I thought I would go a bit further afield for a change, and cover the lovely city of Cork. Cork is Ireland's third city and I think is a great destination for a short break.
Food lovers should go to the English Market. I learnt from Cork City Council that it is called the English Market "because originally only the reliable, loyal English settlers were allowed to trade here, while the native Irish were kept strictly outside the city walls"! I'm glad it was their words, not mine.
It's a covered market in an old building (built in 1786 and refurbished after a fire in 1980). You can buy fish, meat, fruit and vegetables, good chocolates and Irish specialities like crubeens (pigs' feet), tripe and drisheen (a black pudding) and soda bread. My picture really doesn't do it justice.
There's also a butter museum in Cork and you must visit the bell tower of St. Ann's, Shandon where you can ring the bells yourself (there's some helpful sheets on how to do easy tunes).
Cork is also the home of Denis Cotter's Café Paradiso, my favourite vegetarian restaurant. I was so impressed, I bought his Café Paradiso Cookbook and also Paradiso Seasons. If you think vegetarian food is simply meat and two veg without the meat, this will change your life!
Cork is also where Beamish and Murphys are brewed, you can do a brewery tour at Beamish and Crawford.
A trip out to nearby Cobh (last port of call for the Titanic) is also a good idea. Maybe I should have started a travel blog instead of a food blog.....
Web: http://www.corkcorp.ie/tourism/thetoptenmustdosincork
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