Afternoon Coffee on the Liffey

You may not be able to see it in the picture, but what it says on the buildings from left to right is "Heineken," "Royal Liver Insurance," and "Guinness." Ha. I am quite literally sitting on the Liffey River, I can see the water between the slats of Bachelor's Walk.

Last afternoon/evening I walked the other way down Griffith Avenue and down Drumcondra. I realized I had gotten nearly to the city centre and that with my already in place walking habits that I may not need a bus pass at all. I dined at The Cat & Cage (you can see the meal on my Flickr page) and went back to my room for a good night's sleep.

This morning I enjoyed the free breakfast of which I chose eggs, sausage and baked tomato. It was very good, especially the sausage, and it has been keeping me going all day.

It was drizzling when I left, but I felt very smart for bringing my own umbrella. Little did I know that it doesn't matter if you have an umbrella in Dublin, I was soaked from my waist down. I warmed up and dried off in a cafe before heading in the direction of the Trinity College Library, which unfortunately would not let me find a corner to camp out in. Instead they directed me to the public library.

Thankfully by this time the rain had stopped and it actually had become quite warm. My drying continued as I made my way from the quaint book store ridden neighborhood to the bustling O'Connell Street. I found the mall in which the library was said to be and noted that Dublin's Public Library is very much like Minneapolis' public libraries (with the exception of my haven, the Central Library). It was stinky and sweaty and small and full of loafers. Bah. I figured I'd rather do my reading somewhere else and left.

I still haven't found a great place although on the way out of the shopping area I did find a pair of black jeans for €13! And a black and white striped T-shirt for €4! By the by, for all my fashion conscious friends, it is all about the LONG sweater or vest. LONG. And skinny jeans, of course. And flats still.

So now I sit, still on the search for a quiet reading place (and loving all the distractions). Just deciding now whether to scope out some dinner here or on the way back to my room (since I do have to get work done today). Hope all is going well at all your respective homes!

BSH
Sent from my Verizon Wireless BlackBerry