Dwindling Days in Dublin

As introduced in my last post, today was Pancake Tuesday, which was a bust. I only found one place, in a far away south Dublin suburb, doing something special (free pancakes all day) and two places that actually serve crepes, not pancakes, offering specials. I inquired at a few but none of the other more central restaurants that sell pancakes every day for breakfast were making a big deal out of it. The grocery stores were offering sales of frozen toaster pancakes, but that was it. I wasn’t really that excited about mass carbo-loading pancakes with sugary maple syrup anyway.

I note that I will just miss the Dublin visit of English Royals William and Kate, who arrive the day after I depart next week for Lyon. Too bad, as a confirmed monarchist, I would have loved to stand in the crowd and get a brief glimpse of them. Maybe next time?

It seems that the Six Nations Rugby competition is now a possible Coronavirus victim! There’s talk of canceling the Ireland vs Italy match on March 7th here in Dublin. A good piece of Northern Italy is locked down right now and, as a result, the Irish are not sure if they’re keen on planeloads of Italian fans coming to town. For once, my timing might be good, getting out of town just before the storm. So far, there have been zero confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Ireland.

Despite the snow and ice warnings issued for parts of Ireland today, the plants in St. Stephens Square are insisting on an early Spring. There’s nothing quite as refreshing as a nice park in the middle of a city. I’m now getting in two laps a day, for more than 9,800 steps, and it’s been a pleasure watching the park wake up.

I’m enjoying my last week in Dublin and on my short list of last-minute things to do will be taking the Jameson Distillery Experience on Thursday. Is this a trend? It seems no one offers a “tour” anymore, now it’s an “experience”. Hmm, I’d be keen to know if the ticket price for an Experience is 20% more than the price for an old Tour.

Wasn’t it Jimi Hendrix who recorded the immortal words: Are You Experienced? Let’s see if I can say that three times quickly after my distillery visit. Stay tuned!