Temple Bar

Temple Bar is always busy, full of tourists and young people enjoying a Sunday afternoon in town. Young people. I am no longer one of those. So my first priority was to find a quiet spot. It was cold so I wanted to be indoors, but with a view. I found a little café just across from the Irish rock stars wall of fame. There was nobody in and I was worried it would not be great, but my hot chocolate was fine and nobody bothered me while I was sketching. 

Then I looked for a second location, and decided to go to our meeting point, The Old Storehouse, just across from the Bad Ass Café. It wasn't a pub in the 80s, when I first arrived in Ireland and was a frequent visitor to the Bad Ass Café (it still serves pizzas, from what I could see through the window). There was live music, a guy and his guitar, singing cover versions of a bit of everything. But Kate and myself were entertained by the buzz around us. There was plenty to look at, people, old pub stuff (all arranged by an interior designer, of course), a few chairs hanging from the ceiling and warm light. The only non-alcoholic beer was Heineken 0. No Guinness 0? No Tom Crean Last Man Standing (1% and delicious!). Can pubs not offer more choice to the likes of me?

And yes, it was still afternoon, so Irish people bring their kids to the pub, buy them a soft drink and give them crayons and paper, and everybody is happy.