if you ever visit the slightly obscure floridian town of pensacola, there are a few things you have got to do. spoiler alert! all of them contain food. you've got to eat grilled cheese from city grocery, bear claws from j's bakery, oysters from peg leg pete's, and just about anything off the menu at mcguire's irish pub. I've never been to ireland..unless you count mcguire's. and in all seriousness, it has got to be pretty close. there's irish folk music rhapsodizing through the rafters and it looks like a pub if I ever saw one--kind of dark inside and covered in money. like literally. there are dollar bills all over the walls and ceiling. they even have to shut it down for a day or two every year just to count it all for tax purposes. no joke. I've even contributed to, like, three of those dollars back in my youth. and one during this most recent visit. you're welcome, mcguire's.
this past christmas eve, we picked my brother, sean, up at the airport and headed on over to mcguire's for our annual reservation. you see, this little irish pub just happens to be my brother's favorite restaurant and well, december 24th is his birthday, after all. we got the best seat in the house right by the fireplace and enjoyed munching on calamari and pumpernickel bread while catching up and meeting sean's fiancé who is the absolute sweetest. everyone ordered typical pub fare, except for me. I ordered the salmon--probably one of the more delicious cedar-planked salmon I've ever had. and when we were almost bursting, we asked for the stapler and passed around the dollar bills. we scouted out the good spots, did a little stapling, and then hit the town to show sean's fiancé all of his old haunts. the town was lit up, not unlike a christmas tree, though that comparison does seem a tad bit trite, and then made our way back home to settle in for the night. it was seriously such a wonderful night to spend with the family that I miss so much whilst living out here on this rock and I'm so grateful for this space as a place to immortalize it.
in more recent news, my apartment is seriously so clean and finally feels like home. learning all of our european appliances is a bit like reading hieroglyphics from an ancient land. and I am off for a much needed day in the sun with a couple of friends. I hope all of you have a wonderful tuesday and thanks so much for reading!
love, arielle
Looks like such a interesting place - love unique little spots like this! :) Hope you have a great getaway with your gal pals! Xo, Alison
ReplyDeletehttp://www.simplyfairbyalisonjeanine.com