There came a point in our wandering when a visit to a toilet became necessary. No euphemisms here--they are not called restrooms, washrooms, lavatories, powder rooms, or anything else. They are toilets, with the Irish word, leithras, usually printed underneath in italics. I admit that I am not yet used to this--it sounds impolite to my ear, even though I know that it is nothing of the kind here. I find my own discomfort interesting. Noticing the differences between the culture of communication here and in the various places within the US in which I have spent time is endlessly fascinating to me. In this case, the words used are not the only differences. In the US the words seem to add a sort of a veneer over the actual purpose of a person's visit to that particular space. I mean, I have never once gone into a 'restroom' to actually rest, so 'toilet' is quite appropriate! What is nice about public toilets here is that they actually are like wee rooms. The doors and 'walls' between stalls actually reach just about down to the floor. There is far more privacy.
Anyway, we decided that a likely bet for a toilet would be the Courtyard Shopping Centre, right on Main Street, so in we went. We are by now so unaccustomed to shopping centres and malls that it is always a bit disorienting, but that just means we notice more stuff. This time it was the travelator. These seemed to be the only way to get from one level to another, which we had to do if we were to achieve our goal. I did not see the instructions for use and the warnings until I was already down on the lower level.
There were flags all over the place--not just Irish, though mostly that. Everyone is all jacked up about Euro 2016, taking place now in France. This is a football (soccer) tournament. Both Northern Ireland and the republic are competing. Hopefully everyone shopping at this store will keep their receipts--you never know!
Hope your weekend is lovely wherever you are!
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