Angelic sleeping bag

It wasn't until I opened the door to head in to town for a lunch appointment that I realised it was raining, so the grand plan of walking to the DART station and doing further walking around the city went for nothing (well, apart from walking the streets).

Lunch was unpretentious and not really worth commenting on, but what is worth mentioning is the meal I had later on in La Maison restaurant in Castle Court. This used have an excellent reputation as a café spot, which is why I opted for it as somewhere to get out of the rain and grab a coffee and a scone, perhaps. It's now a fully fledged restaurant, though, which wasn't really what I'd wanted, but I'm thrilled that I decided to open the door and go in. Very decently, they offer what they call the Chef's Menu, available between 12:30 and 7:00, with two courses 20 euro and three 24.

I ended up having the best restaurant meal I've had in a very long time. My poached sea trout with potatoes and horseradish dressing was very good (a bit too cold, perhaps), and very generous in the size of the serving. Star of the show, though, was my main of Roast Pork Fillet with Carrot and Ginger Puree and glazed Carrots. Everything about this was perfection: again, a generous portion, with beautifully cooked sides and a combination on the plate which was absolutely divine. I mopped up every last morsel with the top-notch bread which came with the salmon and was left on the table rather than whisked away. To top it all, the coffee I had instead of dessert was superb, came with brown and white sugar cubes rather than the all-too-frequent sachets, and was accompanied with a decent-sized jug of warm milk. I'll be back. Definitely.

Since the rain had scared me off walking to the DART, I was lumbered with the car. After parking it in Trinity Street car park I spotted this unusual piece of wall art across the laneway. Interesting stuff, I thought, and well worth a blip.