a quiet spot in Dublin
Ireland '23 - Day 1 - Dublin arrival
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On Friday, Oct. 13, my Chicago - Dublin flight arrived at 11 am to Terminal 2. After getting luggage I got a Nero coffee & enjoyed strolling around for 20 minutes. Downstairs I caught 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, which even for one person was too tiny, only as wide as the bed was long, maybe 78 inches. There was no closet & only two hooks to hang clothes. (Two persons staying here would be a bad idea, no matter how much you like them.)
Above the bed, a narrow pop-out window opened at street level & brought the sound of trams & people walking by, but Harcourt is not that busy of a street, and thankfully it faced a side lane.
Due to lack of sleep on the Atlantic crossing, I tried to nap around 2 pm, but an adjacent construction site, in the excavation phase, generated a constant barrage of banging & metal-scraping sounds, so I gave in & 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 & shaded paths. Two of three entrances to the Gardens are somewhat 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, essentially 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, a model of philanthropy. You can learn a lot about Ireland's tumultuous struggle for independence in the 1920s and beyond, based on the statuary & memorial displays here.
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 'walking in Dublin' comments).
Back at the Hotel, I enjoyed a 5 pm dinner upstairs, in an attractive restaurant, with a great menu. Few diners were there at this early hour. 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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