Because not everything can be amazing...
#3 of Ireland notes '14
Warning: this story starts fun and funny, ventures deep into TMI
First let me say that Irish food is DELICIOUS Second let me say it is RICH Third, if your stomach isn't used to it...
I absolutely loved the food while I was there. Have you ever had a "full Irish" breakfast before? Or some of the seafood of Co.s Kerry & Cork? mmmmmm....
Seriously though. The Full Irish is bacon, sausage links, fried eggs, fried tomato, white pudding, black pudding, and toast. The bacon there is like a cross between what Americans call bacon and ham, so I think it's much better than our bacon because it actually has substance. X-D The sausage links are really rich, too, really plush and juicy.
Surprisingly I never had fish and chips while I was there, (tried some that family members had ordered,) but I had some amazing citrus cream salmon and fresh fish cakes. Other things I loved were some beef stew, a great lamb burger, and a Cork spiced beef sandwich. ....and a mouthwatering chocolate layer cake.... aaaa~ (The beef stew in particular was interesting, as it was much closer to our chicken noodle soup with similar veggies and fall-apart beef in a clear broth than to our beef stew, with chunkier beef and a thicker, dark stew.)
However, my system just couldn't really handle all the rich food. Problems started on Tuesday I guess, as I had a looooot of gas (great for the car ride from Ventry to Kinsale) though nothing seemed too bad. There were lots of guilty laughs that day.
Things went rapidly downhill Wednesday morning, as I woke up early with almost painful bloating before my bowels started two hours or so of near constant squirts. The whole day my gut was gurgling and groaning, and from the frequent trips to the bathroom I had rubbed my ass raw (we had no wet wipes for me to use in place of normal TP). After breakfast of a croissant that morning, my diet for the next 24+hrs consisted of Gatorade-like drinks and digestive biscuits. Despite that, things got worse.
Thursday morning, while my family was out a breakfast, I was showering and needed to sit down for the latter half. As I stood up once I was done, I nearly blacked out, barely staying conscious enough to sit myself safely back down. Then I yakked for the first time in my memory - I know I have puked before, I have stories, but it's been so long I have no direct recollection. Until now. May I never again.
At least after that purge I started feeling better. Lunch Thursday was a scone, dinner was that light beef stew. Friday was more normal (sausage pam for breakfast, I forget what lunch was, chicken pasta for dinner) and I got back to solid waste. So, yay!
Moral of the story is that if you're going abroad, prepare your gut! My parents had similar - though not nearly as extreme - problems Thursday or so, and my sister has had an adjustment period as well each time she's come. I'm still not sure if it was the heavily fried menu I had in Kinsale (in addition to the fish cakes, I had fries/chips with every meal, when I hadn't had them in Cobh, Ventry, or Dingle) Tuesday or maybe the Full Irish Monday that really did me in...