As I mentioned in my previous blog, my boyfriend and I love going out for a spin somewhere different every week or so (sometimes just to Tesco, 'cos we're so exciting). This time we went to Carrick-On-Shannon, Strandhill and Lough Easkey because we had a long weekend and wanted to make the most of it!
On Thursday Laurence picked me up from college and we looked round Sligo, which made a change as I usually go up to his so we're not down my neck of the woods very often. After having hazelnut hot chocolates in Sweet Beat, we decided to go for a wander around town. I wanted to bring him to StreetCart, one of my favourite places to eat in Sligo, so he could try their nachos. I also wanted to show him Cosgrove's Delicatessen because they have an amazing selection of health foods, vegetarian alternatives, cheese, nuts and fruit. We bought some vegetarian pies there for our Easter lunch (that looked a bit like dog food on the packet but tasted pretty good!) and then headed to StreetCart. He chose nachos with all the trimmings and I got a burrito, my new favourite from there. I'm glad we've been going out for a while now because lemme tell you, burritos are the least sexy thing to eat. You don't eat a burrito, you snog it.
On Saturday we headed off to Carrick. We wanted somewhere nice to have lunch and to do a bit of shopping. Laurence recommended the Larder Café to me and after reading some great reviews online we decided to head there. Unfortunately the café had run out of a lot of things (a good sign) but we weren't starving so we decided to just go for sandwiches. The owner of the café is a coeliac vegetarian so she knew our plight with eating out! She let us read the ingredients on anything we wanted and told us what breads were dairy free. I was very tempted to buy a loaf of their Guinness bread but I knew the minute I'd get it home I'd be under the table spreading peanut butter on it and inhaling it, so I resisted. We both ordered paninis: Laurence got a Greek panini with sundried tomatoes, rocket, olives and roasted red peppers, and I chose a homemade hummus, red onion, grated carrot and rocket panini. I also ordered a mint hot chocolate which was divine. The food was really tasty and fresh, and I have to commend the café for listing all allergens on their main menu - it was perfect.
We did a bit of shopping for a few hours - mostly food but I did get a dress from Miss Selfridge, and managed to pull myself out of Menarys because they had so many nice clothes that I can't afford - and then stopped off in Supermac's because we were both craving curry chips. #eatclean
On Sunday before having dinner at my house we drove out to Strandhill to look at the People's Market. I love the market but Laurence had never been so I said I'd show him. We got there about 30 minutes before it finished so it was quietening down. I ended up just getting a slice of cake from Wild Atlantic Food and promised Laurence we'd go again (earlier next time!) We finished our Strandhill trip with a drink from Shells Little Shop. They have some gorgeous giftware in there, I was so tempted by a little gold elephant necklace and a plate with a hot air balloon motif but I reminded myself I need to save money. My self restraint is getting better and better.
We had a family Easter dinner and Laurence stayed overnight *faints* so the next day we packed a picnic and took a drive out to Lough Easkey, as recommended by my mum, who is like a one woman Sligo tourism board. It was an absolutely gorgeous day; the sun was beating down and the skies were so blue. When we arrived at Lough Easkey we were both speechless, it was so beautiful. The drive up was reminiscent of Connemara and we even met a few brave sheep on the way! At one point it was like a sheep Mafia - they all ganged up around the car and were baaing aggressively, if that's even possible. I asked them 'What ewe lookin' at?!' because I'm funny. Ha.
Our picnic consisted of crisp sandwiches, couscous, fruit, hummus salad rolls, Club Orange, and potato salad. The most random Irish-exotic picnic basket ever. We ended up having to eat it in the car because 1) We saw a sinister looking wasp nearby (why are they even here?! It's only March!) and 2) It started hailstoning. Ahh, Ireland. All 4 seasons in the space of 1 hour. We still had a lovely feast and while the weather was nice it was gorgeous looking over the lake - it was so still and blue it was like glass. We're going to make it our mission to go back there in the summertime with a proper snazzy picnic - and take an actual camera!
As usual, thanks for reading. Hopefully your Easter weekend was as lovely as mine was!
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