• 2025 | buns,  belfast,  europe,  northern ireland,  uk

    Buns2025: Day 13 – Belfast

    Soundtrack: “Down among the dead men”, Flash and the Pan Titanic. But first, the quest for breakfast. I wanted to find whatever a traditional Northern Ireland breakfast was, to collect the full set. With no handy potato cake company to be found, I went seeking a pub or traditional looking cafĂ©, though hindered by my eSIM being slow and crap. I was further hindered by NI licensing laws, that mean pubs don’t open until 11.30am on weekdays, something I learned from a chap who was tidying the footpath seating of a pub I found. He told me that the couple of Aussies they had on staff also thought the 11.30am…

  • 2025 | buns,  belfast,  dublin,  europe,  ireland,  northern ireland,  uk

    Buns2025: Day 13 – Dublin > Belfast

    Soundtrack: “Teenage Kicks”, The Undertones One last morning in Dublin, time for breakfast and last minute shopping. I made the rookie breakfast mistake of trying somewhere different, and not the Potato Cake Company. The result was an okay, but definitely not as good full irish, that lacked personality and character. It’s a travel dilemma, do you keep going back to a place that you know is good, or try different places to get a feel for what the food is like in general. I like to try mixing it up most of the time, but admit there are risks. Saw a very tall spire, called “The Spire”, though not sure…

  • 2025 | buns,  cork,  dublin,  europe,  ireland

    Buns2025: Day 12 – Dublin & Cork, mostly Cork

    Soundtrack: “Irish Rover”, The Pogues Miraculously awoke with functioning hearing. Dublin’s public transport includes buses and trams (there might be suburban trains too but as I’m not needing to go to far haven’t looked into these). It also has two major train stations for Irish Rail services to other towns and cities, if you want to head south it’s Heuston, north is Connolly. Both stations are named after folks who fought in the 1916 uprising, where while the Irish lost, the UK leaders were basically assholes and their heavy handed response improved support for the independence movement. Today I’m heading south, so Heuston it is. It’s a pretty station, not…

  • 2025 | buns,  dublin,  europe,  ireland

    Buns2025: Day 11 – Dublin

    Soundtrack: “To here knows when”, My Bloody Valentine Well I kinda managed to take it easy today. Started off with breakfast near the banks of the Liffey at the Irish Potato Cake Company, who even though they were flat out (apparently South African rugby fans like potato cakes, who knew) put together a decent full Irish breakfast. Potato cakes filled with beef and bacon and cheese, black pudding, grey/white pudding, fried egg, soda bread, beans, accompanied by a pot of strong tea. Not bad indeed. While I’m yet to sample a full Northern Irish breakfast, I will say that I think across the British Isles the full Scottish is the…