table for one

notes from dublin

I’m in Dublin for three weeks for an internship. Staying somewhere new for longer than a few days’ trip is reminding me of what it is like to move. Settling into a new space, exploring new places, sussing out the nearest spots for the various basics – where to go for groceries, for toiletries, for house basics, for a take out when you’re too tired to cook and don’t want to go too far, the commute to the office. While I’m familiar with Dublin – I’ve been here many times before – I haven’t been here in the way I am now. Before I would have been here for a night or two, visiting and staying with family or friends, for a concert or stopping off because I was flying to or from somewhere through Dublin airport. This time I’m here for three weeks, with the structure of an internship at a corporate office providing an everyday, as-though-I-live-here routine, in a room of my own (a dear friend who lives in Dublin happens to be travelling for the month, so I’ve taken her place in a lovely house in Rathmines), and finding myself doing things on my own in a way I haven’t in a while.

I love these times, between chapters when you’re arriving into a new space, physically and mentally, to start something new. There’s all the things outside of you to settle into – place, job, neighbourhood, people – but also a new or at least evolving you to get to know. Spending time alone in these times can be by default if you’ve moved to a new place where you don’t know many or any people, but even when I do have folks to reach out to and spend time with I relish spending some time alone.

Mum drove me up on Saturday. She was going to a play in Dublin Saturday night, which worked out nicely – trekking the suitcase and big bags I have on the bus wouldn’t have been easy. We stopped in Kildare Village on our way – neither of us had been there before and we figured it was a way to make a day of the journey. Before the play we went for dinner at Bar Anam – all natural wine, and the fried chicken is insanely good. While Mum was at the play, I took myself to BAR 1661. It reminded me of Trick Dog in San Francisco. I had my book, and made friends at the bar. At one point I got up to go to the bathroom and bumped into a friend I used work with in San Francisco six years ago. We hadn’t seen each other in years. They’re on a trip around Ireland with their partner. That we both happened to be, on a whim, in the same bar in Dublin at the same time is one of those little life moments that amazes me.

Yesterday, Sunday, I walked from where I’m staying to the office (I think I’ll be getting the bus there, but on good evenings may walk home), then to brunch (two coffees and a grilled cheese) with my cousin and her partner. On my walk back to my for now home I recognised another someone I used work with in San Francisco – they cycled passed me and stopped at a traffic light just behind me. We hadn’t seen each other in years. I didn’t even know if they were still in Dublin – they’d moved here three years ago. I ran up to them. We’re getting dinner this week. The second of two pretty wild coincidences within the same 24 hours. After dropping my things at my home for now I went for a run, showered, had a phone catch up with two dear girlfriends, and then got ready to take myself out to dinner.

I got the bus to a popular and busy area between Portobello and Temple Bar. I ate at Masa (chips, salsa and guac, chicken tacos and a margarita¹) which was the perfect spot for a bite alone; it was just loud enough to feel fun without being obnoxious, and to disperse any awkwardness that there can be from quiet when you’re dining alone. There’s an art to the volume of music and the lighting in a place to change the experience of dining there, which seems obvious to say, but universal truths can be worth stating when they’re relevant to the moment. I was sat at bar seating that looked out on to the street, facing a popular bar that was crowded and made for some great people watching. There was a woman and camera man interviewing people I don’t know what about, but it was evidently something lighthearted and funny.

I went for a nightcap at 9 Below, a speakeasy style spot in a basement unit near St Stephen’s Green. They’re usually closed on Sundays but happened to be open because of the bank holiday this weekend, which meant that they weren’t too busy.

When I got home I washed my face and curled into bed to my current comfort show, Sex and the City, and I couldn’t help but wonder (if you know, you know) how much I love spending time alone, and how wonderful it is to feel comfortable doing so.

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