Articles by traveleatlove

The blogger behind Travel Eat Love, I am a marketing communications professional by day and a lover of all things food, travel, and wine related the rest of the time. I am looking to combine my love of writing and social media with all of my other passions to share great reviews, recipes, and experiences with you!

Ahhhhhhh. . .

It is the busiest time of year, and I am taking a pause to relive our latest Ireland adventure, where the weather was perfect, the food was amazing, and we spent plenty of time outside. There is something so calming about the West of Ireland for me, and on recent visits, we have been trying to take some extra time in the countryside to really connect with nature. You can read about our little one’s first trip to Ireland and our stay in Renvyle here. Now that he is walking (and running and jumping and climbing) we take every opportunity we can get to play outside, and our time in Ireland was perfect for this. I know that he won’t remember these days and probably doesn’t appreciate the beauty as much as he gets a kick out of the tide “coming to get him” but I know these trips connect him to an important part of his past, present.and future.

The photos are all taken in County Galway along the Wild Atlantic Way, and I think they each tell their own story. I hope that these images give you a second to step away from the busy-ness of the holiday, lets you take a much-needed breath, and allows you to remember the beauty of the world we live in.

For more Ireland travel photos or ideas planning your own Ireland trip, visit my travel page.

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Dogs Bay, Connemara

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Roundstone

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Renmore, Galway

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Connemara

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Ballyconneely

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Galway City

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Galway Cathedral

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Ballyconneely

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Barna Pier

Tags: Ireland, Nature, outdoors, Travel

It’s hard to believe that we got back from Ireland three weeks ago. The trip completely flew by and was incredibly fun and restful, even though we were traveling with a very busy toddler. We luckily had lots of help from family and got to sneak away for some delicious dates, in addition to having some family meals out. Here are just a few of the delicious bites and sips we enjoyed during our Galway travels. Take me back!

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I was sick before we left, and air travel did not do me any favors. For our first lunch out, we went to Papa Rich Street Food Kitchen, where we took in views of the Rivrr Corrib and Galway Cathedral while sipping Prosecco and devouring gigantic steaming, spicy bowls of soup. I love Papa Rich and could easily eat their fresh, bright meals every day.

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And then there was Il Vicolo. Our little guy was sleeping as we walked the streets of my favorite town, so we decided to take advantage of the quiet and the warm October day with patio seats at Il Vicolo, which has some of the best seats in Galway. Check out that view!

We feasted on bruschetta and  beet salad with goat cheese to start.

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And then we moved on to meatballs and Bolognese. .  . incredible, comforting dishes!

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We finished with affogato, perfectly sweet gelato topped with rich espresso. This was one of my favorite meals in recent memory. It was nice to have a quiet lunch!

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We spent a few days out in Roundstone, a beautiful little town in Connemara, and we spent a lot of time at O’Dowd’s Seafood Bar, which is one of the best restaurants I have ever eaten at.

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Everything at O’Dowd’s is super fresh, and the seafood is deliciously local. One night I had a pile of mussels with a big glass of cold white wine. Heaven.

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We had our fair share of Irish coffees while gazing out the window at the beauty of Roundstone Harbor and mountains of Connemara.

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Local crab claws in garlic butter and a massive seafood platter were dinner another night. When seafood is that fresh, there is simply nothing like it.

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Back in town, I made it to my favorite Galway wine bar, Sheridan’s for a glass and to duck out of the rain during the Saturday market.

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Thanks to my husband’s cousin, we also had time for a lunch date at another Galway favorite, Ard Bia. If you are in Galway, you have to eat here! I was craving something comforting and healthy. This pumpkin curry dish was sublime!

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Ard Bia is where the river empties into the sea, and the views here are also spectacular. The menu is all local, all the time, the wine list is delightful, and the setting is super cozy. I am always looking to find restaurants with a similar vibe at home, and they just don’t exist.

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Perhaps it’s the age of the city and its buildings, but there is just something special about every spot we visit in Galway, and I always miss it. I can’t wait to be back again!

Tags: Food, Galway, Ireland, Travel

Earlier this week I got to attend a media preview of the upcoming Cognac Classic Crawl, coming to Boston from October 1 – October 31. The crawl shines a spotlight on Cognac and cocktails featuring the spirit. For $30, participants get five cocktails from five Boston favorites – Drink, Silvertone, Yvonne’s, Eastern Standard, and The Hawthorne.  Proceeds from ticket sales go to Haley House.

Ready to get your Cognac Crawl tickets and to support Haley House? Click here!

 

Led by Ezra Star, certified Cognac Educator and general manager/bartender of Drink, the media crawl was a lot of fun and showed just how versatile Cognac is as a cocktail ingredient.

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The Champs-Élysées Cocktail at Drink was perfect for the beautiful, sunny early fall day of the crawl, and it was not at all what I would think of when Cognac comes to mind. The mix of Cognac VSOP, lemon juice, Yellow Chartreuse, and simple syrup was bright, tart, and super drinkable. It paired perfectly with Drink’s amazing fries; this was perhaps the perfect meal!

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Our second stop brought us to Silvertone, where Oscar whipped up the Cavendish Nana with Cognac VSOP, orange curaçao, lemon juice, aquafaba, Maraschino liqueur, and Chuncho bitters. Everyone loved the presentation of this drink in cute little cans. It makes me want to save old cans to serve drinks in! This drink had a nice bitterness to it that was balanced by the sour lemon and rich Cognac. This was definitely a more strongly flavored drink, but as a fan of flavor, I loved it!

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Our third stop was Yvonne’s, a must-visit for its beautiful decor and lux supper club ambiance. We were running a bit behind, and since I wanted to be home for baby’s bedtime I had to jump off the crawl at this point. . . which means I have to wait to try the rest of the cocktails on the crawl when it begins in October!

You can get the full details on the Cognac Classic Crawl Cocktails that I missed here. Thanks to my friend Megan for getting these photos!

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The Cognac Classic Crawl is the perfect way to experience Boston and some of our best bars this fall while giving back to our community in a very important way.

Learn more about the Cognac Classic Crawl Boston here.

Tags: Boston, cocktails

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