Our Trip to Dublin City

Every time I say "Dublin City" it puts the song in my head.  You know, the one about the girls being so pretty. 
Molly Malone Song

Although we haven't visited all that Dublin has to offer we did get to see a small amount.
Below is some pictures I took while there. 

Below and above is the famous Liffey River.  It runs right through the middle of Dublin.  We get to see this river quite often since it flows near our home as well.

 For those needing to learn to speak English.

 This was the building (from a distance) that had the sign on it.

 Inside the building that the kids are standing in front of was a church we attended.  This photo gives you the opportunity to see how narrow the streets can be in Ireland.   

It can rain here at any moment without notice.  Below is a typical view looking out the car window.

 We are hoping to go to the Leprechaun Museum while here.  How often do you get to see a Museum like that?

 Irish has proven (to me) to be one of the more difficult languages to pronounce.  Every time I take a guess I later find out that I wasn't even close. 

 You will most likely see a lot of pictures like the one below.  I have thoroughly enjoyed the roof-top flowers.

 Below is the typical doors you see in Dublin.

The Catholic faith is quite strong here so it was no surprise to see this statue up high on the side of someones home.

 I am finally not closing my eyes while Paul drives.  I have learned to adopt the motto in the picture below.  The next step is to learn to drive in this country myself.  We'll see how that goes....

Breakfast in Ireland

When looking for bacon this is what I found.  At first I thought they didn't have bacon then I realized they do, it's just different.  These are called Rashers.  They are "Bacon" Rashers.  I have eaten only the smoked Rashers.  These in particular made me think of bacon and ham mixed in one.  They do not crisp very well and therefore taste more like ham.  They were also very salty.  But since we don't have American bacon, these will do for now. 

One of my favorite things about Ireland is that they sale their eggs in green cartons.  It made it seem so much more Irish to be green.  They did have some cartons with other colors but I just had to get the green ones, of course.  These eggs taste much more fresh then the ones at home.  The yokes are stronger in flavor and are much bigger.  The container says large but they are more like our extra-large.  I think I am going to get spoiled with these.  Something else different about these eggs is that all of Ireland's eggs are sold on the shelf without refrigeration. 

The last thing about breakfast time here in Ireland is my discovery of half and half.  They don't have any.  I searched and searched for it to no avail.  I later asked the courtesy clerk and she looked at me with a blank stare.  I explained that it was similar to cream.  Her eyes lit up and she said, "I don't know what half and half is but we do have cream."  But, she said it in an Irish accent which made it sound so much better than what you are reading here.  I have grown to absolutely love cream in my coffee but I think I'm going to get fat!

Raspberries in the Backyard

Tator-Tot's favorite thing to do around here is pick raspberries.  She hates waiting for them but loves eating them!  We are getting much better at knowing when they are ripe. 

Some New Things Here in Ireland

Getting used to the newness of everything isn't always easy but is is possible.  When I think about it, dealing with the new is what I was so nervous about.  We all want a little newness when traveling, if not, we wouldn't go anywhere.  We choose to go on vacations not just for the relaxation but instead to get away from the "same-ole-same" way of life.  But, to have so much of a change for such a long time, seemed a little frightening.  I'm learning it isn't so bad just different.

Some changes for us have been learning to cook in Celsius.  If you google Celsius to Fahrenheit conversions, you will discover just how easy it is to find out.  I am getting good at remembering, in case my computer isn't working.

I no longer can use my old way of doing things.  For instance, ounces, cups and pounds are no longer in the vocabulary.  It is now grams and milliliters. 

I'll be posting more about the differences between America and Ireland.  There is PLENTY to post. 

Our First Trip to the Irish Sea

 This dog appeared out of no where.  After trying to play with us for a bit he just kept running up and down the coast barking.  He looked like he was having the time of his life.

She decided to go a little farther into the water then we wanted her to.  Paul is trying to help warm her hands here.  The Irish waters are not something you want to swim in due to the temperatures.  Soon after we had to get her dried and dressed. 

The Diversity of People

One of the best parts about coming to Ireland is all of the people we have met.  I guess I never realized geographically where I was going to be.  People from all over the world come here, many of them living and working here.  So far we have met people from Poland, Brazil, Scotland, England, Greece, Lithuania, Sweden and of course, Ireland.  (we have only been living here for 1 week)

The snails are rampant here.  I get nervous sometimes that we might step on them.  I have a love hate relationship with them.  They eat everything in site and are little destroyers.  But the little boogers are so darn cute.  When you think about it, you can actually buy snails in the pet store.  For now, since we are from the desert, we are just trying to enjoy them.  The first picture below is of a snail near the roof of our home.  I stepped out the door and looked up to see him just-a-hanging out. 

Below is one eating our beautiful lilies. 

A Walk in the Local Village

The kids and and I ventured out for a walk in our local village.  It is with-in minutes of our home.  Being in the village is both peaceful and busy.  There is quite a bit of people that visit it but since it's an Irish village it has a peacefulness about it even among the bussel.  I have been bringing my small camera along since I didn't know what to expect.  The larger one is a bit more heavy and cumbersome.  I will soon be bringing it with us and then I can get some good shots.  (I'm hoping) For now I will have to post what I have. 

I didn't get pictures of everything in the village.  Some discoveries I made were a post-office, convenience stores, Hallmark, several more gift shops, sandwich shop with coffee and tea, Catholic church and school, playground, flower shop, Fuji Film store, a few clothing stores (of which we can't afford), a couple of pubs, pharmacies, a few different restaurants, and a video rental store.  I didn't list them all, only what I could remember.  I am learning that the Irish are experts at fitting a lot into a small space. 

Our local gas station

 I just love the flowers outside the windows.  This is on the top floor.

 Black Pudding is sold in the local gas station. (In case you want to get some blood pudding on your way home.)

  Looking into town

 A couple of bridges near the playground.

 Moss grows everywhere here even on our homes.

My new found love, O'Brien's.

The feeling of fatigue consistenly tries to reappear.  Today the sun is shining a little bit more than yesterday.  I can remember being in the desert and wanting clouds and rain.  Now that I am here I crave the sunshine.  Such a bizarre twist of things.  It goes to show just how much man (and woman) is never quite satisfied. 
Below is a picture of my view as passenger while Paul drives on the left side of the road in the right side of the car.  Thankfully he has had an automatic.  When he was here in May he had a manual which meant that he was shifting with his left hand. 
It is also a good view of the Irish weather.

Good Morning from the Land of Green

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6RNJ6HDTpU

We have arrived in Ireland

We have arrived in Ireland.  I didn't get a chance to put out an update about us leaving since our lives became so hectic the last couple of weeks before our departure.  I am so happy to be able to sit still long enough to blog as well as have Internet access. 
So far, each of us have had either the flu, head cold, back-ache, head-ache, delirious feeling, exhaustion, and home-sickness.  It has been a bit difficult to get used to but we are doing much better.  We arrived on Friday and Saturday was quite sunny.  Sunday and today have been extremely rainy and cloudy.  We heard from some locals that it isn't normally this rainy during June and July.  So we are hoping it will get better.  We already feel the effects of no sunshine. 
I will be posting some pics soon. We need to get out more to be able to get some pictures. We do have a few so keep a look out for the posting of them.
Below is a picture of us about to leave on the plane from New Mexico to Chicago.  Paul and Sunshine are in the background.  You can't see Babby (that's what we are calling our son since this is a public blog) because he is behind Tator-Tot.  Tator-Tot was so very excited to go.  She kept talking about going in the sky.  This particular plane was very tiny and very stuffy. 

One last look at the New Mexico mountains, not the best view of them.

 The view of Lake Michigan while flying into Chicago.

 Last look at American flags.

 This is all we saw of Chicago besides the inside of the airport. 

 First place we stopped at after making it through customs.