a quiet spot in Dublin
Ireland '23 - Day 1 - Dublin arrival
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On Friday, Oct. 13, my flight to DUB arrived at 11 am, where I enjoyed strolling around Terminal 2 with a Nero coffee, before going downstairs & catching the T84 Express Bus into the City. The last of five stops is the Harcourt LUAS tram station, a short walk to Iveagh Garden Hotel, where I checked in before 1 pm.
I had reserved a 'Ciy Pod' budget room, down one level, and even for one person, it was tiny, only as wide as the bed was long, maybe 78 inches. There was no closet and only two hooks to hang clothes.
Above the bed, a pop-out window opened at street level & brought in the sound of trams & people walking by, but thankfully it faced a side lane.
Due to lack of sleep on the Atlantic crossing, I tried to nap around 2 pm, but a nearby construction site, in the excavation phase, generated a constant barrage of banging & metal-scraping sounds, so I took a walk, and Iveagh Gardens was just around the corner.
Built in 1865, Iveagh Gardens "were restored in the late 1990s, as a Victorian treasure". The eight-acre property has a nice variety of open & wooded paths. Two of three entrances to the Gardens are hard to find, which may be why Fodor's travel guide calls Iveagh Gardens "Dublin's best kept secret".
Dublin lies at 53+ degrees north, and the 4th image shows the low angle of sunlight on a fall afternoon.
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the hotel |
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Iveagh Garden maze |
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the falls |
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October light |
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a quiet spot in Dublin |
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Then it was a 30 minute walk SE to the Grand Canal, which I had imagined would be a quiet place to stroll, but on the south side there's a busy (one way) 3-lane thoroughfare.
Yet there were some quiet moments, and, two impressive canal barges slowly went by.
note - you can enlarge any part of a picture by left-clicking in and then out again (with some exceptions).
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barges |
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impressionistic St. Stephen's Green, see note | |
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same floor for bedroom & shower |
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note - St. Stephens Green, a 22-acre park, in the center of Dublin, was only a ten minute walk from the Hotel. In the 1880s, Sir A. E. Guinness of the brewing family had the garden features we see today built, and then gave the land to the City.
It was enjoyable walking around the City, on a sunny Friday afternoon, although I nearly stepped in front of a fast-moving e-scooter in the bike lane (see Epilogue for more 'walking in Dublin' comments).
Back at the Hotel, I enjoyed a 5 pm dinner upstairs, in an attractive restaurant, with a great menu. My first draft Guinness Stout of the trip was far more flavorful than at home, more like a meal, and you can enjoy it longer.
After dinner I took a second Guinness back to City Pod 5, but never finished it, falling asleep around 8 pm.
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