Ireland day 1267. Tuesday 18 March 2025- Hoka Shoes

Today’s summary	Had a morning in the flat on a video call to a friend in London then spent another hour on my Spanish homework. After prosciutto and focaccia lunch, caught a train into Dublin to go to the sports shop to pick up some Hoka trainers I ordered a couple of weeks ago. Returned via the National Gallery café and Pearse station then finished off the lamb casserole for dinner. More “Mad Men” and some Vancouver mountain films in the evening
Today’s weather	Dry sunny and chilly again, with plenty of sun. Moderate easterly wind. Appx 8c

Today’s overview location (The blue mark shows the location of our route)		Close-up location (The blue line shows where we walked) (Click button below to download GPX of today’s walk as recorded, or see interactive map at bottom with elevations corrected): Dublin to buy Hoka shoes

Commentary

A couple of weeks ago, on the recommendation of friends, I had gone into Dublin to try and buy a pair of Hoka “Bondi 9” running shoes. They are supposed to be especially well padded and good for people like me with dodgy hips. Unfortunately the Dublin Hoka outlet, Run & Logic, didn’t have the model I wanted in stock, so I ordered them. Anyway to cut a long story short, I got a message on Friday saying that they had been delivered, and today I went in, with Val, to collect them.

But first..

Once up and about this morning, I had a video call with a friend in London, and while I was online, Val went out on a run. Next I tried to fix the printer (again) – hopefully this time with a bit more success than last time I had a go. Only time will tell! Next, I set about doing some more Spanish homework. Like yesterday, I limited myself to one hour. If I try to do too much in one go, it’s too daunting and I might be tempted not to bother at all.

By this time it was 12:30 and time for lunch. I made us some prosciutto and ciabatta salad sandwiches, which were very nice, and finished it off with coffees from my machine.

The afternoon was spent on a quick train journey into Connolly with Val (and I still can’t get over the fact that these are all free!) then a stroll across town to Run Logic to pick up my shoes. I’m pleased to say that they fitted perfectly and I’m looking forward to taking them on a short jog to see how I get on.

Rather than returning directly to Malahide, we chose to walk across to Pearse station via the shops of South Dublin. Val wanted to drop into Brown Thomas along the way, so I was safely deposited in front of the 80-inch OLED TVs in the electronics department while she went to look for a hairbrush. Sadly, both of us came away empty-handed, which was probably a good thing in retrospect.

Worn out by this overdose of retail therapy, we made our way to the National Gallery in time to catch a cup of tea before the café closed. Then it was just a short walk down to Pearse station and an even shorter wait for a diesel to whisk us to Malahide. We were both hungry so as soon as we got back we heated up the last of the lamb casserole, which we enjoyed with wholegrain rice and finished off with frosted buns. Nice.

Now I’m going to sign off because there’s lots to be done this evening. I want to watch another couple of Vancouver mountain films, then perhaps some more “Mad Men”. But first of all, I’m going to try on the Hokas and start breaking them in in the relative security of our apartment. I don’t want to go flat on my face the first time I try them out in the public arena 😉

Today’s photos (click to enlarge)


The “Chariot of Life” sculpture (at the right hand side, buried in the fountain) outside the Irish Life offices	Pottering about on the Liffey

Café at the National Gallery provided much needed refreshment after an arduous afternoon shopping	Pearse station, about to cross over to the other platform to wait for the train to Malahide



Run Logic, in Essex Street West. A nice shop, very friendly