Ireland day 0916. Monday 01 April 2024- Konkan2 *

Ireland day 0916. Monday 01 April 2024- Konkan2

Today’s summary	We had a completely free Easter Monday so in the morning Val made some “blaas” and went for a run while I stretched my legs along the lagoonside path. After a light lunch, we spent the afternoon relaxing and reading then went into Dublin for dinner at the Konkan Indian restaurant. It’s our second time of visiting and we were bought a voucher by one of the family. Excellent, as last time
Today’s weather	Overcast with a little drizzle. No sun. Moderate easterly wind. Appx 8c

Today’s overview location (The grey mark shows the location of my route)		Close-up location (The orange line shows where I walked) (Click button below to download GPX of today’s walk as recorded, or see interactive map at bottom with elevations corrected): Grey lagoonside stroll

Commentary

(Summary blog only. Last full blog was Day 0368).

Easter Monday has passed relatively quietly for us this year. We were awoken by the sound of no 131- a Q-class 4-4-0 steam engine – racing through Malahide station on an early morning “Easter Eggstravaganza special” run to Dundalk. The evocative smell of steam and coal briefly filled our bedroom, bringing back for me at least happy memories of childhood train adventures with my grandad.

Once galvanised into action, we got up, and Val surprised everyone (well me) by making some blaas from an Irish bread recipe book she bought up at the Strokestown famine museum. They look and smell delicious and I’m looking forward to testing one shortly.

She then decided to take herself off on a another training run so while she was out, I went for a short walk along the lagoon shore. I would really like to be running, too, but my hip surgeon has cautioned against it so I am making do with lower-impact walking for the time being.

After a light lunch, I surprised myself by briefly falling asleep on the sofa. This has happened a couple of times recently and I am worried that it is a sign of old age. Mind you it is quite nice to drift off for a while every now and then.

For the evening, we headed into Dublin to pay a return visit to “Konkan” Indian restaurant in Clanbrassil Street. We had been a couple of years ago and really enjoyed it, so when a family member bought us a “dine out” voucher recently, we had no hesitation about using it tonight at a favourite restaurant (especially now the Kathmandu Kitchen has closed).

We went in by DART and No. 16 bus and thoroughly enjoyed our meal. We were the only diners(!) but the restaurant was doing a steady trade in take-aways. A thoroughly enjoyable meal, so many thanks to K&D for the voucher!. A reverse bus and DART journey saw us swiftly back in Malahide afterwards, before it even got dark. A great day, all round.

Today’s photos (click to enlarge)


Preparations for the new season underway up at the cricket pitch in the Castle demesne.	I can’t decide if this is Abutilon vitifolium or Lavatera maritima. Either way, it was growing in someone’s front garden, adjoining the Swords Road, and brought a colourful flourish to the roadside

Spring bulbs popping up in the Seabury Estate	Heading back to Malahide for lunch. The weather was like this all day, with a bit of drizzle thrown in for good measure later on

*Val’s first ever attempt to make Waterford blaas. They look delicious and hopefully we will be enjoying them for breakfast shortly*

Diners at ease