- Simon Lane
Updated: Sep 30, 2021
All too quickly our time in Dubai was over and we were packing up yet again for our final travel leg: Dubai to Dublin by plane and then Dublin to Cork by bus.
Our final day in the UAE was spent in the Hatta area with a healthy mix of hearts (may the record state that I shot the moon to win the game) and kayaking before returning to Dubai for dumplings shared under the Burj Khalifa.
Post-hike up to the dam in Hatta with Eoin and Sarah, adventures in marital kayaking… and post-lunch mural photos – this one’s for you, Dad!
At the Mall Of The Emirates and looking up at 800–plus metres of the tallest building in the world
In yet another marathon Tetris packing mission, we repacked our bags and assembled for our 4am wake-up call with Waffle the cat helping throughout (Simon is Waffle’s favourite person and she couldn’t get close enough, including jumping in and out of our suitcases). All too soon we were running the checking in baggage limit gauntlet and successfully avoiding excess baggage fees before boarding our flight to Dublin! It would be off-brand for us not to comment on the caffeine offerings and we can happily report that the Jones The Grocer departures outlet does live up to its promise of good coffee. It definitely hit the spot in terms of our overall sleep deprivation and impending travel four hours backwards to Irish time.
Ready to fly north!
Touching down to blue skies in Dublin was an early lesson that weather changes quickly in Ireland and by the time we were on the bus heading south to Cork, the afternoon light and the rain were closing in. After landing, we began the immigration process (more on this in another post) before collecting our luggage and sharing a pre-bus ride ‘Mighty Irish Breakfast’. I am very happy to report that my earlier endorsements of Irish bacon were upheld in the Mighty Irish Brekky and Simon is now an initiate and convert to the traditional delicacies of black pudding and white pudding (again, more on this at a future date).
Snapshots of Dublin including those blue skies – we are looking forward to a proper stint in the capital as soon as permits!
We arrived in Cork slightly ahead of schedule with our host Rob picking us up before the cold really got into our bones and fatigue from a full day of travel could make us entirely delirious. At Rob’s place just outside the Cork centre, we enjoyed our first night in our new home city with the local seasonal meal of spiced beef shared in outstanding company. Rob’s place is lovely and we’re very grateful to feel at home already.
As we don’t have any further photos from our arrival, I’ll close with my mum’s welcome message that seemed to echo as we were driving through the historic streets of Dublin and then getting off the bus at Patrick’s Quay by the River Lee, Cork: “Welcome to the island of saints and scholars.”
