ob-la-di!

Today was my first day sans hubby. He had to work... not that I'm complaining, it's how we arrived in this glorious city in the first place.

In honor of my first solo day in Dublin I decided to do all things me, which means seeking out the local farmers markets, making friends with locals, enjoying a nice sambo (their word for sandwich?) for lunch and then wandering through the stores I wish we had at home. (I think i will start a petition for Top Shop to come to NYC immediately!)
So this morning, despite the downpours and chilly winds, I found the Moore Street market and bought the first fresh fruit I have eaten in days. Yes they had stickers on them and were surely shipped from someplace not local...but it was fruit!
This pedestrian street is off limits to vehicles which is where this adorable (and friendly) horse came in the picture, to pull the fruit cart of course!

Crossing the O'connell bridge south of the Liffey I headed back towards Trinity College where I stole a shot of the famous Molly Malone statue across from Trinity College.

Then I took a brief walk through Trinity College. I missed the Book of Kells as the line was too long and I didn't feel like shelling out 10 Euro to walk through a library with every other vacationer when there was a whole city to explore. I might have felt differently if they had the Old Testament on hand, but they didn't! It was a nice campus but it has nothing on Fordham's promenade :)

Then it was off to Top Shop (again), Marks and Spencer (as directed by so many of my friends), and every other shoppe on Stephens Green and Grafton Street.

When the hubby was through for the day we took the advice of locals and foodie travellers alike and headed to L'Gueuleton where we were beyond thrilled with dinner of french onion soup followed by mussels in a creamy saffron butter sauce and crispy, still in tact mire poix:

followed by organic chicken (i think it was really cornish hen, but who's counting) atop a pearl onion tatin:All and all it was a lovely meal. If I were a food critic I would share with you the nuances of the dishes, but since this is merely a journal I will leave it as an enjoyable meal and bid you adieu until tomorrow!

(don't you just feel like you're here too?!?)