I'm not sure if this carrot is graceful or grotesque, but I am a fan of the way it decided to grow. On Sunday afternoon, I made my way to the weekly market in Dun Laoghaire (Dun Leary or in Irish, pronounced something like Doone Lerah). It's only a 20 minute walk from the house, and held in a park that borders the sea. I bought a generous veg curry for lunch and walked around like a kid in a candy store bull in a china shop fusion. I wasn't alone; I think everybody was crashing into each other to some degree as they ogled everything.

Food! Books! ...! Thai food, Chinese, Japanese, Indian, Middle Eastern, German (German bread, mmm); there were tables displaying jewelry, tables with cakes, fudge, a fairly large organic produce section (see carrot), used books, stands that sold various herbal teas and cider (brandied or un-brandied)... oh, I could go on.

Today I purchased a magical expanding backpack for the journey north. The group will be in Armagh, Belfast, and finally Derry for the next three weeks and it would be good to travel light; I always get stressed out about luggage. So hopefully this magical expanding backpack will prove to be magical enough!

I leave you with one of my favorite graffitis in the city.