Day 168: Tough Soles

Day 168 - Tuesday, September 25th 2018: Greystones to Dalkey 19 km / Total 3469 km, 16°C, cloudy I had a great surprise that morning: Zoe didn't make me an Irish Breakfast. It was like she read into my mind: she made me a healthy and organic breakfast. All I needed! Pro-biotic yogourt, bread with avocado, porridge with coconut milk, apple juice! On that day, I was going to meet Carl & Ellie, who were going to walk with me. I was worried to be late as my breakfast took longer than expected, but their bus was late as well and made them miss the train, so the timing was actually perfect, and I had enough time to take a look at the town centre before joining them at the DART station. I was very happy to meet them, not only because I'm a great fan of the videos they make for each National Waymarked Trails they walked but also because their story was a great help and mind support for me. As I was walking alone, I didn't know if for example, the logistical problem I was dealing with sometimes, was normal or not. I think I learnt a lot thanks to them, about the gear, about the National Waymarked Trails of Ireland of course, etc.  So it was great to have the opportunity to exchange with them, about our equipment, about Ireland, the lack of public bins, or footpath.  That was funny because when they arrived in Greystones, they asked me about my name because on social media, I never mentioned it, neither that I'm French or a woman. Just a neutral walker.  Together we took the cliff walk between Greystones and Bray. It was good not to have to deal with the cars on that day. And as we were talking, I didn't feel my feet, my mind didn't focus on the pain. And in fact, at the end of the day, they were not painful, I was just tired because I spoke the whole day, which didn't happen to me since my mother visited me last June. In Bray, we went to a pizza place where they offered me my lunch. As I got out of the bathroom, I said "I can see we are close to the big city, because now there's mix tap". So I explained to them how disturbing for me it was to get the separate tap, with left hand hot and right-hand cold. And Ellie looked at Carl and asked: "It's not normal ?" and Carl said no. So I guess it's normal in Ireland, in the United Kingdom as well, but definitely not for anyone coming from the continent.  Then we walked a little bit in the urban area and had to deal with the railway until we could find a way to join the beach. Walking in the sand was still more tiring than on the tarmac, but looking behind us, we had a wonderful view of the bay and the Wicklow Mountains in the background.  We finished the day in Dalkey, where the coastline suddenly turned West into Dublin's Bay. Just before we reached the DART station, Ellie learnt that she was accepted into her master. I felt very happy for her. Then she gave me her Leap card to take the DART, while they were taking the bus to go back home. I didn't find any cheap accommodation in Dalkey nor Dun Laoghaire, so I booked a hostel in Dublin, that's why I had to take the DART. That was also the occasion to try that urban train. I just didn't expect to reach Dublin centre exactly during the rush hour. There was suddenly so many people around me, so many people leaving work on a bike, so many buses and cars. So noisy. My hostel was near Temple Bar, just in front of the Liffey River, but I didn't cross it. I dropped my bag and went out to find something to eat for dinner. As usual, I went to Super Valu and found the food that I missed: salad, fruits, smoothie and cheese. Despite my hostel was in the centre and tourist area, the place was quiet enough. And after a hot shower, I went directly to bed at ... 8 pm. In a hostel, that is unusual.