am I awful?

We are having a fantastic time but this apartment is SO small that I'm about to leave, ostensibly to get some groceries, but secretly to go to Simon's Place which I love because it's the sort of cafe where you can go on your own. I just need half an hour by myself to drink a coffee and think in the quiet. I also love it because the walls are always completely covered with posters and flyers about things to do -- sometimes in small venues that you mightn't see advertised that easily. Fr'instance, who knew that there was a course on fabric painting? And it just costs 50 Euros. So I guess my lie to myself is that I am actually going to research some fun things to do with my parents.

The weather is cold and bright and really very beautiful today, so I was thinking when we get back we'll do something outdoorsy like to go one of the lovely parks for a walk, followed by lunch someplace nice. Soup in front of a fire sounds fine and my Boyfriend told me that a lot of Irish people go to hotels to have lunch in the hotel restaurant, which maybe we'll try as that wouldn't be something that would necessarily occur to me. Tomorrow, I'm really hoping for some more of this fine cold weather as we've rented a car and the plan is to go to Glendalough in Wickow, so long as the roads aren't too icy.

So: and also tomorrow, an interesting encounter as we are meeting my Boyfriend for lunch although I will introduce him as "my friend" because, after all, it's a new relationship still and it's too soon to get serious about things. I'm kind of hoping that meeting my folks will make it easier for him to introduce me to his family -- not 'cause I want to be pushy but because, well, I don't know. They sound interesting and fun, and to me it just seems like the normal thing to do.

Right. I hear Mom and Dad loudly making coffee in the kitchen so I'm going out for my quick, precious, solo coffee. Simon's Place was in the movie "Once" and I do get a bit of a kick out of that as well.