Sunday 11 September 2011

Ireland - Part 1

We're back in Emerald Isle a week now, having left Dublin for the grey, wet and windy wilds of Galway.

Galway is a beautiful spot but bleak in bad weather, and the forecast is not good, with ex-hurricane Katia (not hurricane Irene btw) hitting our shores over the next few days.  So we're basically stuck indoors for the duration.

No golf.

I can't complain though as we've had a great week so far.  Apart from family, we met up for a few pints with Sarah from work, who was in Dublin last weekend with her lovely wife Sam.  We also met up with Rolo and Kaz (twice) and the Doyle's flew over especially from Luxembourg to be with us last night.  They mentioned something about a wedding but that was just an excuse.

We also went to a wedding, which was one of the best weddings ever, set in a beautiful castle in County Laois. 

The wedding of James Murphy and Natalie Boyall was held at Castle Durrow.  The cigar I chose to celebrate the day was one of the aged Sancho Panzas that I picked up recently.  A perfect cigar enjoyed after dinner with a cold pint of Guinness, or four.

This was honestly one of the best weddings we've ever been to, and I'm not just saying that because James said he was "loving the Cigar Stories".  Everything about the day was excellent, even the weather!  The priest was on fire.  The food fantastic.  The bride beautiful.  The location was perfect with everybody in great form and the groom didn't stop crying.  So best of luck to Natalie and James and thanks for a great day out.

A few days before the wedding, we dropped into The Decent Cigar Emporium on Dublin's Grafton Street, where I picked up a few new cigars.  This is a great little shop at the top end of Grafton street and worth a visit.

The staff in the shop are always pleasant and friendly, and look after you as soon as you walk through the door.  A Cuban coffee was offered and gratefully accepted.
Good things aside, they had a box of Partagas Culebras and I nearly choked on my coffee when the guy said the price was €60.  He reacted to my jaw hitting the floor by saying he'd double check the price, coming back with a revised offer of €45. 

That's €45 for something we picked up in Luxembourg for just €16. 

Anyway, it's a great shop with some great cigars and enthusiastic staff.

I managed to accumulate more cigars when Doyle arrived over with 10 Ramon Allones Gigantes and then my Brother in law, Colm, dropped over 3 Mexican cigars, which look decent enough, so after a few months rest in the humidor, I'll give one of those a go.   Many thanks.

Next up is Presidents day with my Dad's golf society.  I'm driving down from Galway to Royal Tara with the Father in law for 18 holes followed by a slap up meal.  I'm hoping to get a cigar in after the meal but secretly hoping to take away the visitors prize.  Fingers crossed for both.

The Castle

The Collection

Cigar Store Native American


1 comment:

  1. Thanks Marky. Great story as always, including the Grand Theft Auto one. We loved having yourself and Caitriona over for the wedding. Thanks so much for coming. Keep in touch mate.

    ReplyDelete