Today we travelled from London to Dublin, Ireland 🇮🇪 by train 🚞 and ferry ⛴.
I left the hotel extra early to make sure I did not get lost and miss my 9:10 AM train departure from Euston Station. It was only a six block walk, but I can get lost anywhere and I did not want to miss my train.
A block from the hotel I walked by Mabel’s Tavern.
As you can see from the sign, Mabel’s Tavern has been serving up brewskis since 1698.
I can’t believe the Red Sox and Yankees are going to play a baseball game in London.
As I continued my perambulation to the train station I encountered this sign.
That’s not good. My train leaves from Euston Station and it looks like the entrance to Euston Station is closed due to a water main break. When I arrived at Euston Station I was relieved to find that the driveway leading to the station was flooded and closed, but I was directed to walk to the side entrance and had no problem entering the main departure/arrival hall of the train station.
I spotted this memorial at the entrance to the train station. It is interesting to note that this memorial is to the men AND the women of the London Midland And Scottish Railway who served in the British Armed Forces during World War II. If you read last year’s Remembrance Day blog post, you know what the poppy wreaths are all about. If you didn’t read this blog post, shame on you.
I got to the train station an hour early and I immediately heard a voice over the loud speaker announce the imminent departure of my train for Holyhead.
This is the setup at the train station.
An obviously impatient group of people stand in the main departure/arrival hall staring up at the Jumbotron listing the upcoming arrivals and departures. This board lists the trains that are scheduled to depart in the next 30 minutes. When it is 10 minutes before the train’s departure time, the train’s departure track is posted on the board and a pleasant sounding woman with the thick English accent announces the imminent departure of the train and the identity of the train’s departure track. This causes a stampede of passengers from the main departure/arrival hall down the ramp to the departure track. It’s like the start of the Kentucky Derby. The bell rings “And They’re Off.”
When I heard the loud speaker, at 8:15 AM, announce the 8:25 departure of my 9:10 AM train on track 2, I got excited and, like a lumbering bison lugging a 50 pound suitcase, I joined the herd stampeding down the ramp to track 2. When I got to track 2 a friendly conductor checked my ticket and politely informed me that I was not allowed to board the 8:25 train to Holyhead because my ticket was for the 9:10 train to Holyhead. So I had to retrace my stampede route and lug my sad carcass and my 50 pound suitcase 🧳 back up the ramp to the main departure/arrival hall and join the herd waiting for the 9:10 Holyhead train’s departure announcement. At 9:00 AM the departure announcement blared over the loud speaker and a herd of passengers shot out of the starting gate. By this time my Fitbit was telling me that I had already walked 10,000 steps for the day and I was exhausted. No more running for me. I decided to take a position at the rear of the herd and amble, not run, down to the departure track. I boarded the train with just a few minutes to spare and enjoyed a pleasant 5 hour journey from London to Holyhead, Wales.
I boarded the 2:00 PM Irish Ferry bound for Dublin. There are various classes of service on this ferry. Because this is a car/truck and passenger ferry, they need a special lounge for the truck drivers. Kind of like a truck stop, except it is on a ferry.
The ticket agent talked me into upgrading my ticket to Club Class.
What a great deal. For 14 euros I got to sit in a BarcaLounger in front of a wall to ceiling window and eat all the free food I could cram down my gullet. When we got to Dublin I was so stuffed that I had to waddle down the gangplank.
This is a picture of the lighthouse guarding the entrance to Dublin harbor.
I just checked into the Diamond Apartments. This is the living room with a pullout sleeper coach.
And this is the bedroom.
The apartment is comfy and clean and right in the middle of town so it is close to all the tourist sights.
For dinner I had a rice bowl 🍚 from Bowls By Kwanchi Chan.
My bowl had steamed jasmine rice, flamed Irish free range chicken thighs rubbed with black garlic, steamed broccoli, roasted mushrooms and raw spinach, with a drizzle of ginger and onion sauce. It is a beautiful evening and I sat outside at a sidewalk table and watched the neighborhood denizens stroll by as I enjoyed my scrumptious rice bowl.
This is the restaurant’s grill master, Seamus O’Grady. I have never seen a Big Green Egg in a restaurant.
I hope everyone had a wonderful Wednesday.
Good night from Dublin.
AbeAndMarkontheCamino 