One in a crowd

Today was just another day in Dublin. Which in and of itself is very thrilling. The day didn't really even begin until 1PM because I spent the morning taking care of some scholarship business. I went into town with some friends and upon our arrival we were greeted by the Gay Pride Parade. It was really more of a march through the city. There were a couple of buses that slightly resembled floats, but for the most part it was just a big dance part on Dublin's main streets through the city. We joined the crowd and danced to south Dublin. Once we were done dancing Dominique and I made our way to an Italian restaurant in Temple Bar that we had been dreaming about. We ate their once before and Dom had a delicious caprese salad-- tomatoes and mozzarella. We both ordered one and it was absolutely delicious. Then it was time for ice cream. I know it's mega hot in Texas (I'm so glad I'm not having to battle the sun back home), but it's actually very warm here, too. Particularly for the Irish. Of course I'm not complaining. This is my perfect summer---most of the time I get to wear a sweater! Of course today I was very happy to wear my 50 SPF and managed to come away unscathed. After icecream we went and browsed in a few bookstores. Then we made our way all the way down to St. Stephen's Green. We wandered through a few stores and really wanted some chips (like fish and chips--- so fries), but we didn't find any. We sat on a bench in the green and were kind of zoning out, but some Spanish guys came and sat down by us. After asking for the time Miguel managed to strike up a conversation. He's working for some dental business, but doesn't like Ireland so will leave in a few months when his contract is up. He had been to California and knows Antonio Banderas. I'm not completely sure if that's true, but whatever. Dom and I were very happy that he came along to talk to us because it gave us a nice destraction and prepared us for the rest of our evening. It's kind of strange that he was so obviously European. Half of the fun of traveling to a big city is seeing who all you can meet. Dublin has had so many people come in from every corner of the earth so you never know who you will meet. He spoke to his friends in Spanish and I tried to follow along, but my mind was still pretty tired so I didn't have much success. After our conversation Dom and I went to eat and greatly enjoyed our meal at some Italian restaurant. I had a delicious calzone and small salad. We were sitting on the sidewalk and there was live music. There were a ton of street performers out. OH. There were these two guys doing really cool soccer juggling tricks to music. I was totally transfixed and impressed---which could be saying a lot since once upon a time i played soccer with a now professional soccer player. They are the first street performers that I gave money to. After dinner we went back to the Temple Bar area and had desert-- it was quite tasty. Then we hung around that area for a little bit listening to live music and singing along. It was quite enjoyable and now I am sleepy. p.s. i'm not anywhere in that picture if you were wondering...