Ireland day 1140. Monday 11 November 2024- UK Guests Day 2

Today’s summary	An early start this morning as our guests had a meeting in Dublin at 9:30am so we were up by 7 to allow plenty of time for breakfasts. While they were out, I went back to the Beaumont hospital for a post op check on the lesion I had removed from my chin a few weeks ago (all OK). Afterwards Val and I went for a light lunch at the Portmarnock Hotel then in the afternoon I walked up over the hill while Val went on a run. Dinner at “Siam” restaurant in the evening, once our guests got back from town
Today’s weather	Dry and quite bright. Hardly any wind. Appx 10c

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): Cooldown walk

Commentary

It feels like our feet have barely touched the ground since we returned from La Gomera a few days ago. Val was straight back into Wonderlights, while I busied myself with batch cooking a month’s worth of casseroles. Then yesterday, our guests arrived and we had a full-on afternoon of catching up on all the news and Wonderlighting. And today, the busy-ness continued.

Our visitors are on a mission at the moment to research some Irish family history, and had arranged a meeting at the Guinness Storehouse at 9:30am. To make sure they got in with plenty of time to spare, they elected to catch a train at about 8am, which in turn meant getting up at 7 to pull the breakfast together. Once they were off, Val and I relaxed a little over a couple of cups of tea. Then it was our turn to get out and about – destination today was the Beaumont Hospital.

A few weeks ago, I had a minor lesion removed from my chin and today was a post-op checkup to make sure everything was going according to plan. That necessitated a long wait in a hot stuffy waiting room with Dublin’s elderly and infirm. But eventually the consultant saw me and confirmed that the operation had been completely successful and that no further follow up was needed. Except that I have another, smaller, lesion on my back which will probably have to be taken off at some point, but that can wait for now.

Greatly relieved by the news, Val (who had waited patiently for me in the hospital canteen) and I treated ourselves to a celebratory cup of coffee and bowl of soup at the Portmarnock Hotel. It made a nice change from the Grand in Malahide – which is our usual go-to coffee destination. The view over the sea is certainly better, but the service is more haphazard. Anyway, it was a very welcome break.

Once refreshed and batteries recharged, we drove back to the flat and Val promptly decided to go out on a run (heroic!). I was feeling decidedly less heroic but in real need of some cool fresh air after a morning incarcerated in the hospital. So while she was running, I pulled on my trainers and walked up over Paddy’s Hill and back down to the coast through the Robswall estate. The weather was distincly cooler today but much more pleasant than lately, as the sky was clearer and it felt altogether a lot more fresh. There are rumours that colder weather still is on its way, but who knows. I guess we will find out soon enough.

Off for dinner at “Siam” restaurant in Malahide now that our guests have got back from town. Really looking forward to it!

Today’s photos (click to enlarge)


This morning’s view. Ugh. Glad to get out	At least the approach to the Beaumont hospital is nice, even if it isn’t exactly lovely inside. the miniature cyclamen are a real delight

Up in the demesne the afternoon, with autumn colours still looking good	A a splash of colour from hypericums still in full bloom on the Bawn Grove

The verges at the top pf Seamount have been fenced off for three years now, forcing pedestrians to access the Robswall estate by walking on the road. Feels like someone has a bit of a vendetta going on	Tide out but rapidly incoming. But nice to see the sea so calm for once

In the Portmarnock Hotel and Golf Links for a light lunch. Nice ambience but a bit slow service and quite pricey. There was only one other man in the restaurant while I was there!