The last time my walking buddy CJ and I met up was on Easter, mostly due to the moody weather since then. We finally meet up today to take advantage of the warmer and drier conditions. On Thursdays, food trucks line up along a section of the Grand Canal — as I serendipitously learned on my first day out of self-quarantine back in October when walking to the U.S. Embassy to drop off my election ballot. Since our previous food truck quest was a flop, I feel the need to make it up to CJ this time. It did not disappoint! We arrive around 1:00pm, and place is bustling. We both ordered a chicken dumpling lunch special for €10 with edamame, jasmine rice, kimchi, and fried shallots… it was very tasty!
With a successful lunch under our belts (literally), we continue on to our ultimate destination — Herbert Park, where the cherry blossoms are reportedly in full bloom. We meander through the side streets of Ballsbridge, home of many diplomatic offices including the U.S. Embassy, as well as some very upscale properties. Amazon also has an office near the canal, even though they have not launched an Ireland-dedicated site yet.
The U.S. Embassy:
In all, we clock in 13,000+ steps round trip… one of our longer walks! A map for reference:
In COVID news, Ireland has expanded the list of countries subject to its mandatory hotel quarantine travel policy. Effective today, passengers arriving to Ireland from an additional 16 countries, including the U.S., Canada, France, Belgium and Italy, must quarantine in government-designated hotels for 12 nights at a minimum cost of €1,875.
Travelers subject to mandatory hotel quarantine include:
• Anyone from a higher risk country on the ‘designated country’ list.
*** This is regardless of whether or not they have a negative COVID test result or have been vaccinated, although there have been calls for exemptions to be made in these cases. ***
• Anyone from countries not on the designated high risk list who do not have a negative PCR test taken within 72 hours prior to arrival.
• Anyone who has transited through a designated country 14 days before arrival, even if they did not leave the port/airport.
Airlines are not supposed to allow passengers from designated high risk countries to board flights to Ireland unless they show proof of a hotel quarantine booking. However, some travelers have been falling through the cracks and arrive to Ireland without a hotel booking, which has strained the already limited availability of rooms. As a result, the Irish government has paused any new hotel quarantine bookings until next Monday and issued a stern reminder to airlines of the new requirements.
Until next time….
