On Thursday I had some quite lengthy cycles (for me) to do.
I started off by cycling in to work in Dun Laoghaire and then later in the afternoon I had a meeting in Deansgrange so I cycled on to there. After this I finished work but rather than going straight home I needed to go to Rathmines to collect a book that I had reserved in the library.
The best way to get to Rathmines was to cycle along the Stillorgan dual carriage way and then cut in through UCD and then head to Clonskeagh and then down to Ranelagh and then on to Rathmines.
And so it was back to my my Alma Mater when I turned in to UCD (University College Dublin).
I was very pleasantly surprised at how nice UCD is looking these days. There had been new new buildings constructed since my time and most surprisingly was how green it all was - my memory of going to college was how it was an awful concrete jungle. I'm glad to see it has softened over the years and looks very green and attractive. Of course it was a sunny day so that helped.
The lake was very familiar to me as the Arts Block was right on it. However, I would have known it more from the other side as that is the Arts Block across the water.
There were lots of new buildings but I only got a picture of this one because I was in a rush and if I stopped to take more pics I could have missed the library.
At the time that I was studying here, I lived on the other side of the city. My memories of the place are that I was always tired and cold while here. Tired because I had to get up really early to miss the traffic on my commute over (I often arrived so early that I would park my car and then go for a little sleep in the car park before waking and going to get a coffee and heading to the library - I even brought a blanket in my car!) and cold because of all of the concrete!!
All in all it was nice to cycle through and relieve old memories of my time as a student and I then made it to the library to collect my book. I was glad I was on the electric bike all the same as it was quite a long cycle all in all.
After work on Tuesday and cycled from Dun Laoghaire to Ringsend and down to what was formerly The Point Depot (a long time ago!) and is now the 3 Arena to see the 3 superstars that are Take That!
I met Alice at 6.15pm and we went for wings before heading in and getting a good spot at Stage B.
When I say a good spot, I actually mean a GREAT spot!
We were so close to the band and we enjoyed the concert so much.
A great night all in all. And then to top it off I hopped on my bike afterwards and whizzed past all the concert goers waiting for taxis and the luas and was home by 11pm.
Here's some pics from the concert which capture how good it was.
The Dublin Community Clean Up was on Saturday. We hooked up with the Friends of the Grand Canal to clean up the canal area. As we walked to the meet up point we picked rubbish. The walk was about 5 mins and within that time we had a full bag collected - and that was before we had even officially started!
For further pics check out #KeepDublinBeautiful on social media
On Sunday I got up early and went out for a coffee on Stephens Green and had a nice relaxed read of the papers (I had gone in early to return something to TK Maxx but it wasn't open until 10am).
Check out how deserted Grafton Street was at 9am on Sunday
And later in the evening we went to the stunning mini Stella movie theatre in The Devlin Hotel in Ranelagh
Prosecco and popcorn - what could be better?!
Awhile ago I blogged about Ciaran designing a handrail for the glass cantilevered stairs leading up to his studio.
Well, exciting news! It's been installed.
Click here for information about the fabricators and also for more pics.
I had a lovely Easter break and got up to loads.
It all started when I broke from work on Thursday and went on to Atelier Maser for an art & design pop up with drinks by Ketel One who were showcasing their new Botanicals range
We followed the showing by dinner in Dillingers which was lovely as usual.
On Friday, I met my mother for brunch in Pot Bellied Pig and then we went for a browse around the shops - I got this cute little wreath to dress my front door.
For an Easter treat we had dinner in The Butcher Block in Ranelagh on Saturday night. We shared the Cote du Boeuf which was excellent and we followed it with some delicious cocktails to end the night.
And then for Easter Sunday I went to my parents for dinner while Ciaran went to the Aviva to watch Leinster play.
We were lucky with the weather - it was so warm for this time of year. I even cracked open the sunblock and sat out in the garden and read loads. A great weekend all in all!
The Dublin One City One Book 2019 is Edna O'Brien's The Country Girls Trilogy. There are lots of events all over Dublin City in libraries for One City One Book.
On Monday night I went to an excellent talk by Dr Caitriona Clear in the fantastic Lexicon Venue in Dun Laoghaire. The talk was about women's magazines in Ireland in the 1950's & 60's and more specifically relating to the problem pages section.
Dr. Clear was very entertaining along with the subject matter being fascinating and it was a great end to a Monday evening - starting at 7pm and finishing up about 8.15pm.
I hope to go to another event on the 29th of April. For further info about 1 City 1 Book - click here.
