#Dublin

Tuesday: Dalkey

Posted on by Susan

 

20191001_132526This morning’s weather was rainy, windy, cold, and generally miserable. We still followed through with our plan to go to Dalkey, a suburb of Dublin that is about a half-hour train ride from Dublin.

My cousin lives there (she is in the U.S. for a few weeks so we had to change our plans to spend a few days there this week) and so does Van Morrison, Bono, Sinead O’Connor, and some other interesting people. Dalkey is a charming city and even though we were not going to stay there, it was still worth checking out.

Or was it?

The walk to the Dublin train station was a bit of a struggle with the wind but we got there eventually and didn’t have to wait long for a train.

Once in Dalkey, it seemed to be even colder, windier, and it continued to rain as we walked into town.

We were content to sit in a warm, dry coffee shop for a while and then left and tried to enjoy the shops on the main street.

Eventually we had some delicious seafood chowder and decided to go back to Dublin. It was not the best day to visit Dalkey. The train on the way back was delayed for an hour because of the weather and I was grateful we were sitting in it rather than waiting on the platform.

Eventually we realized that the train we were on aas not going to our intended destination, so we got off and waited for another one – frustrating.

We walked back to our hotel and have a fun dinner with our Ireland-based niece near where we are staying. This salvaged our otherwise cold day.

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Monday: Dublin

Posted on by Susan

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It is a rainy day in Dublin but we still made the most of it. First, I was happy to see a 24-hour gym directly across the street from where we are staying. I was there at 6am and on the rower for 45 minutes, my first good exercise (aside from a ton of walking) in a week. It’s a nice place and well used. Tomorrow I’ll remember a towel!

I sat in a nearby coffee shop after that and was happy to read my book before going back to the hotel for breakfast. It’s always interesting to see what Breakfast Included ends up meaning, and this was a fine selection of coffee, tea, and cold food.

We walked to Trinity College after that, where my traveling companion/husband saw the Book of Kels (I had been there before) and the very impressive library there. I walked around the city and popped into some shops before meeting up with him again an hour later.

We walked to the river and checked out some places near there, then had lunch as it poured outside. We went back to the hotel where he left me so I could do some work.

photos: above – a pigeon staying warm on a light. below – breakfast; gym rower is perfectly positioned under a nice cool open window

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Sunday: Dublin

Posted on by Susan

We left Edinburgh after breakfast this morning, and the bus to the airport was conveniently across the street from our hotel. We hopped on (well, our luggage weighs a ton so we didn’t exactly hop).

Our flight left about a half-hour late, but we were in no rush. The flight was on a small plane(70 passengers) and packed.

Once at the airport and through customs, we got our baggage and looked for the bus to Dublin Centre. We found it pretty easily, and an hour later we were at our hotel.

The hotel is hip and terrific. Our room is spare but nice, and we are in such a great location, within walking distance to some great pubs, restaurants, and shops. It is a happening place here and (bonus) I’m happy to have found a gym right across the street. I’ll be there in the morning.

We found a restaurant in our walk around the hotel neighborhood and I was able to get Sunday brunch: eggs, corn, polenta plus a delicious mojito.

We left and were sucked into a chocolate shoppe where we sat outside with a dark chocolate hot chocolate (me) and a latte (him). Drinks come with a complimentary chocolate, so there was that.

Tomorrow, Trinity College.