April 13, 2014 Portrush to Westport, Lunch at Mullghmore Hotel Pub and Dinner at Everest Restaurant

April 13, 2014 Portrush to Westport, Lunch at Mullghmore Hotel Pub and Dinner at Everest Restaurant

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We had a full Irish breakfast, two link sausages, a piece of ham, Boston beans, eggs and toast at the Mandalay B and B.  I don’t know how these folks eat this diet.

We drove toward Westport, stopping at Donegal to see the Castle and have a cup of tea.

Between Donegal and Sligo, we saw that there was a Neolithic grave site called the Creevykeel Cairns and we stopped there.  It was a raised stone burial site with a passage, but in this case there was no roof, just the bottom part of the site.  It was smaller than the other sites but had a lovely view of the ocean and, since it was nearly 1:00 we decided to go out to the coast to see if we could find a pub with a TV and a good kitchen so we could watch the Liverpool Manchester City soccer game and eat lunch.  We went across the road toward the coast to Mullghmore and found that it had a wonderful sweeping three mile long beach on the bay side.  We walked on the beach and picked up some sea shells.  We then drove to the Hotel and found that it had a lovely stone faced pub and a large TV.   We planted ourselves in front of the TV around 1:15 and did not move until around 3:30.   I had a Bulmer’s cider and Willy and Suzette had Bass ales.  Willy had the most interesting dish; smoked haddock that had been poached and then fried.   I ordered the Venison casserole with peppercorns and juniper berries, but it turned out to be indistinguishable from the usual Irish beef stew with a thick brown gravy.  What is it about brown gravy that is so exciting?

The Pub at Mullaghmore 

lashis at Everest restaurant 

Poppadom at Everest Restaurant 

The game was exciting.  Liverpool went ahead 2 to 0 and then Manchester pulled even at 2 to 2.  Finally with about seven minutes left Liverpool scored the winning goal when a defenseman for Manchester City did not clear the ball properly from the penalty area.

We then drove on to Westport and found the St. Anthony B & B quickly.  It was almost dark when we put our grips in the room.  While Willy rested Suzette and I walked around the downtown area which was pleasant with a river running through it.  Willy came out about ½ hour later as we returned to the B and B and we drove to the coast and watched the last light sink into the ocean.  We then drove back to the B and B and looked for a restaurant.  It was after 9:00 p.m. and the only thing open that looked good was a Nepalese and Indian restaurant named “Everest”.  Again, Willy ordered the best dish; a Nepalese chicken curry with a fresh made cheese sauce. I got a crazy dish called steamed chicken dumplings that looked and tasted every bit like Ling Ling dumplings that we buy at Costco, although they were served with a wonderful spicy sauce. 

   

We went to bed after dinner and slept for eight hours of blissful rejuvenating sleep in the cool sea air of Westport.

Bon Appétit