Here are a few pictures from our trip.
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| Having fun at the Eiffel |
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| Connor in front of the Eiffel |
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| Connor and I on the banks of the Seine behind Notre Dame |
Monday, August 27, 2012
Magical Paris
We had such a wonderful time in Paris. It was warm and beautiful. I didn't realize I missed the warm weather so much. We had a great 3 days and I did not want to come back. There is a lot to write about and I'm too tired right now. But wanted to post that we are now safely back from our Paris adventure.
Here are a few pictures from our trip.
Here are a few pictures from our trip.
Sunday, August 19, 2012
This and that
I don't think I wrote much about my baby sitter search but I did find two good websites with listing of available baby sitters in the area: rollercoaster.ie and gumtree.ie. I wrote to a few and interviewed two people and used one this Saturday. I'm really happy that I found a good baby sitter for Connor and now Michael and I have the option of going out to places that we couldn't bring a baby to (ie. pubs, out with friends later than 8 pm, etc) and having date nights again once in a while.
On Saturday night we went to a friend's apartment for a dinner party. Our hostess, another couple and us all came to Dublin at the same time from the US and we know each other through my husband's company. Even before we came to Dublin, all the girls were writing to each other and sharing tips about clothes and shipping. It was great to catch up and see how everyone was doing after a month of being in Dublin. Our hostess also planned a beer tasting of 10 different types of beers and we all had sheets to rate them. It was a lot of fun and I learned that I really like Red Ales. I'm so glad we have friends who are going through the same things as us over here.
On Sunday we did a few touristy things and ate an Irish breakfast at a place called "The Bank" which was inside a former victorian style bank. We also went to Dublin Castle and to the Chester Beatty museum which is on the castle grounds. The museum was free and had a lot of interesting illustrated books and manuscripts.
It was a good weekend and now I can't wait until our Paris trip! We just booked our hotel in the St. Germain area. Friday just can't come any faster!
On Saturday night we went to a friend's apartment for a dinner party. Our hostess, another couple and us all came to Dublin at the same time from the US and we know each other through my husband's company. Even before we came to Dublin, all the girls were writing to each other and sharing tips about clothes and shipping. It was great to catch up and see how everyone was doing after a month of being in Dublin. Our hostess also planned a beer tasting of 10 different types of beers and we all had sheets to rate them. It was a lot of fun and I learned that I really like Red Ales. I'm so glad we have friends who are going through the same things as us over here.
On Sunday we did a few touristy things and ate an Irish breakfast at a place called "The Bank" which was inside a former victorian style bank. We also went to Dublin Castle and to the Chester Beatty museum which is on the castle grounds. The museum was free and had a lot of interesting illustrated books and manuscripts.
It was a good weekend and now I can't wait until our Paris trip! We just booked our hotel in the St. Germain area. Friday just can't come any faster!
Friday, August 17, 2012
Planning our next trip
We booked a trip to Paris, France for next weekend! I love Paris and it will be even more special bringing Connor there. Michael and I are both taking next Friday off work and flying to Paris on Friday morning. We come back on Sunday so it will be a short trip but a nice little break.
My work week has been extra busy and overwhelming again. I get the distinct feeling that everyone wants to pawn off the jobs they don't want to do on me. I definitely have to prove myself again and while I thought these next 2 years of work would be breezy, it is starting to not look that way.
But enough of work talk... Paris in a week!
Here is a picture of the last time Michael and I went to Paris in 2007. It is my most favorite trip that we have taken together.
My work week has been extra busy and overwhelming again. I get the distinct feeling that everyone wants to pawn off the jobs they don't want to do on me. I definitely have to prove myself again and while I thought these next 2 years of work would be breezy, it is starting to not look that way.
But enough of work talk... Paris in a week!
Here is a picture of the last time Michael and I went to Paris in 2007. It is my most favorite trip that we have taken together.
Sunday, August 12, 2012
Sleeping In
Connor let us sleep in both days this weekend which was very strange, unexpected, and somewhat delightful. I think he might have been a little under the weather so I don't know if this will be a normal occurence on the weekends. The sleeping in threw us off our schedule a little bit but I think I could have slept in the whole day. I don't feel like I've truly had enough sleep since Connor was born.
We did a lot of laundry this weekend. Our washer and dryer are smaller that what we are used to in the States so its takes a lot more loads to do the same size of laundry. Starting work and the trip to Edinburgh put me behind in the laundry department and we were trying to catch up this weekend. We're not quite there as now we also have to hang our clothes to dry (small dryer that won't work if the load is too heavy) and that takes around 2 days to dry. Atleast we do have a seperate washer and dryer as I have heard the washer/dryer in one combo is really bad for drying.
Something I do like is that I have a double oven. I have been using that a lot when I prepare our dinners. When I have two things to bake for two different temperatures, I have compartments for both. Its great. I don't have a microwave and surprisingly, I am doing ok without it.
On Saturday, we went to the Temple Bar food market which I expected would be like a farmers market back home with fresh veggies, fruits and baked goods for a good price. I was disappointed when I got to the food market. It is in a small area and did not have that many stalls. The stalls that were there were mainly food stands. The baked goods seemed overpriced and there were not any fruit/veggie stands. It seemed like it was only there for the tourists, not really for locals. We walked around for 15 minutes and left.
We also took a train to Kildare from the Heuston Station. It was a 45 train ride through the country. Kildare is known for their horses and there is a big horse race there every year. They also have an Outlet Mall! Michael needed some work shirts and I just wanted to see it. Connor liked the train ride and behaved very well. It was a nice train and had tables, wifi, and electrical outlets through out. When we arrived at Kildare, there was a complementary shuttle to the outlets. The outlet was smaller than the ones back home which I expected and the stores were pretty posh. I missed my Ann Taylor and Loft stores. I didn't recognize a lot of the names of the stores but they were nice but not really my style. I did buy a really nice wallet at Ted Bakers which I could actually see myself wearing some of their clothes. There was a playground at the mall that we let Connor play in. There were also old ruins next to the outlet, which was pretty cool. Only in Europe!
On Sunday we woke up late and then went out to do some shopping at Jervis near O'Connell street. We also ate at a Chinese buffet which was similar to the buffets at home. After shopping and some more laundry we went to Merrion Square with Connor and let him run wild. Ofcourse he found some stairs and wanted to go up and down the stairs for a long time. All in all, it was very nice weekend with my family. Here are some pictures:
We did a lot of laundry this weekend. Our washer and dryer are smaller that what we are used to in the States so its takes a lot more loads to do the same size of laundry. Starting work and the trip to Edinburgh put me behind in the laundry department and we were trying to catch up this weekend. We're not quite there as now we also have to hang our clothes to dry (small dryer that won't work if the load is too heavy) and that takes around 2 days to dry. Atleast we do have a seperate washer and dryer as I have heard the washer/dryer in one combo is really bad for drying.
Something I do like is that I have a double oven. I have been using that a lot when I prepare our dinners. When I have two things to bake for two different temperatures, I have compartments for both. Its great. I don't have a microwave and surprisingly, I am doing ok without it.
On Saturday, we went to the Temple Bar food market which I expected would be like a farmers market back home with fresh veggies, fruits and baked goods for a good price. I was disappointed when I got to the food market. It is in a small area and did not have that many stalls. The stalls that were there were mainly food stands. The baked goods seemed overpriced and there were not any fruit/veggie stands. It seemed like it was only there for the tourists, not really for locals. We walked around for 15 minutes and left.
We also took a train to Kildare from the Heuston Station. It was a 45 train ride through the country. Kildare is known for their horses and there is a big horse race there every year. They also have an Outlet Mall! Michael needed some work shirts and I just wanted to see it. Connor liked the train ride and behaved very well. It was a nice train and had tables, wifi, and electrical outlets through out. When we arrived at Kildare, there was a complementary shuttle to the outlets. The outlet was smaller than the ones back home which I expected and the stores were pretty posh. I missed my Ann Taylor and Loft stores. I didn't recognize a lot of the names of the stores but they were nice but not really my style. I did buy a really nice wallet at Ted Bakers which I could actually see myself wearing some of their clothes. There was a playground at the mall that we let Connor play in. There were also old ruins next to the outlet, which was pretty cool. Only in Europe!
On Sunday we woke up late and then went out to do some shopping at Jervis near O'Connell street. We also ate at a Chinese buffet which was similar to the buffets at home. After shopping and some more laundry we went to Merrion Square with Connor and let him run wild. Ofcourse he found some stairs and wanted to go up and down the stairs for a long time. All in all, it was very nice weekend with my family. Here are some pictures:
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| Connor on the train to Kildare |
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| Michael and Connor on train |
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| Statues at the Kildare Outlet Mall |
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| Ruins at the Kildare Outlet Mall |
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| Action shot on the stairs at the playground |
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Friday, August 10, 2012
Small things
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| Connor in the park today - He loved the stairs behind him |
My Company also lets its employees take a half day on Friday during the summer months if they have worked all their required hours. So, for the two Fridays I have been at work, I have been leaving around 2 pm. Both Fridays have been gorgeous and sunny so its been a nice treat.
There was a happy hour that I went to yesterday and it was a lot of fun. I met a few more work people and all the skeletons in the closet about our office definitely came out last night. I left around 11pm and I was one of the first ones to leave. It was still packed and in full swing when I left. I guess these things go on until 4 AM sometimes.
I have been eating lunch in the Iveagh Gardens next to my office a few times. It is a beautiful park and reminds me of the parks in Paris because it has stone paths, fountains, a rose garden, and statues.
I am happy that it is Friday. We are going to check out the Temple Bar farmer's market and the Kildare Outlet this weekend. And hopefully relax a little too.
Here are some pictures of Connor in a park next to his creche with stairs - he is obsessed with going up and down stairs right now and pictures of the park next to my office. Unfortunately, it was an overcast day when I took these.
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| Connor walking in the park |
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| Iveagh Gardens - too bad its overcast. Today there were throngs of people because it was so sunny. There is a waterfall all the way in the back. |
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| One of many fountains in Iveagh Gardens |
The Gold
So I learned that Ireland is very watchful of their Olympic hopefuls and get very excited when there is a chance to win gold. Yesterday my office showed the semi final boxing match between Katie Taylor (Irish boxer) and Mavzuna Chorieva on tvs all around the buildings. My department went to another floor and we all crowded around to watch the fight. Katie won and today she fought the final match with Russia's Sofya Ochigava - of course our office had the fight on tv again today. We watched the fight and everyone clapped and shouted with joy when they announced that Katie Taylor had won the gold medal!! It was fun joining everyone cheer on a national Olympic contender. People asked me if it was like this in America and I had to say that we never stopped to see an Olympic competition at work before. I guess in a way we take it for granted that the US is going to win a gold medal in something... I know, that sounds so conceited. I definitely don't mean it that way, but I never appreciated the USA atheletes as much as Ireland as a country seem to appreciate their's.
Someone said they think when Katie Taylor comes home, we might get a day off! It was very exciting and glad I could be a part of it!
Someone said they think when Katie Taylor comes home, we might get a day off! It was very exciting and glad I could be a part of it!
Tuesday, August 7, 2012
A little fringe and tattoo in Edinburgh
Oh wow, where to start. Our trip to Edinburgh, Scotland was AMAZING!
Honestly, I wasn't really looking forward to it because we had to wake up at 3 AM for our 6 AM flight on Saturday morning, Connor had been feverish and fussy due to his teething (so really no sleep for the whole family), I was exhausted from my first week of work, I still had to pack for Connor and I and our house was a mess and driving me crazy. I just wanted a weekend to just relax and have some semblance of normalcy.
We booked a taxi for 4 AM and went to the airport. The taxi dropped us off at the wrong terminal so we had to walk back to Terminal 1. We got there pretty early because the taxi ride was only 20 minutes so we were the first ones to our gate and waited for a while before we could get on the bus to get to the plane. The flight was only 40 minutes long and thankfully Connor slept most of the way.
We caught the Airlink bus out of the Edinburgh airport and rode it to the City Centre. It was only 6 euros round trip each. It took around 30 minutes from the airport to Waverly Bridge, where we needed to go. Our hotel was in the Grassmarket area, which is in the center of the city and close to Edinburgh Castle. During the ride to the city, I was surprised at how beautiful the city was. There were many old historical buildings, green trees, squares, statutes, cobble stone streets, and castles. I was then very excited for the trip and it reminded me of why we moved to Europe. We got off the bus at the bridge and walked to the hotel. I did not expect the many hills and inclines and my legs got a good work out pushing Connor's buggy up the hills. The hotel did not have a room ready for us yet so we left our bags there and went for a meal and then to Edinburgh castle.
You can't miss Edinburgh Castle when you're in the center of Edinburgh. It is on a cliff overlooking the city. You really have to allow around 2-3 hours to tour the castle as there are many things to see like the war museum, prisoner of war museum, royal jewels, royal palace, St. Margaret's chapel, and the great hall. Unfortunately there was a long queque for the tickets. There was a free 20 minute tour that runs every 15 minutes that gives a high level overview of what you can see at the castle and we followed that tour and then just explored. It was all very interesting as I love everything related to royals and jewels and Michael liked the war museums. Definitely recommend touring the castle to anyone that goes to Edinburgh.
August is also a festival month for Edinburgh and they were holding a military tattoo at the castle every night for the month of August. We did not attend as you had to buy tickets but it seemed like the military put on a show of music and marching and there were fireworks at the end.
We were really lucky with the weather as it was sunny and warm out on Saturday.
After the castle we were able to check in and took a short nap. We then took Connor to Princes Street Gardens for him to play and run around and went to bed early.
Sunday:
Sunday morning we went to eat at the White Hart Inn. The sign outside said it was the oldest public house in Edinburgh. It is also supposedly haunted. They offered a Scottish breakfast that came with Haggis. I tried the Haggis and it was definitely flavorful. But I couldn't help thinking what the flavor was hiding.
We then went on the hop on hop off city sightseeing bus and went to the Palace of Holyroodhouse, where the Queen goes every summer. We toured the house and the gardens. I really enjoyed seeing the Mary Queen of Scots bedroom and private rooms. We also saw the older royal rooms like the throne room, the Gallery, King's bedchamber, dining room, and King's closet. The old abbey attached to it was in ruins, but was very picturesque. Unfortunately it was rather rainy on Sunday, but it came and went.
After the Palace, we took a walk through the Royal Mile and enjoyed some of the Fringe festival, another festival in August. This festival had a lot of street performers and musicians all along the street. There were also booths for art and handmade items. It was really fun. We stopped at the Deacon Brodie Tavern and had a very nice meal with some refreshing Crabbie's ginger beer. My new fave!
Monday:
Monday we took it easy and just walked around the Royal Mile and Princes street and wrote a few postcards. I got a cashmere scarf as that was the main items to buy in Edinburgh. I also got a pretty dress. We took the Airlink back to the airport and arrived back in Dublin around 5pm. We rode the Aircoach from the Dublin airport back to Merrion Square (Soooooo close to our apartment) and got ready for the rest of the week.
All in all it was a fantastic trip! I really could have done with another full day in Edinburgh. It is such a romantic and gorgeous city. I can't wait until our next trip!!
Here are some more pictures - my home computer was taking so long to load pictures so I'm doing them through the Ipad app.. can't really organize them or write captions, but you get the gist:
Honestly, I wasn't really looking forward to it because we had to wake up at 3 AM for our 6 AM flight on Saturday morning, Connor had been feverish and fussy due to his teething (so really no sleep for the whole family), I was exhausted from my first week of work, I still had to pack for Connor and I and our house was a mess and driving me crazy. I just wanted a weekend to just relax and have some semblance of normalcy.
We booked a taxi for 4 AM and went to the airport. The taxi dropped us off at the wrong terminal so we had to walk back to Terminal 1. We got there pretty early because the taxi ride was only 20 minutes so we were the first ones to our gate and waited for a while before we could get on the bus to get to the plane. The flight was only 40 minutes long and thankfully Connor slept most of the way.
We caught the Airlink bus out of the Edinburgh airport and rode it to the City Centre. It was only 6 euros round trip each. It took around 30 minutes from the airport to Waverly Bridge, where we needed to go. Our hotel was in the Grassmarket area, which is in the center of the city and close to Edinburgh Castle. During the ride to the city, I was surprised at how beautiful the city was. There were many old historical buildings, green trees, squares, statutes, cobble stone streets, and castles. I was then very excited for the trip and it reminded me of why we moved to Europe. We got off the bus at the bridge and walked to the hotel. I did not expect the many hills and inclines and my legs got a good work out pushing Connor's buggy up the hills. The hotel did not have a room ready for us yet so we left our bags there and went for a meal and then to Edinburgh castle.
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| Random street that we passed - beautiful! |
August is also a festival month for Edinburgh and they were holding a military tattoo at the castle every night for the month of August. We did not attend as you had to buy tickets but it seemed like the military put on a show of music and marching and there were fireworks at the end.
We were really lucky with the weather as it was sunny and warm out on Saturday.
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| One view of Edinburgh Castle |
Sunday:
Sunday morning we went to eat at the White Hart Inn. The sign outside said it was the oldest public house in Edinburgh. It is also supposedly haunted. They offered a Scottish breakfast that came with Haggis. I tried the Haggis and it was definitely flavorful. But I couldn't help thinking what the flavor was hiding.
We then went on the hop on hop off city sightseeing bus and went to the Palace of Holyroodhouse, where the Queen goes every summer. We toured the house and the gardens. I really enjoyed seeing the Mary Queen of Scots bedroom and private rooms. We also saw the older royal rooms like the throne room, the Gallery, King's bedchamber, dining room, and King's closet. The old abbey attached to it was in ruins, but was very picturesque. Unfortunately it was rather rainy on Sunday, but it came and went.
After the Palace, we took a walk through the Royal Mile and enjoyed some of the Fringe festival, another festival in August. This festival had a lot of street performers and musicians all along the street. There were also booths for art and handmade items. It was really fun. We stopped at the Deacon Brodie Tavern and had a very nice meal with some refreshing Crabbie's ginger beer. My new fave!
Monday:
Monday we took it easy and just walked around the Royal Mile and Princes street and wrote a few postcards. I got a cashmere scarf as that was the main items to buy in Edinburgh. I also got a pretty dress. We took the Airlink back to the airport and arrived back in Dublin around 5pm. We rode the Aircoach from the Dublin airport back to Merrion Square (Soooooo close to our apartment) and got ready for the rest of the week.
All in all it was a fantastic trip! I really could have done with another full day in Edinburgh. It is such a romantic and gorgeous city. I can't wait until our next trip!!
Here are some more pictures - my home computer was taking so long to load pictures so I'm doing them through the Ipad app.. can't really organize them or write captions, but you get the gist:
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| Holyroodhouse Palace |
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| View from Edinburgh Castle |
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| White Hart Inn breakfast - my two favorite men |
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| Building within the castle |
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| Gate to Edinburgh Castle |
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| View of Edinburgh Castle from Princes Street Garden |
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| Connor "writing" a postcard |
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| Michael says its his three favorite things |
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| Connor and a dog in the park |
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| St. Margaret's Chapel. The oldest building at Edinburgh Castle - there was a wedding there and a bunch of asian tourists were following the procession and taking pictures |
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| Abbey of Holyroodhouse |
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| William Wallace at Edinburgh Castle gate |
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| Edinburgh Castle building |
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| More Edinburgh Castle buildings |
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| On the Royal Mile |
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| Inside Great Hall, Edinburgh Castle |
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| Where JK Rowling would come to write Harry Potter |
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| Holyroodhouse Palace |
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| Tavern |
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| Holyroodhouse Palace Abbey |
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| Stained glass window in Edinburgh Castle |
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