So Many Books... - And all I got was a bottle of water...

08:58 pm - And all I got was a bottle of water...

Younger Daughter and I went away for a short break earlier this week, and had a wonderful time. She was patient with my occasionally higher-than-normal maintenance level (as in: 'I think he brought me regular instead of soy milk, but don't want to ask him again if it's soy, as it might seem rude since he forgot last time... Can YOU taste it?') and need for industrial strength tea at regular intervals.

We didn't get out of Dublin before I felt the need to catch evidence of something I still find gobsmackingly ludicrous, despite having seen it 4 or 5 times now.



This is in the snazzy new shopping and eating area the far side of security in the airport. There's a large Boots, which makes sense, and a few new cafes, but also a caviar -- bar? Whatever one calls a place they sell caviar around a bar-style set-up. Who'd want caviar in an airport? (Or anywhere.) But the Waters of the World really takes the biscuit in the 'are they having us on?' category.



The King:



And the Queen:



Those are each €124.95, and both decorated with 'stunning Swazrovski crystal stars'. (Quoting in case it's difficult to read.) They're said to be the 'unique treasure to decorate your special occasion with excitement and satisfaction'. Seriously - if you need to spend €125 on a bottle of water to make your occasion satisfying, something is WRONG.

Much cheaper, but still offensively conspicuous waste:



Evian dresses in Christian Lacroix forsooth.

We spent most of one day in Camden, starting at the Camden Stables Market and working the extremely short distance to the regular old Camden Markets. Much work was going on in the Stables Markets, where what appeared to be the original stalls housing the horses who pulled the canal barges were being converted into market stalls. Downstairs was more than half empty, but many beautiful and colourful things from many parts of the world were on display. Also much food, though I'm afraid my difficulty factor kicked in again after we'd started in on the very tasty Thai chicken and noodles, which was worrying lukewarm (to my mind anyway, permanently scarred by a course in food microbiology taken back in my nutrition days). Only had my mobile, so pictures aren't good, but still give some flavour of the place.



That splotch of colour beside the two horses was from the stall on the right, with beautiful carpets spread down on the ramp and many slippers nailed to the piller. When we came back later, the stall owner had covered the carpets with piles of jewelry, from rather cheap but appealing silver rings and pendants to the most stunning lapis lazuli necklaces. All from Afghanistan. Unfortunately, I didn't get a close-up of the little shelters like the one you can see at the right with the weathervane horse on top; each of the four pillers was decorated with a statue of a lovely lady - I've still no idea what they had to do with the Stables. Maybe it's more polite not to ask!



Some of the stalls being done up.



And a massive statue - Younger Daughter said it was done in the style of the Parthenon horses - loved the backdrop and mix of cultures there.

Finally, in Camden Lock Markets, we visited the Yumchaa Tea Shop, which turned out to be everything we'd hoped it would be! Lovely shabby and mismatched armchairs and painted brick walls, and a view of the canal outside. Very nice cakes (lemon drizzle and apple sultana - and neither too sweet) and wonderful tea. Plus a very sweet guy working there who was impressed with Y.D.'s knowing Rooibos tea and almost embarrassingly impressed and pleased when I complimented the music (turned out to be his iPod) and said we'd recognized the two Sufjan Stevens songs. In fact, he said we were the coolest ever. Y.D. laughed at me for blurting out 'Oh, you even know how to pronounce his name!', but Becca didn't think that was too bad, as it must be the true fans who discover it isn't pronounced suff-jan, as you'd think. And a picture...