Things I miss

It's been really warm in Ireland for the past week. It's been sunny and warm and there hasn't been a drop of rain. All in all, I've been really content with the weather for once. The Irish will tell you that it's scorching, but let's not go crazy here. I'm not wearing shorts and sweating or having trouble sleeping, I'm wearing a t-shirt with capri pants and carrying a cardigan with me.

This weekend was the perfect weekend to sit outside on a patio. It felt like the first warm spring day in Canada - the day that everyone knocks off work early and heads for a patio to celebrate that summer is indeed on its way.

However, as I learned this weekend, Dublin is sorely lacking in patios. Granted Dublin doesn't have the sidewalk space that Toronto has, and there certainly isn't a patio season like there is in Canada, but despite these two limitations, the Dublin patio offerings are still pretty lame. If a bar has a "patio" (read: three tables on the sidewalk), it is invariably in the shade where it is pretty chilly. The patios are not cordoned off so people are literally walking over your feet as they pass by. There are maybe two decent ones in the city so they fill up very early.

What no proprietor has seemed to discover as yet is the rooftop patio. I think that Dublin rooftops are perfect for a nice patio - and there would be a chance of getting some sunshine on the roof as opposed to sitting at a table in a narrow alley. However, no one has set one up, which makes me believe that they're probably not allowed because of fears that drunk Irish would pitch themselves - or others off of the roofs. The state might have a point with that one.

So in the meantime, on a rare nice Irish day, I'm left reminiscing about Barney's, TJ Baxters, the Madison, Hemingways, or the Pilot.