On Saturday, November 20th, Dublin marked the Trans Day of Remembrance by flying trans flags along the River Liffey. The day honors the memory of the transgender people whose lives were lost in acts of anti-transgender violence.
After my usual Saturday morning SuperValu grocery delivery, I headed out to meet S. (the guy I’ve been dating recently) who came down to Dublin for the day on the train. We went out to lunch at a Japanese restaurant on Capel Street that was quite good. Even though I’ve lived in Dublin for more than a year now, I haven’t eaten out at many restaurants, in large part due to the strict lockdown of last winter and spring. Afterwords we wandered along the Mary & Henry Street pedestrian shopping district. I’ve been keeping my eyes out for wool top coats, although it’s challenging to find clothing in my big & tall size. As we were out shopping, the weather turned from blue skies to drizzly rain with a cold front that blew in. It’s been a relatively dry autumn up until this point. Next week, the forecast is calling for chilly temperatures with lows at or near freezing.
In the evening we went out for dinner at Pitts Bros BBQ, which I’ve mentioned a few times in the blog already. I had taken S. there on our first date, and he loved it so much he wanted to go back. They were out of brisket the last time we went, so I ordered that while S. went with the smoked sausages again. We were stuffed! But we still had room for the complimentary soft serve ice cream cones that were offered us for dessert, which brought back memories of going to Dairy Queen in Texas when I was growing up.
On Sunday, I made another trip down to Dalkey to pay my landlord C. for rent through the end of the year. I reserved a GoCar and drove 45 minutes south of Dublin in mid afternoon. When I arrived, C. was watching the last part of a rugby match between Ireland and Argentina. The Irish team had recently beat the New Zealand All Blacks, which was such a remarkable achievement that U.S. president Joe Biden placed a congratulatory video call to the team (he must be a big rugby fan). C. pointed out that most national Ireland sports teams are comprised of players from both Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, which I did not know before. Soccer is an exception for various cultural and political reasons. Once the game concluded, my landlord offered up tea and biscuits, and we chatted for a bit. It felt more like a social visit than business. He has an amazing view of the Dublin Bay from his living room window. In the distance, you could see Howth and the lighthouse where my friend Julius and I had hiked last month.
Until next time….
