9/15/10- Uncle Pennybags Strikes Again (plus food reviews)

Walking up and down the main street in front of Trinity, I had seen lines streaming out of a storefront.  I checked it out a few days ago and saw it was a Fish and Chips place (Leo Burdock).  Fergal highly recommended this place, so I went for lunch.  

For roughly 9 Euro I had a piece of cod and chips (fries) expertly cooked by three older gents.  The check-out guy offered to put on salt (yes) and vinegar (no).  Everything was piping hot out of the frier wrapped with large amounts of paper to soak up the grease.

      Pros: generous portions, fresh, expertly cooked, dynamite chips

      Cons: lack of flavor, too pricey compared to other lunch possibilities

The fish (cod I'm guessing) still had skin on it, but tasted fine.  Overall bland (perhaps I should have had the vinegar).  Any type of sauce would have greatly improved the meal.  The fries were crispy and tasty, the best I've had in a long time (I don't eat fries often, however).  Glad I tried it, but perhaps I'm just  not a fish n' chips kind of guy.  Won't be returning.

Afterwards I went to the Dublin Museum of Archeology and the Dublin Museum of Natural History.  Neither were terribly interesting and each took about 30 minutes to view.  This may seem morbid, but the only saving grace of the archeology museum were body parts preserved thousands of year by bogs.  Very Bones-esque; worth a quick visit if you're into that thing.  Both museums were free, but there's no point in going back.  

After registering at Trinity (my ID photo is on par with a glamour shot), I visited what may, in fact, be my favorite place in Dublin.  If I come home a fatty, this will be the culprit:

Gelato from Botticelli's.  About seven years ago, I went to Italy for a week with my high school Latin class.  I loved Italy and everything about it, but the highlight was the gelato.  I've told people (not jokingly) that I would commit misdemeanors for this stuff.  If you could take ice cream and make it 10x creamier and tastier, you would have gelato.  In particular, Italy put me on to pistachio gelato.  I have since scoured the US for something remotely close, only to be continually disappointed (most pistachio ice cream in the US is average at best, often bad).  Finally, my search has ended.  This scoop set me back 2.7 Euro and I would easily pay 10 for it.  It might not have been as good as Italy's, but it's damn sure close.  After I had a few bites, I went back into the store to complement the workers.  As I walked the streets outside, I thought to myself, "If I were to die right now, I would die a happy man."  I will be back and anyone who comes to Dublin must visit the store.

On a final note, I was taken aback by an unusual sight on the river Liffey:

Someone in Dublin has apparently decided to sell some waterfront property.  Both houses and hotel rooms are available.  Contact this man for further enquiries: