Ireland day 1399. Monday 28 July 2025- First Cervantes

Today’s summary	Spent much of the day getting ready for my first Spanish class at Cervantes in Dublin this evening. Fuller report on that tomorrow. Val cut my hair in the morning then we went on a short walk to the shops and had lentil curry for lunch. Caught a train into Dublin about 4:30 ready for the start of the three hour lesson at 6pm.
Today’s weather	Dry and breezy with light cloud and occasional sun. Blustery north westerly wind. Appx 19c

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): Hanlon and Marina

Commentary

Today is quite significant for me in that I’m about to embark on a five week “semi intensive” five week Spanish course at the Cervantes Institute in Dublin. There are two three hour classes every week, running from 6 to 9 pm every Monday and Wednesday, and today is the first.

I don’t really know what to expect though I am pretty sure that I will be exhausted at the end of it. In the pre- signup written and oral tests I was assessed as being at level A2.3 and so have been put in a class at that proficiency. My main worry is that this is a bit of an over-assessment, as I find understanding conversations at this level very hard. Anyway tonight I will find out – though I am preparing to ask to move down a level if I’m out of my depth. Let’s see. I will report back tomorrow.

So, once Val had cut my hair with our new trimmers (ker-ching – that’s €20 saved), much of the rest of morning was spent getting ready for the class. Notebooks to be found, reading materials to be downloaded and textbooks to be prepared. Eventually I had done as much as I could, short of going to live in Spain. “Estoy listo”, as they say.

Once I was all sorted out, Val and I had a cup of coffee and ventured out on a short walk. There were a few bits and pieces we needed to get at the An Post and at SuperValu so we aimed for there, adding on a quick jaunt down Hanlon’s Lane and round the marina in the way.

But now it’s 4:30 so it’s time to stop and to head down to the station. I know it’s ages before my class starts but I don’t want everything to be a last minute rush. Wish me luck!

Today’s photos (click to enlarge)


Looking over to the Casino model railway museum – no signs of last Saturday’s market were visible. They have done a good job of tidying up	Hanlon’s Lane – a favourite short walk – looking north in the direction of the Broadmeadow lagoon

*Lots of these perennial sow-thistles (Sonchus arvensis) popping up all over the place at the moment. Many are in full bloom, with some already shedding their fluffy dandelion-like seed heads*	Another picture of the hanging baskets near the station bridge – still as beautiful as ever. A real asset to Malahide



Joining instructions for my “semi intensive” Spanish course staring today. I keep having to remind myself that all this work is entirely voluntary!