Filed under: Bray
We went to the Bray Fun Fair in the rain. It rained pretty much all day. We walked along the strand in the rain. We met up with our cousins in the rain. We played on bumper cars in the rain. We went bowling.
Bowling is not as cheap in Ireland as it is at home.
We topped it off with an actually pretty good dinner at a pub on the strand – maybe it was called Katie Gallagher’s.
On Saturday we went to the Dublin Book Festival. Patrick got to see a conversation with Joseph O’Connor (we had dinner with him in the Fall) and Dermot Bolger. I got to hear Medbh McGuckian read her poetry. (For those who don’t know I did by MA dissertation-ette on Medbh McGuckian.) She read with Joan Newmann, who I didn’t know but whose poetry I really enjoyed.
We thought that there would be more events for kids – but there weren’t. A photographer from the Irish Times was there and took a picture of Lily and Aine – we’ll let you know if they make it in the paper.
We did get to eat birthday cake for the IBBY (International Board on Books for Young People) so that took the edge of for the kids. Also we ate at Eddy Rocket’s – which also makes the kids happy. As it should; it’s not very good but it’s very kid-friendly.
At night Patrick and I trekked out to Bray to meet Conor, a fellow PhD candidate. He is friendly and we both enjoy him. He brought us to a pub on the sea called the Harbor Pub. It was really 3 pubs in one: alternative music with a psychedelic feel in one room, a snug, and more traditional room – where they actually started playing traditional music. We were there fairly early and had prime seats near the bar.
The bar is near Ardmore Studios and apparently patrons from the studio have brought props to the bar – so there’s a very eclectic feel. I wish there were something like that closer to our place.
Filed under: Bray
On Sunday, Kate had a big birthday party in Bray today. There were 23 girls at the Bray Bowl – and two very brave parents.
Fearghal kindly drove her to the party. So we all hitched a lift to Bray, which is on the seaside. We’ve been up there a few times before. Lily, Aine and I enjoyed skipping stones. I am the champion, if anyone is asking.
I took some pictures and videos. The weather was close to perfect for February. I hope you can see the rainbow in some of the pictures. We do see a lot of rainbows here.
After walking down the strand we went back to get Kate. She was playing an arcade game where you drop coins onto a shelf in hopes that they will push other coins down for you to win. She is pretty hard core about it. She could play for hours.
Then we all got muffins and treats on the way home.
Filed under: Bray
The girls were off from school on Thursday and Friday. We didn’t have a very exciting day but we went to the library, the coffee shop and the park in Cabinteely.
The weather was pretty good and our timing seemed to be good all day. We arrived at the library just in time to drop off our books before they closed for lunch. (We pick up books on the way back home.) There was exactly one table left when we got to the coffee shop and it sat 4.
The park had a lot of kids. But we weren’t there too long as it was kind of cold and I was freezing!
We had dinner at Shelby’s in Bray. It was a romantic restaurant – especially on Valentine’s Day – but we promised to be quick so they fed us. It was a nice meal
Thursday afternoon we headed to the Mermaid Theater in Bray to see Lily’s friend Ailbhe (Alva) in a play – Gone with the Breeze. She was great. The play was very fun. It was created by kids for kids so it was not unusual to have someone answer the phone before it was done ringing or for someone to get a few offstage line prompts.
Ailshe won a bear after the show, which she very kindly delivered to Aine the next day as Aine had coveted it the night before.
Filed under: Bray
St Stephen’s Day is the day after Christmas. Everything is closed on Stephen’s Day. I realized this when I walked down to the grocery store to get Diet Coke and they were closed. Very sad.
We spent most of the day relaxing but eventually we all piled into Fearghal’s car for a trip to Bray. It’s about a 10 minute drive from Patrick’s mom’s place.
There’s a nice walkway on the beach in Bray. The weather was pretty warm. So we had a very nice walk. The girls and I enjoyed skipping stones. Patrick was sick so we went to get something for him to eat. Fortunately or unfortunately the best place we could find was an arcade. So the girls got to play games while we waited for the food.
The weather was absolutely amazing today. It was actually hot and super sunny. So we went to Bray. There is a boardwalk of sort in Bray – but really we spent most of our time walking in the sea.
We took a bus to Bray, which was about 30 minutes. We are at a horrible Chinese Restaurant. Word to the wise – don’t order house fried rice here. Then we walked through the town, which was a cute town until we got to the Esplade – the walkway near the beach. It wasn’t too busy but there were quite a few people – some wearing swimsuits. We should have brought Aine’s suit too – she was soaked before the afternoon was out. But it was so warm that it didn’t really matter.
We hung out for a long while and then to the Dart (commuter train) into the City Center to get Lily’s birthday present. It was fun except that I had no idea where the toy stores might be and Aine had a huge meltdown.
All in all though it was a very good day!
