A Monday in Town

This past week was a busy one. On Monday I went into town with my godmother. This was her last week here in Ireland before she went back home to Baltimore. I'm going to miss hanging out with her here. I think we saw her more in Ireland then we do back at home. It was nice only being 5 minutes away from each other. Anyhoo...we went into town on the bus with no kids...all three of them were in school and my mother was going to pick L up from preschool. We went to a few of the department stores and then we had a lovely lunch at Clodagh's Kitchen in Arnott's department store. In many of the stores here there are little cafe's or eateries. The lifestyle here is so much more laid back then what we are used to so even when you are out shopping you would stop for your cuppa tea. At Starbucks its not common to see someone taking their coffee "to go" most would get it in a ceramic Starbucks mug and drink it while sitting down at a table. 

This was such a cute cafe and we had a wonderful lunch. 

I  just love walking around Dublin. Even when I was little I loved going into town on the bus. There is just something about old european cities. I love the history, architecture, culture, and of course all the different places to go shopping!  

The street lamps are just so ornate

Its common to see random saint statues on exteriors of buildings

More ornate lamp posts

Downtown there are many reminders on what way to look when you are
crossing the street. Remember they drive on the wrong side of the road so everything is opposite

Eason Bookstore

Eason book stores was one of my favorite places to go when I was young and I still love to go in there now. They always have different authors then in the US. This book store dates back to 1886 and they have been at this location in town since 1919. It is 4 stories with a cafe on the top floor. They have 60 stores in all of Ireland. In any given day you will find this bookstore packed on every floor. The Irish really like to read and like their books. It does not seem like the electronic readers have taken off here like they have in the US. My children even love go in here now to get books. 

Clery's department store

Clery's is a long established department store in Dublin that dates back to 1853 but have been in this location since 1922. In 1916 during the Easter Rising the building was destroyed and thats when Clery's rebuilt it and moved into it. The Clery's clock has become a symbol of Ireland on O'Connell Street. My mother worked here for many years when she returned back to Ireland in '99. 

One more picture of the lamp post when the sun is setting. 

We had a great day. My Godmother and I got home just in time to pick T up from school. K has been walking home each afternoon and she really enjoys the independence.