Ireland day 1159. Saturday 30 November 2024- Leaving London

Today’s summary	Spent the morning meeting a friend and doing some shopping in London. In the afternoon, took tube and train to Gatwick then flew back to Dublin courtesy of Ryanair FR123. Then 102 bus to Malahide and back in the flat by about 9:30pm. Val returned from Wonderlights soon after me. Great to see her again!
Today’s weather	Overcast and drizzly but mild in London. Rain in Dublin. Light Southerly wind. Appx 14c

Today’s overview location (The blue line shows my route)		Close-up location (The blue mark shows my location) (No GPX today)

Commentary

Today was the last day of my brief visit to the UK. The morning was spent catching up with a friend who lives in Singapore but whose equally brief visit to London coincided with mine. There was of course a lot to discuss and it was interesting to compare his experience of living abroad with ours. I wasn’t surprised to learn that tax was at the top of his list of challenges, just as it has been for us.

Once we had gone our separate ways, I did a quick bit of Christmas shopping in the Covent Garden area, then started the long journey back to Dublin. It took only just over an hour to get to Gatwick so, as usual, I arrived miles too early. To compound the earliness, there was absolutely no queue at Security so I was through in under two minutes. Even with my hips! Amazing!

The time at Gatwick passed quite quickly then I was whisked to Dublin remarkably quickly, courtesy of Ryanair FR123. A quick hop on the 102 saw me back in the flat by about 9:30pm, just before Val the Worker returned from Wonderlights and at least half an hour sooner than I had expected

It has been an excellent, albeit brief, trip – but it’s great to be back with Val once more. And as always after trips like this, I am planning our next adventures already!

Today’s photos (click to enlarge)


Stanfords – used to be fantastic, but now it isn’t.	Foyles – used to be awful, but now it isn’t.

Have stood in many similar spots over thirty years working in London	Mad dash from train to airport. Actually the airport was fairly quiet, so it wasn’t too grim

Essential travelling companions	Enjoying the nocturnal ambience in the glamorous surroundings of Dublin Airport bus station

The Ivy – iconic London restaurant, now sadly sinking into Instagramageddon – as evidenced by the hideous plastic snowmen by the front door