weekend (in dublin)

Bouquet Cocktail and Cockles and Mussels at Pichet

Argh! I'm so hopeless at getting these weekend posts up in a timely manner. So this is what we did last weekend: we went to Dublin to visit my friend whom I met when S and I spent a year working in Ireland. I have very fond memories of our time in Ireland, which I owe in large part to this girl. We would spend our Friday lunchtimes at the 'tea rooms' (small town Ireland is pretty old school), eating soft rolls and chocolate éclairs, and gossiping about work. Good times. It was great to see her again now that she's moved back to Dublin. We spent most of the weekend in Dun Laoghaire, a seaside suburb of Dublin, where she grew up. It was fun to see all the places and meet the people I've heard so much about.

We had gorgeous winter sunshine all weekend (rather unusual for Ireland) and spent as much time as possible outside. On Saturday we walked for miles (literally) around the coast; visiting the piers, stopping for cake in Dalkey, watching the crazy people swimming at 40 foot, climbing Killiney Hill, and making wishes on the wishing stone. That night we went and saw Tucan, an experimental instrumental band with a fantastic Irish sound, perform at Whelans.

We spent Sunday in my favourite way: wandering around the Dun Laoghaire farmer's market and eating. It was perfection (especially the Italian sausage hot dogs).