*snigger*

After a little chat in the comments a couple of posts back with my friend Beth (whose fabulous blog can be found here), I mentioned that I wanted to try to do a new knitting project each month, though I wasn’t making it an Official New Year’s Goal because I didn’t want to create too much pressure around it. For January, I made a fabulous hat from a free pattern on the Lion Brand website.

This month I had seen some lovely scenty sachet crochet patterns in a Lion Brand email, and wondered if I could make something similar through knitting. The plan: knit-and-purl to a suitable size. Fold in half, stitch up the bottom and side, flip it inside out and fill with potpourri. Feed a ribbon through near the top and tie together in a lovely bow.

And… voila! I must say I’m pleased with the result…

I was glad to see Abigail Adams was ready for Mardi Gras the other day. Mind, it’s not long since they took the Patriots jersey off the John Adams statue across the street….

Recently I’ve been doing a lot of work on the computer from home- the downside of which, of course, is that I don’t really get out that much (har har. Yeah, whatevah). Inspired by my friend Beth’s fitness blog, I’ve decided to get a bit more balance in terms of activity- and have decided to try to fit in a walk in the afternoons (provided I’ve gotten enough done by that point), which has already made me feel a bit better and less lethargic than I had been getting. In addition to being a great excuse to go exploring, one of the other great things about this is mapping my route when I get home- the plan is that I go out and wander at a reasonable pace for half an hour to an hour, then when I get home I plot it out on the Map My Walk website, which is really helpful in figuring out how far I’ve walked. The other afternoon I had a lovely wander up near the coast, and when I got back and mapped out where I’d walked, I discovered to my surprise that I had walked more than two miles! I was even considering the Avon Walk for Breast Cancer, but I doubt I’ll be up for that this year (more in terms of fundraising than fitness, obviously. *ahem*). That said, there appear to be plenty of walks for charity in the Boston area, so I may work one in later in the year…

Yes.

GPO and the millennium Spire, O’Connell Street, Dublin

Yeah, I couldn’t resist the alliteration. But I received another email- from a different friend, this time- saying that a friend of mine was planning a trip to Dublin this summer and did I have any recommendations for things to do/places to go? (I know. I lived there for more than 10 years, and she goes now that I’ve moved back. I’ve pointed this out to her, fear not, dear readers). Naturally I was delighted to put together a list…

Things to do in Dublin!:

One of my favorite Dublin attractions that seems to get less attention than many others is the Museum of Decorative Arts & History- well worth the visit, it’s in Collins Barracks, which is an amazing building, and features an excellent exhibit on the 1916 uprising against British rule plus many other fantastic exhibits.

National Photographic Archive appears to be moving from Temple Bar to the main National Library on Kildare Street, but NLI often has interesting events which might be worth attending.

Dublin Bus have a number of excellent sightseeing options. I highly recommend their open-top hop-on hop-off tour of the city, which starts just around the corner from the GPO on O’Connell Street (where the Easter Rising of 1916, which led to Irish independence, occurred) and includes Dublin Castle as well as a stop at Guinness Storehouse (though entrance to the Storehouse is additional). Also well worthwhile is the North Coast and Castle tour.

Round tower at Glendalough

There are also a lot of day tours to Glendalough, a beautiful monastery in the green hills of Wicklow, but I highly recommend the Grey Line tour, which stops at Avoca Handweavers, which the other Glendalough tours don’t do and is very well worth the visit (we took several of these Glendalough tours over the years trying to find one that went to Avoca- where they filmed “Ballykissangel”- but this is the only one that actually did, though others listed it as a highlight of their tours).

National Gallery of Ireland has a fantastic collection of both Irish and international artists.

Jeanie Johnston Famine ship with Samuel Beckett Bridge on the River Liffey

I lived in Tralee when they were building the Jeanie Johnston famine ship. I did some research on ships like it for my B.A. dissertation, and I love the fact that it’s now open as a museum on the River Liffey in Dublin. It’s definitely one not to miss.

Finally, my favorite hidden gem- the Chester Beatty Library is an amazing museum built from one man’s private collection, which often has incredible temporary exhibits (I’ve seen the art books of Henri Matisse there, and a special exhibit featuring DaVinci’s Codex Leicester).

This photo was actually from Leo the doorman’s last night at the International Comedy Club. Good times…

Then of course there’s evening entertainment- Whelan’s is Dublin’s oldest music venue, and one of the best, on Wexford street (whelanslive.com seems to be having difficulties this evening, but tickets.ie should also have their concerts). There’s a great website that is usually pretty good for showing events/concerts/shows that are on, entertainment.ie. Then of course, there’s comedy on every night of the week in Dublin. Sunday nights Simon O’Keeffe runs the Capital Comedy Club upstairs in the Ha’penny Bridge Inn that usually has an excellent lineup and is a great night. Monday nights there’s excellent improv comedy upstairs in the International Bar on Wicklow Street – http://www.international-bar.com/comedy.html. Tuesday nights I’d recommend Andrew Stanley’s Comedy Mish Mash, also upstairs in the International, which is usually experienced comedians test-running new material and generally having fun (and Andrew provides biscuits- aka cookies- during the interval); though there is also the Battle of the Axe upstairs in the Ha’penny Bridge Inn on Tuesday and Thursday nights, which is something of a Dublin institution and can be good fun (though be warned, it is kind of an open mic night). Wednesday is another night for the Capital Comedy Club (see above), or alternatively what is effectively the original comedy club in Dublin, the Comedy Cellar, which celebrated 25 years last year or the year before. The website isn’t necessarily always up to date, but it’ll give you a good idea of what’s on. Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights the International Comedy Club takes over upstairs at the International Bar; Saturday nights there’s also comedy at the Bankers on Trinity Street, around the corner, which has a good lineup and is a good alternative especially if the inter is sold out (which it can be).

For any knitters, if you want to buy Irish yarn, I recommend the Studio Donegal yarns, which are genuinely spun in Ireland (in Kilcar, Co. Donegal, to be exact, which is where a friend of mine is from) and aren’t as crazily expensive as many yarns can be in Ireland. Easiest place to pick some up is probably This is Knit in the Powerscourt Townhouse (which is also a great place to look around the shops, though generally way overpriced- it’s just off Grafton Street, so very central). There’s another delightful yarn shop in the Swan Centre in Rathmines, but it’s a bit harder to get to as it’s not in city centre (well worth a stop if you’re out that way, though)

Places to eat!:

I absolutely love Carluccio’s on Dawson Street. Staff are fab, food is delicious, prices are reasonable for Dublin and service tends to be excellent. And it’s just off Grafton Street, near most of the main attractions in city centre.

O’Neill’s Bar is also excellent- reasonable prices for big portions and they serve dinner until 9 or 10pm, which is a bonus if you end up wandering around too long and miss dinner. Can be quite busy, since it’s very central and offers some traditional Irish fare, so consider yourself warned, but it’s a good spot and often has Irish music on as well (with no cover charge. Huzzah!).

For lunch I love Metro Cafe- best tuna melt in Dublin, and a great menu, with generally lovely staff and good service. Plus it’s just up the street from Powerscourt Townhouse (and about 2 blocks from Grafton Street), so it’s easy to get to.

On the opposite corner from Metro Cafe is another little cafe called Busyfeet which also does an excellent lunch, and has a mighty fine lasagne for dinner

I’ve heard great things about Simon’s Place cafe, though I never got in there myself. It’s right at Georges Street Arcade, though, which you must visit while you’re in town.

And no list of recommendations would be complete without a mention of the delightful Cake Cafe- be sure to make time to pop in here for coffee and one of their baked treats. Yum!

Enjoy…

Yesterday evening I got one of my favorite kind of text messages: “my friend is going to ___, can you recommend places to go…?”.

To which the answer is always YES I CAN!

I love making suggestions for people travelling, especially when it’s to one of my favorite places – and Edinburgh (eh, the one in Scotland, obviously) definitely qualifies for that status. And since I had the details organized in one place – I thought other people might find it of interest, too.

What to do..?

Scott Monument, Edinburgh

I highly recommend one of the open-top bus tours of Edinburgh- they all leave from Waverly Bridge near the Scott Monument- it’s hard to miss. There are tickets that cover more than one tour, which are a pretty good deal- for only an additional £2 you can take more than one of the open-top bus routes around the city within a 24-hour period. The best value is to take one of the sightseeing tours around the city and also do the Majestic tour to the Firth of Forth waterfront and Royal Botanic Gardens. The Botanic Gardens is a great way to spend a few hours, and well worth the visit. I also very highly recommend the Grand Plus ticket, which includes the Firth of Forth bus-and-boat cruise, but that’s only available April-October, unfortunately.

The National Gallery is not to be missed. It’s free in, and has amazing exhibits. One of my favorites? The opportunity to stand a mere couple of feet away from one of Monet’s “Haystacks” paintings. Wonderful stuff.

Edinburgh is a delightful place just to walk around in and admire the scenery, too. Definitely bring a camera, strike off in one direction and see where it takes you. Calton Hill is a great walk, and Arthur’s Seat is fantastic in decent weather.

There’s loads of other things to do in Edinburgh- Greyfriars Kirk is well worth a look around, there’s always the castle (though the cover charge seems a little steep to me, I’ll admit), and of course plenty of shopping etc- but these are my favorites, and would be on my don’t-miss list.

I couldn’t not recommend the Stand Comedy Club, too, if looking for somewhere to go in the evening- they tend to have an excellent lineup.

Go eat!

There are plenty of great places to eat in the city. I definitely *HIGHLY* recommend Double Dutch at 27-29 Marshall Street, near the university, for breakfast- I often go when I’m in town for the Festival and Fringe for good big fried breakfasts. Good service, strong coffee and good food at relatively reasonable prices.

One of my favorite Edinburgh eateries is Gordon’s Trattoria on the Royal Mile, even just for one of their delightful desserts (they do an excellent banana split, which is hard enough to get…). One of my favorite places in Edinburgh, and the staff (and owner) are really lovely. On a good night it’s often sort of like stopping in to a dinner party that goes on every night. Delightful.

There’s also a wonderful Italian restaurant called Pompeii at 62 Grassmarket in Edinburgh, which is convenient to most of the city center and has an excellent menu and lovely service.

No list of Edinburgh eateries would be complete without a recommendation to stop in to City Restaurant at 35 Nicolson Street (within a few minutes’ walk of much of the city center)- something for everyone, good food, great service, relaxed surroundings and reasonable prices. And they do a mean mac & cheese…

To lose one’s self in reverie, one must be either very happy, or very unhappy. Reverie is the child of extremes. ~Antoine Rivarol

It’s been a long time- more than just a few weeks, certainly- since I spent any noticeable amount of time daydreaming. There was always something else to do, something to think or worry about, something that needed immediate attention… Well, today that changed. Suddenly I was daydreaming all day- while cooking brunch (despite constant attention to make sure the bacon didn’t burn), while knitting on the train, while wandering around my favorite yarn shop downtown… Daydreaming about all sorts of things, too – what I might do for work, projects I might make with new yarns, trips I might take over the next few years. I had forgotten even how much I enjoy daydreaming – and once the daydreams started this morning, I decided to go with it whenever my mind started to wander today. I think daydreaming is very important- it allows the mind to chew over things in a less structured way than the endless to-do lists, and I reckon from daydreams over time goals may develop. It’s a good time for daydreaming, too- the beginning of a new year, in a new place. Funnily enough, the “all the world’s a stage” monologue from Shakespeare’s “As You Like It” has been running through my head recently, too: “All the world’s a stage, and all the men and women merely players. They have their exits and their entrances, and one man in his time may play many parts…”. It’s time for me to figure out what my next part might be. Daydreaming is an important part of that, envisioning how I might see my life in the future.

And yes, one must be very happy to lose oneself in reverie…

Thought is the labor of the intellect, reverie is its pleasure. ~Victor Hugo

It has been a fairly hectic few weeks, it must be said- and it certainly feels like more than just over a mere month ago I was still living in Ireland. I have to say this was probably the best decision that could have been made- and I do sometimes wonder what took so long to decide to pond-jump once again! Needless to say, there is a huge amount of work involved in making a transatlantic move, and the last few weeks have flown in a flurry of shipment and delivery arrivals, unpacking, and making a bare apartment a home.

If a city had been built to my exact specifications, it probably wouldn’t have suited as well as this, I have to say at this point. A mere 25 minutes from my apartment is the delightful Windsor Button, which has an astounding array of knit and needlework supplies at reasonable prices (and when I wandered in the staff were helpful and friendly to boot). A couple of blocks from there is my
instant-favorite bookshop in Boston, Commonwealth Books, which is a treasure trove
of used and antique books, maps and prints. Nearer to home, the photocopy/design/print shop down the road has a very well-stocked artists’ supply section, as well as some delightful stationery. And I seem to have landed in the middle of a baking community, as even my corner convenience store carries muffin mixes, vanilla extract and evaporated milk- all very helpful in my dream of becoming a foodie (though possibly not so good for my waistline…). There are also of course the usual concerts and trips to plan, and some fantastic organizations to get involved with, too, like the Friends of the Boston Harbor Islands (fbhi.org) and the Mystic Valley Railway Society (mvrs.org), among many others.

It’ll stay busy, but 2012 looks pretty good already…