There's a bit of a stretch in the evenings.

Bright evenings are giving everyone a bit of impetus to get out and socialise a bit more.

The waitress in Itsa in Sandymount said they'd had a few bad reviews in Menu Pages recently. God knows why. Their service is really friendly without being intrusive. All the staff are students who work there long term and the atmosphere is professional even when it's packed out.

I love the food. They have great potato skins loaded with bacon, cheese and sour cream when you're in the mood for pigging out and some really healthy gluten/diary free dishes as well. The icecream and sorbets are made on the premises and are fabulous. They do a desert plate with a few different deserts that is perfect for sharing.

Met up with a few friends in The Dylan hotel off Baggot Street on Friday evening. Smokers love the Dylan because it's got the coolest outdoor smoking area in Dublin. Everyone seems to vaguely know everyone else so there's a lot of mixing and chatting which is helped by the fact that there's no blaring music and the age profile is 30 plus.

Went to a gig with a gang of ten girls in Bewley's on Grafton St. There's a little stage on the top floor where they do plays and jazz. The singing was retro Ella Fitzgerald tributes and the singer's family were cheering her on. She sang a song for her Mum which was sweet.

Someone had the bright idea of writing a list of what everyone was drinking so we could hand it in to the Barman for every round. Made ordering way easier!

Everyone retired to Davy Byrnes we were all starving. A bright American girl in our company asked the Barman for some food, which obviously wasn't available. She persuaded him that it was completely irresponsible to serve so much alcohol without food so five minutes later everyone was milling into bags of burgers and chips she brought in from Burger King. Seemed like a good idea at the time.