Pod People

Eli's birthday fell mid-week, so we celebrated yesterday by going to a restaurant at the Carrickmines mall called The Vanilla Pod.

It was a very grey day, and the sky was quite close to the ground.  There was a constant drizzle - enough to make you damp but not really make you wet.  I felt a little like produce in the grocery store when the mister jets engage.

We got to the mall a few minutes past noon.  The restaurant opened at noon, and there was already a line out the door.  We stood for a few minutes before deciding to do our shopping, hoping that when we returned, the place would've cleared out.

Our shopping quest was for salt and pepper shakers.  I had ordered some from Ikea but for whatever reason, those couldn't be shipped to us.  Don't ask me to explain it because I can't.  One of the home stores we went to had a Pier 1 mood - lots of cute holiday paraphernalia with fabric reindeer and fluffy seasonal blankets, with a pleasant scent of spices in the air.  You wouldn't think salt and pepper shakers would be hard to find, but you'd be wrong.  We eventually found some and went on our way.

Since we had time to kill, we went into a store called Woodie's.  It's basically Menards with housewares, tools, gardening stuff, paint, etc.  I had seen online that they carry rubbing alcohol (it's like a unicorn - you can't find it here very easily and when you do, it's mega expensive) but we didn't find it after wandering around.  Eli did get a tea ball though so it wasn't a complete waste.  Plus, as I told him, it was nice to see what types of items they have, in case we need something in the future.

Stopped at a pharmacy called Boots which is much like Ulta. They didn't have the products I was looking for but again, it was nice to make a reconnaissance ramble to see what they have on offer.

Back to The Vanilla Pod we went.  There was still a line, but it was shorter and moved along very quickly.  The three parties ahead of us were seated in short order and then it was our turn.

Eli had a pasta dish with an elderberry lemonade; I had a pepperoni pizza with a Coke.  Everything was very good - and very expensive, but that's the way things are everywhere, not just here.   My only complaint was that it was quite loud, making it hard to have a conversation.  In psychology, "the cocktail party effect" happens when you're surrounded by external stimuli but can still focus on something - e.g. you're in a loud restaurant but are able to focus on the conversation you're having with one person.  I have the opposite issue - if I'm surrounded by voices, I can focus on none of them.

Eli wanted to visit a mall in Dun Laoghaire which is accessible by bus.  The bus stop is right across from the tram stop, so he went to stand by the bus stop sign while I went to wait for the tram.  Even though I wasn't planning to ride the bus, I was apparently close enough to have an effect since it was late.  🙄  But eventually it arrived and eventually the tram arrived, and we both got to where we wanted to be.