This morning I get up in anticipation of my weekly SuperValu grocery delivery, which I’ve moved from Fridays to Saturdays. While I’m waiting I have a quick breakfast and start cleaning around the apartment. The groceries show up in the earlier half of the 2-hour delivery window. It’s one of the regular delivery people, a man probably around my age or slightly younger who has what I think is an Eastern European accent. I didn’t order as much this week as usual, so it’s easier to haul the bags up to the second floor (or what they call the first floor here in Ireland and most of Europe). After putting away everything and catching my breath, I turn back to my cleaning routine, which takes 1-2 hours to do a thorough job.
Right as I am finishing up, my friend CJ texts to invite me to join him and a couple of friends at a cafe in Dublin’s “little Italy” area, just across the Liffey. I still have to shower and get ready, so I tell him I’ll head over in 30 minutes or so. The weather has improved somewhat, still cloudy but less grey, with temperatures in high 50s to low 60s F, low to mid 10s C.
By the time I arrive CJ’s friends are finishing up their brunch. I order a beer as everyone else is finishing up their drinks, and we sit casually chatting for a bit. There aren’t any big events planned for Pride weekend, but people are celebrating anyway. Passers-by are wearing Pride-themed tshirts, or in some cases, rainbow flags draped around their shoulders like a cape. When we get up to leave the cafe, CJ and I part ways with his friends and decide to walk over a few blocks to Capel Street. It’s mid-afternoon, and there are already a fair number of people gathering around the PantiBar and the Pennylane Cafe, which have cleared away their normal outdoor seating in anticipation of the merry-goers. We scope out a place to stand and enjoy a few pints on one side of the narrow street, which eventually the Gardaí closes off to traffic as more and more people arrive. It’s a very mixed crowd, and other than a few more enthusiastic celebrants, it’s fairly laid back with people chatting in small groups. In our immediate vicinity, a man in heels with a parrot on his shoulder gets a lot of attention, and he happily lets people pose for selfies with the bird who seems captivated by the bright colours everyone is wearing.
As the street gets more and more crowded, we decide it’s time to head out before things get too packed. I head back to Temple Bar, stopping to grab some takeaway food as I haven’t had anything to eat since breakfast. I’m feeling a bit worn out from being out all afternoon, and even though the skies are cloudy, my skin feels warm and dry from being outside. I end up dozing off for a nap on the couch for an hour, and although it’s tempting to head back out to enjoy the camaraderie, I choose to stay in and take it easy for the rest of the evening.
Until next time…
