Tuesday, June 7, 2011

surviving black pudding

Incredible is about the only word that can describe my trip to Ireland and London. We saw amazing castles, made countless friends, and were very often drawn out of our element with regard to food. The most specific of these cases would be the infamous black pudding of Ireland. Also known as blood sausage, this tiny little morsel that was often found on the breakfast buffet line can make or break a day. My own experience with black pudding came the morning after we visited Clontarf Castle in Dublin. I had decided to try this apparent delicacy and had put it off until our very last meal in Ireland. It took all the mental strength I could muster to actually pick it up off of my plate. As I was about to eat it I had a moment of panic in which I was unavoidably aware that the entire table was waiting for my reaction. Lucky for them, I did not disappoint. While I could stand the look and even possibly the taste, it was the consistency or texture that I could not bring myself to appreciate. By the laughs that reverberated around the table, my face reflected as much. I cannot wait to share more pictures and stories but for now I leave you with a quote from a small girl on our plane, “that was fun… but I would like to go now…”