Dublin: Day 2

 1. As we stepped out of our room, cleaning lady asked if we wanted a refill of milk or tea. I asked her if she could tidy the room instead and she said something in an Irish accent I couldn't understand. Patiently brought over her notepad and pointed to the word "DND" and I still hadn't a clue (no ma'am, I am not into that stuff?). Eventually figured out that she was asking us to switch off the Do Not Disturb sign. Asked Mike later in the lift if he knew what DND was, and he said dungeons and dragons. 

2. Crossed the river to check out George's Street Arcade. Walked along Grafton Street and checked out & Other Stories and Brown Thomas. Picked up a pretty Christmas card from Oliver Bonas, which I will give someone of my choosing next year.

3. Struggled with cashier's Irish accent at Butler's Chocolate Cafe. He eventually pointed to the poster on the wall to convey that they don't have whipped cream to top up our drinks. I got hot milk chocolate, Mike got white chocolate. Came with 2 free truffles. Sat on the bench outside and sipped on my cocoa, which was hot and hit the spot. Mike's was lukewarm and tasted like Nido.

4. Stopped over at one Andhra Bhavan, and then another for dinner. Both were packed and had no seats available. Noticed the preponderance of non-Indians at these places and felt only Americans don't appreciate Indian food.

5. Was quite hungry, so stopped at the nearest pub with a decent looking menu. Inside, the tv showed 18-year old Luke Littler at some darts championship. Right beside where we sat, people played darts. Board on the wall said "Attention! Please throw darts in the general direction of the dart board. Thank you, Management". Mike got fish n' chips with a pint of Guinness (he finished half of it to seem respectable and had a headache in no time) and I got bangers n' mash (on point). Got more fries (garlic cheese fries) cos we were still hungry.  

6. Got cured meat (potential midnight nosh) and blackberries (breakfast) from Tesco and returned to our room. Snuggled into bed with Arnold Bennett's The Grand Babylon Hotel.