#FirstDate #FirstDates #FirstDatesIRL #Dating #Dublin #Dublin8 #PhoenixPark #WellingtonMonument #Ireland #LEGO

For those of you living outside of Ireland, here is how government restrictions and phases of reopening happened:
On 15 March, the Government ordered bars and public houses to close and advised against house parties.
On 27 March, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar announced a national stay-at-home order.
On 10 April, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar announced that measures introduced on 27 March would be extended until at least 5 May.
On 1 May, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar announced the extension of the current restrictions to 18 May at the earliest. A roadmap to easing restrictions in Ireland that included five stages was adopted by the government and subsequently published online. COVID-19 restrictions began to be eased from Monday 18 May.
On 18 May, Ireland entered phase one of the government’s roadmap of easing COVID-19 restrictions. That meant up to four people could meet outside.
On 5 June, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar announced a series of changes to the government’s roadmap of easing COVID-19 restrictions in Ireland, which he summed up as: “Stay Local”.
On 8 June, Ireland entered phase two of the government’s roadmap of easing COVID-19 restrictions.
On 19 June, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar announced a further re-configuration of the government’s roadmap of easing COVID-19 restrictions with hairdressers, barbers, gyms, cinemas and churches reopening from 29 June. Also on that day, travel restrictions within the country will be lifted and people can go anywhere in Ireland.

On 29 June, I hired a car and drove to Dublin to meet FirstDate38. It had been a month since our virtual date, and there was a lot of reason to be optimistic about this meeting her. We settled on meeting at the coffee stand across from the entrance to the zoo at Phoenix Park. It was outside, which was a definite plus at this point. I got there a bit early which is always a goal of mine when traveling so far.  So, I was drove around and saw the deer that freely roam (by roam, I mean mostly stand around) in this park in the middle of the capitol of Ireland. There was a quick hug when she arrived, and I’ll admit it seemed awkward and not at all what I was expecting after waiting a month to meet.

We walked into town to find a place to get a bite. Restaurants had just opened, so the idea of getting food and drinks was exciting. We walked for a good 20 minutes and it didn’t look like any restaurants were jumping at the chance to open. So when we saw a dive of a place open, we went up and asked to be seated outside. Pints were ordered and served, and we asked for some menus. At this time, you could only get drinks if you also ordered a substantial meal. Leo Varadkar’s government will be SHOCKED to find out that we drank our drinks without ever being asked to order any food!

Over the one pint, I got the feeling that I was being friendzoned. She mentioned several times about really wanting to find an Irish guy. I mean, while I am definitely Irish in DNA, I just don’t have the accent and quaint quirks that make one truly Irish. A month after our face-to-face date, I noticed that her Facebook status had changed to “In a Relationship”. She had found her Irish Lad in Cork. I am happy for her, and we remain Facebook friends.

(Last Dated – June 2020)