Arcadia Ireland

Last week was a busy one and it was packed with really enjoyable events. As our students are dotted around the country, we try and put on some smaller, local events to make sure that everyone has a chance to join us for a couple of excursions. There were events in Limerick and Cork, so I set off on Tuesday afternoon to visit a few different spots around the country.

On Tuesday evening, the students studying at the University of Limerick joined me for an evening of food at Verette’s Kitchen. We hopped in a couple of taxis and made our way out into the Limerick countryside. When we landed at Verette’s it was like going into a cooking wonderland and being in a homely kitchen all at once. On top of this, it was Instagram heaven! Verette welcomed us all as though we were old friends. The kettle was put on and as we chatted and got settled we took in our gorgeous surroundings. There were recipe booklets and mini-marshmallows at each of our desks and there was a lovely buzz around the place.

Verette began her demo with a healthy (ish!) version of brownies. She made it look effortless and reassured us that it really wasn’t that difficult once you had a bit of practice. With them popped in the oven, she began whipping up our starter- brie, apple and cranberry tart. As you can imagine, with the smell of the brownies wafting through the room, we were getting very hungry and enjoying ourselves immensely. The chatter continued and Verette explained everything in layman’s terms as she went along. Next came mains, and I for one will CERTAINLY be recreating the creamy, white wine and sundried tomato-based pasta dish. As I’m sure you’ve guessed- it was to die for! We gobbled up our food, ask our last questions and headed off full and happy.

Wednesday saw me heading to Cork where I met the University College Cork students for our Culinary and Culture in Kinsale excursion. Although it started as a bright day- the minute we got on the bus the rain started falling and it followed us all the way to Kinsale. Still, we met our guide Dermot Ryan who is a true Kinsale man and never lets the weather dull his spirits and we were on our way. Dermot took us around the beautiful small streets of Kinsale and caught us up with about 700 years of history in an hour. It was incredible to hear how many things happened in such a small place. Once we had finished touring around the colourful streets, we went to one of the best-known fish restaurants in Kinsale- Dino’s. We warmed up, stuffed ourselves and had brilliant chats about life in Ireland and how amazing study abroad is.

I headed back to Dublin and left the UCC students studying for a ‘Mythology In Ireland’ test that they were all slightly wary about! It was a brilliant couple of days and so great to catch up with everyone too. This week we have our Food Trail in Dublin and next week we are taking on the challenging Croagh Patrick climb. If the sun continues to shine the way it’s booming in the window now- these excursions will definitely be a big hit. Make sure to check out our Instagram to see more shots of our excursions.