Have you ever mentally "rehearsed" how an event or conversation would go only to have reality kick in and bring you back to the planet Earth?  That happened to me this week...

Several of you MAY remember me talking about seeing this cafe in 2006 when I made my first visit to Ireland.  I looked for it when I returned this past January, but never found it.  Well, the other day, I googled it and actually found it on the map!  Monday I set out to find it so I could catch up on reading for my class while drinking some coffee.  Somehow I ended up day-dreaming about my day at the cafe...here's how it went!

I imagined myself enjoying a leisurely bus trip into town listening to my Ipod.  Then after arriving at my stop, I walked to Stephanie's Cafe which happened to be situated on the coolest street in City Centre.  There were shops and outdoor produce vendors all along the way.  I arrived at the slightly aged building that had been converted into the quaint little cafe.  Tables were neatly arranged and beautiful flowers were placed in the centre of each.  Sort of a cross between The Cupcakery and Starbucks.

I imagined a sweet Irish lady named Stephanie (of course) working behind the pastry counter and several other girls busy serving the other patrons.   It smelled of espresso and baked goods.  Before being seated, I was warmly welcomed and then struck up a friendly conversation with the owner.  The fact that my name was also Stephanie, of course, procured me a free latte which I enjoyed while reading for a couple of hours.  And since the latte was free, I bought a delicious pastry.  I left with a promise to return soon and enjoy another delightful day!

So here's what really happened...
The bus trip was pretty peaceful and I did enjoy some music on my Ipod, but that's about where the similarity ended.  After getting off the bus at the stop closest to the cafe, I began to walk...and walk...and walk.  Yeah, it was a bit further off the bus route than I figured.  It wasn't a bad part of town at all, but nothing really notable about it either. 

I walked for several blocks and finally found my destination!  The building was a bit old but on the inside it looked more like and Italian bistro than a cafe.  I was greeted by two eastern European guys who were running the place.  (I don't think either of them were named Stephanie.)  So I sat down and began reading the menu, which had a typo on the cover :)  I decided on some pasta and a coffee.  Both were good and reasonably priced.  I happened to notice, though, while eating that only one other woman entered the cafe the entire time I was there, the rest were guys.  I had a moment of wondering if I had somehow stumbled upon a "Guy's Only" restaurant, but no one told me to leave, so I stayed.  I never did have a chat with the owner, other than to tell him it wasn't necessary to close the front door because the cold air didn't bother me at all.   After reading an entire chapter, eating lunch, and turning down a date from a guy who had clearly already had too much to drink...I went on my way!

All in all, it was a reasonably NORMAL event, but I laughed at myself as I remembered how much more romantic my day-dream had been compared to reality!

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