meal: 60 mussels for only 7 Euro