In May I went on holiday to Italy where I stayed in a town, Montecatini Terme, that has a regular and reliable train service to Florence and best of all the journey time is less than an hour. Florence is a compact easy-to-walk-around city: here’s some of what I did on the days I headed off from base to explore it.
Filed under Artists, Restaurants/Cafés, Shops/Shopping, Travel
Recently my part-time job has taken me up to and back down from a spot just outside Drogheda more times than a lift in a high-rise office block yo-yo’s between floors on a busy day. By the by, in case you don’t know, Drogheda is a port town situated roughly fifty-five kilometres north of Dublin.
Filed under Cake, Coffee, Restaurants/Cafés
I am back slightly later than I said I would be. Mea culpa!
The Tuesday before last, the 14th July, was the French National Day: La Jour de Bastille. Its celebration is many degrees different from St Patrick’s Day. Whereas our national day is: party central, a riot of all things green, and, for some, an excuse for a monumental piss-up; Bastille Day is, in contrast, celebrated in a more sombre way, the highlight being a carefully curated set piece military parade down the Champ Elysees.
Filed under Celebrations, Coffee, Dublin, Food/Wine, Restaurants/Cafés
Painting by John Boyd
When I first heard about the Cross Café, a myriad of months ago, I thought that it sounded ‘just so’ and exactly the type of place I would like. At the time I mentally filed its name and location thinking I really must visit it some time soon. Then the weeks leapfrogged into months and the months into almost a year so I only got to try the Cross Café a few weeks ago. I was not disappointed: in an ideal world it’s the sort of café that every neighbourhood should have.
Filed under Coffee, Dublin, Food/Wine, Restaurants/Cafés
Feeling in need of something to cheer me up I headed to the city centre for a spot of retail therapy. I say of the spending kind because as often as not I am as happy to browse as I am to buy.
Filed under Cake, Coffee, Dublin, Fashion, Restaurants/Cafés, Shops/Shopping
Apologies for the quality of some of the images in this post. I wish I could blame my ‘second-best camera’ but the faults are all mine!
Last week, a couple of months into my photography course, I had a week off college. It’s such an aeon, almost the first ice age, since my school and student days that truly I cannot remember if half-term featured back in the day when I was last glued (not) to text books.
Filed under Craft, Musings, Photography, Restaurants/Cafés
The Fish Shop is a new kind of fish and chip shop in the South Dublin suburb of Blackrock. Although it has customers who come from near and far I suspect that many who regularly walk down Blackrock’s Main Street don’t know of its existence as it is located a little off the main drag to the rear of The Blackrock Market.
Filed under Dublin, Food/Wine, Restaurants/Cafés
When I was in the Cotswolds recently I stayed at the Wild Rabbit in the surreally pretty village of Kingham. The Wild Rabbit is a pub with rooms and a restaurant but to describe it simply thus gives no indication of its gem-like qualities.
Filed under Food/Wine, Hotels, Restaurants/Cafés, Style, Sustainable/Green, Travel
When I drive into the centre of Dublin, Ely Place is one of my preferred parking spots so over time I have got to know it well. It’s nicely tucked away, yet central as it’s a mere stone’s throw from Dublin’s St Stephens Green and from one of the city’s main shopping arteries: Grafton Street. It’s lined either side with charming Georgian buildings and as city streets go it’s not long but there is a surprising amount one can do there.
Filed under Culture, Dublin, Restaurants/Cafés
I had heard a lot about Brother Hubbard a café on Dublin’s Capel Street, all of it good, but I had not sampled even a cup of coffee there before this weekend
Filed under Coffee, Food/Wine, Restaurants/Cafés
Just Add Attitude 