Ireland and UK Holiday 2015, 21st May
Lyn and Guy reach Dublin
Early morning we arived at Abu Dhabi airport, the old one. In the distance is the huge new one to be finished in 2017. It seems that it is being built to totally outdo the one at Dubai used by Emirates, big rivalry there.
Flight from Dubai to Dublin about 7.5 hours in an Airbus A330, more comfortable and quieter to travel in than the horrible Boeing 777 that took us on the first leg. The Boeing was significantly noisier and more uncomfortable seating than the Airbus desite the same over the wing seating, and that was the same as earlier flights we have done with direct comparisons. Travel Airbus if you can.
About 2:30 pm we arrived in Dublin, the easiest entry to any country ever done. No forms, join the queue, stamp the passport, grab the bags, leave the terminal and catch a bus to the city. No inspections, no X-Ray of baggage, very smooth and easy, which is good for a frazzled traveller who has not slept much at all for a couple of days.
Got off the bus in the city and a very short walk around the corner to The Gate Hotel. Nothing fancy at all but comfortable and quiet. OK the associated restaurant and night club has rock bands and traditional music and that is heard a bit but never kept us awake.
Before we hit the pillows we went for a walk up and down Parnell Street which is one of the main streets here. We resolved earlier to buy a cheap Sat Nav when we arrived to make sure we could get around a bit easier when we get the car in a few days, so visited Argos, a strange catalogue store where you pick stuff from a book, find if in stock, then go to a pay machine to buy it, then wait for the goods to come from the storeroom. Easy but strange.
Next was some food, Parnell Street has plenty of offer and in the end we chose a cheap eatery where we bought Turkish chicken Kebabs made by a vivacious Russian girl running the shop, what could be more Irish than that?
Ready to land in Abu Dhabi.......
At least the new control tower seems built, but the new main terminal is 2 years away [2017?].......
The planes park anywhere and buses take us to the old terminal......
View of our plane from the bus, hence the window reflections.......
Then 8 hours or so later, our Etihad Airbus A330 in Dublin airport......
