Fun in the City!

Friday Funday.

Friday was my day off work so we decided to head in to Dublin City for lunch.  We were in Ranelagh in the Arts Centre so hopped on the Luas and went to Dawson Street. From there we walked to Grafton Street where we went up on to the roof of M&S - I had a prosecco, Ciaran had a tea.

It was then on to Capel Street (my favourite pedestrianised street in Dublin) which we walked through Temple Bar to get to.  When we got to Capel Street we decided to check out White Rabbit which is an Korean Street Food place in the back of an Asian supermarket.  It's normally packed but today we were able to get a seat at the bar. We ordered some kind of meat roll to share.

This was very tasty......

Little selfie of us both before we headed on to our next spot.

After the White Rabbit, we had a browse in Evans Art Supplies where Ciaran bought some spray paint and also some acrylic paint.

All Bar Chicken

The reason we had decided to visit Capel Street is that we wanted to get wings in All Bar Chicken. And so our next stop off was here!

We shared a plate of BBQ wings which were so good. I highly recommend this fun place for a nice atmosphere and great wings. They do cocktails too with all of the tables around us ordering them - but we just had a beer and a glass of wine.

From there is was back over to the South Side of the City with a walk over to Parliament Street and then up to Wicklow Street where stopped in "Size"  where I had been looking at a pair of Nike Air Max which I really wanted to get but they were half a size too small.  Anyway I tried them on again, and I still loved them (I had been trying to get my size online all week since I first tried them on) and so I decided to buy them and will try stretch them out (they are currently in my freezer with a bag of water in them!).  

Thie Hideout

After Size, it was on to The Hideout in South William Street where we booked in to play pool!  

This was our first time visiting this place and it is great. Loads of pool tables over a few floors and you can do BYOB with a fridge near each pool table so you can keep your beer cold.  We brought in some Moretti beer and I had Orange & Grapefruit Smirnoff Seltzers. It was the first time I tasted this flavour and I thought it was really good.

It was a hot day in Dublin and the pool hall was really hot, so we were glad to see that there was an open back door near to our table which let a little cooling air in.

I like the concept of the BYOB here and think it would make a great place to visit for a work team building event. 

As you can see I put on my new Nike's straight away in order to try and stretch them out!  Watch this space I'll let you know how I got on with the ice in a bag trick.  Next up is two pairs of socks and a hairdryer......

We played for an hour (it went so fast!) with the cost being 20 euro per hour and 5 euro per person for BYOB. All in all great fun.

And after the hideout it was off to the Luas at Stephens Green where we boarded to go home to Ranelagh.......with a little plan to stop off in The Tap House for our final piece of food for the day, this was crab & crayfish tostada which we asked for on lettuce instead. Just delicious!  

After setting off about 2pm we got home just before 9pm after a great day all over Dublin City. A great day off from work and it set me up for going in to work on Saturday.

Capel Street is now Dublin's longest pedestrianised street

Capel Street is car free!

Capel Street has now joined Dublin streets like Grafton and Henry street when it was opened as a pedestrianised street on Friday morning. This morning, I set off from Ranelagh on my bike to check it out and visit some of the shops on this street. It was a timely cycle as this week is Bike Week in Ireland so it felt good to cycle a little bit further then my usual trek to Rathmines or Baggot Street on a Saturday.

I planned to two things on Capel Street. The first thing was to visit Lenhans hardware store to buy some multi-surface cleaner while the second thing was that I wanted to stop off for a cup of coffee in Camerino Bakery, which interestingly enough is taking part in a Dublin City Council subsidised cargo bike trial for businesses, and makes deliveries of cakes by electric cargo bike. Check out Bleeper Bikes for more info about this trial pilot scheme.

Ciaran however planned to visit Evans Art Supplies which is just off Capel Street.

So off we cycled with our plans to stop off at a few places on the newly pedestrianised street.

A Taste of Spain on Capel Street

So when we got on to the street we saw a shop that we didn't realise was on this street. It was "A Taste of Spain" so of course when we saw this we had to go in and have a little browse. It's a well stocked shop full of Spanish food products and also Spanish wine! When I went to pay for my purchase (Duck Pate) I spoke a little Spanish to the guy working on the til. He spoke Spanish but when he totted up at the til he said the total in both Spanish and English which I appreciated. He then picked up the card machine and in English said - Credit Card? And then I said, No......and after searching for the word said, "Effectivo" and then handed over my cash!

A great shop and it felt good to get a little Spanish speaking practise done on a Saturday morning.

 

Lenehans Hardware

Then it was on to Lenehans but unfortunately they didn't have what I was looking for (Tech 7 Multi-Cleaner) so I will buy it in my local hardware shop in Ranelagh

Evans Art Supplies

We stopped in to Evans and Ciaran got the few things that he needed. After that we decided we would go for a coffee. Evans is slightly off the beaten track and if you don't know it is in the area, you are unlikely to find it. They seem to do well with the people who know it is there as they don't seem to advertise. But all businesses should be seeking out new audiences so I think it would be prudent for them to promote that they are steps away from the pedestrianised Capel Street.

There are some other interesting shops and buildings on Capel Street including The Black Sheep pub, Dublin City Comics along with Musashi and other sushi restaurants. Pretty much something for everything with other stores like McQuillans tools and Charity Shops (Thrift Stores) too. 

Here's a few pics - I especially like the window detail above the nail salon.

Camerino Bakery

And then it was time for a coffee and a pastry. And no better a place to enjoy this than at Camerino Bakery where it was a brownie for me and a scone for Ciaran. So good - and for these pastries alone, I would recommend a visit to Capel Street!

Camerino Bakery is also on Merrion Square where I believe it has a sit in cafe, however, on Capel Street there is only a small outdoor seating area. It was a fine day so we were happy to sit outside and enjoy our coffee while people watching all that was going on in Capel Street.

Quiet Dublin - a liveable city

All in all it was a great morning spent on Dublin's newest pedestrianised street. I highly recommend a visit to this car free spot and I look foward to going back soon. It's chilled out and quiet, oh so quiet, with lots of interesting shops and also an interesting mix of places to get a bite to eat. There are probably improvements to be made (I'm not a fan of the white picket fences outside some eateries) but it's great to know the move to being car free has started and I look forward to seeing how it works out and progresses. It will be interesting to hear how the businesses find it. There have been reports from other countries that indicate that pedestrians and cyclists spend more than car drivers (which makes sense because car drivers are generally passing through rather than stopping and spending money) so hopefully they will see increased business and revenue.

Next up we need to get Parliment Street pedestrianised to really begin to make Dublin a truly liveable city!