The best time to get coffee in Dublin is 12:45. There are few people waiting in line, and you can get a seat at one of the few tables on the sidewalk. Just as you get comfortable in your seat in the sun, the office doors open like the spillways of the Hoover Dam, and the parade begins. (more…)
8 July 2008
20 June 2007
Nautical Twilight
Tonight, I had a wonderful Dublin evening. Anita was on the phone for a long conversation at about eight, and I took a walk to my new favorite place, the Grand Canal.
The rain from all day cleared, and by the time I reached the canal, there was a rich, spectacular rainbow over a short row of Gregorian Georgian townhomes. I just smiled and stared; I may have creeped out some joggers. Nobody else seemed to notice the rainbow — maybe they’re common around here.
I strolled east, and I found several pubs and restaurants. They were embedded in neighborhoods, each alone in a residential area. So far, all the pubs we’ve visited have been cheek-by-jowl with several others. So these new places were immediately attractive to me.
I didn’t bring any money, so no pint for me. But serendipity smiled upon me, just as the rainbow did. I walked the long way around the canal and saw a floating restaurant motoring towards the next set of locks.
I saw the restaurant yesterday, under unusual circumstances. It was draped with a banner reading, “Coffee on the Canal,” which got me excited, but the banner was a prop for a film. I watched the shooting for about an hour that afternoon.
Back to now: the barge was labelled “La Peniche: fine dining”, and as I approached, it drifted into the locks. A crowd, about twenty people, gathered to watch the locks at work. It was impressive, as you can see on Flickr. Apparently, it was unusual, since some Gardaí stopped to watch and residents were looking from their windows. As the water rose about 3 meters, the diners came to the top of the barge — smoking, taking snapshots, and listening to the Skipper’s story about the canal. Within about twenty minutes, the dinner party was on its way west.
I can’t convey how lovely this evening was to me. I’ve been blessed by so many little gifts from Dublin in these first few weeks!
Credit due to Anita for the Nautical pun. Just a little north of Dublin, in Belfast, nautical twilight lasts all night at midsummer (this weekend).