Ireland day 0073. Friday 10 December 2021- Hirecar

Ireland day 0073. Friday 10 December 2021- Hirecar
Today’s summary Picked up a hire car from the airport then went shopping.   Robswall walk in evening while Val was at work
Today’s weather Light cloud, occasional sun.   Slight breeze, no rain.   Appx 7C
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Today’s overview location
(the red cross in a circle shows where Val and I are at the moment)
Close-up location
(Click button below to download a GPX of this evening’s walk)
Reverse Robswall
Commentary

Many readers will, I am sure, be wondering why I am going on about a hire car when we are just about to take delivery of our very own vintage Yaris.   Well the main problem is that actually we aren’t just about to take delivery of our very own vintage Yaris.   How come?

Well simple – the current owner still hasn’t found the vehicle registration document so has, apparently, applied for a replacement one from the NDLS.   I have a strong suspicion that the process for obtaining a replacement copy may be about as quick and efficient as it was to get our PPS numbers.   So we could be waiting for some time.   I have reached the conclusion that it’s probably worth waiting till the new year before implementing Plan B, though, as we can probably just about manage without transport till then.

(Though all this is also having a knock on effect on our plan to get Irish driving licences.  Don’t ask me to go into the details as it’s brain-achingly complicated, but the upshot is that, annoyingly,  we will probably have to get our eyes tested again in the New Year.)

Anyway, having said we can just about manage without a car till next year, there are actually a couple of events coming up this weekend which I don’t want to miss and which are practically impossible to get to by public transport.   You can read about them when the time comes but it worked out that the best solution was simply to hire a car from the airport – where there is the biggest selection of vehicles and the lowest prices.   So we jumped on the 102 bus and followed the route which we practically know like the backs of our hands now, to the Budget desk at Terminal 2.

Having picked up our deluxe vehicle, we decided to make full use of it to collect the week’s shopping from Clare Hall Tesco.   The soaking I got last week while trying to do this on foot and by bus has made me a bit reluctant to attempt a repeat performance anytime soon.  So we made the most of it and picked up enough stuff to last us pretty much till Christmas – including the Christmas Dinner which you can see pictured in the banner image at the top of the blog.

We were back at the flat in time for lunch (a very healthy salmon salad that Val pulled together and which is now making me feel justified in eating chocolate biscuits) then I spent an hour on a video call comparing lifestyle notes with a friend in Houston.   The world’s a small place these days.

By the time I’d finished on the call, Val had delegated me the hoovering and dashed off to work.   So I gave the flat a thorough clean (which actually only took 5 minutes as it’s so small) then decided to head out into the fresh air.   I’d enjoyed the Robswall loop yesterday so much that I thought I’d give it another go – in reverse – this evening.   It was airy and refreshing (and dark) on top of the hill, with great 360° views over Dublin in the south and into the blackness of the sea where Lambay Island would be visible if it wasn’t actually invisible.

I contemplated the stacked lights of aircraft on the flight path to Dublin airport for a few moments then descended to the coast road and headed for home.

Now it’s sandwich-making time, as it’s an early start tomorrow and there’s nothing worse than trying to make lunch when you still haven’t had breakfast and just want to go back to bed.

 

Today’s photos (click to enlarge)

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Fabulously luxurious Kia Picanto which is all ours for the next 72 hours.   A snip at €20 a day Just in case you had forgotten what a shopping mall looks like.   I still love the way the trollies don’t fall off the escalators when they are going up and down
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Just in case you had forgotten what a shopping trolley looks like Glow of Dublin’s lights from the top of the Mullach Íde – or Hill of Ide, from which Malahide got its name
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Looking over towards Howth with the moon top right and incoming aircraft looking like a comet at the left The ghostly path just visible in the moonlight, leading off the summit of the Mullach Íde
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Well I’m going to blame the lighting
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