To share gossips with the girls around a hot beverage :
The Nutmeg restaurant (14A, French Church Street)
God, I've been having coffee there almost every week-end since I arrived in Cork, and I didn't know it was called so 2mn ago. I've always called this place the 14 A, which is in fact its street number. I didn't really know it was a restaurant either. I've found it out while looking for pictures in Google images... Actually, I've never sat inside except for paying and going to the toilets, I always sit at the tables outside because I (used to) smoke and there is the heating.
In fact there is nothing particular about this place, I've never eaten anything there, the coffee is good but not amazing. But I like this place because I feel as if I were at home, I mean in France. I don't really know why, but this is really the place to go when I feel homesick.
Fellini's (Carey's Lane)
It's been only a couple of weeks since the first time I went there but I've been fascinated by this strange bric-a-brac since the very beginning. It's not obvious to determine whether it's a tea-room or a vintage shop at first. I think it's both. I really like the atmosphere, I felt as if I had jumped into the 19th century. Even the customers looked as if they were coming from the past. A graceful little girl eating a scone, a dandy oldman with a long coat... Or maybe it was just my imagination. I can't remember if there was some music or not when I went there, but when I think of this place, the Turkish March by Mozart automatically comes to my mind.
Anyway, this is a very good place to have a hot chocolate for people (like me) who tend to down their drink in 30 seconds, because it's served in a pitcher, so you can pour yourself 3 cups if you want! And they also serve it with marshmallows. I don't really like marshmallows in themselves, but dissolved in the hot chocolate, it's just yummy...
To stuff myself without any feeling of guilt :
The Quay Co-Op (24, Sullivans Quay)
It's a vegetarian restaurant that all the Corkonians know I think, because it seems quite reknowned. This is probably a frustrating place for lots of Irish people, because I have a feeling that they REALLY like meat. But I don't, even if I'm not a vegan. I never buy meat, and I rarely eat fish, except smoked salmon and tuna. So I really like this place because I don't have to boycott 80% of the menu like in ordinary restaurants. The food is simple but very good, and even when I eat a lot here, I don't feel poisoned or obese as if I had eaten in Burger King or Hillbilly's. I admit I have a real problem with fastfoods, I NEVER eat there. The only thing I sometimes buy is Mc Donald's milk-shakes and ice-creams. For all the rest, NO WAY! But let's come back to the initial topic.
The Quay Co-Op is the right place to go when you're looking for quiet and simplicity. Discrete decoration, silent people reading newspapers while eating, bright rooms with large windows.
No invasive waiters. In fact it's a sort of self-service, you go to the desk, the waitress gives you what you want and you bring your plate to the table you want. I like this freedom. Have you ever been to a restaurant alone? Me neither. How disgraceful, isn't it :D ? I don't know why but I think I would be able to eat alone in this restaurant. Just me and
Boris (a book of course, poor Boris is dead. Yes I call him Boris, what's wrong with that?). Or maybe just me and Cosmo, depending on whether I was out the night before or not.... Oh God no! I had forgotten that I completely stopped reading this kind of "literature" here. Why? 6,50 euros if I'm not mistaken. It's less than 2 euros in France. No comment.
To relax and recharge my batteries :
The Lough
No need to comment I think.
For fun :
Fun is not a matter of place, fun can be found everywhere, it's a matter of people, it's a matter of mood. So I won't talk about any particular place, except maybe the Pigalle Bar in Barrack street, because I feel a special attachment to this place, probably because it's French. I like its atmosphere, its ginger cocktail, its people. And even its toilets. Yes, I wanted to mention it because I don't think there is any other place where I could feel like partying in the toilets.
