Cheers from Dublin

Greetings.
I spent this past weekend in Dublin, Ireland. It's a relatively small city but the people are friendly, the food is delicious and beer is a'plenty. The climate is cold and wet and there's not much to do during the day but the nightlife is...gee, what would be the right word...energetic?

We arrived at noon on Friday and my first and only thought was breakfast. The receptionist of our hostel recommended The Lott's.

The description of Traditional Irish Breakfast on the menu said sausage, Irish bacon and black and white pudding. Being an uncultured American, I asked the waitress what black and white pudding was and once she got over the shock of my ignorance she informed me that white pudding was a mixture of grain, vegetables and meat, while black was pork and pig's blood. Upon seeing the outrage on my face after the words "pig's blood" she hurriedly explained, "They put a lot of pig's blood in it but it doesn't taste like blood! It's black." I politely declined and asked to have only the white.

My breakfast commenced with tea and milk (which I would never have at home but when in Ireland, do as the Irish do) and a glass of Guinness. Yes, beer for breakfast.

And then this happened:

Needless to say this was the best breakfast of my life. The white pudding was delicious and unlike anything I've ever had before. I have to make it at home. And surprisingly, I did not have a heart attack at the table!

By the end of my trip I did try the black pudding...I wasn't a fan...


Ireland was a lot of fun and now I'm back in Paris until the 19th.