Day trip

It was Michael's birthday today! We took a day trip to Glendalough and Kilkinney. It was a full day trip and Glendalough was very beautiful and peaceful. It was the site of an ancient monastic settlement. It was a little hard with our stroller but we managed it. Unfortunately after we got on the bus to Kilkinney it started raining very hard. We got dropped off at Kilkinney castle and ate at the Hibernian inn. Then we took the walking tour in the pouring rain. Connor was good on the bus ride and I was really proud of him. But he started getting bored during the walking tour and was acting out. It is definitely hard to do a tour with a 14 month old. I really need to find a good babysitter. While it was a full day tour I would have liked more time in Kilkinney. I would like to rent a car sometime and drive there ourselves. It was fun but a packed day. I feel like everyday has been jammed pack. I hope we can take it easy this weekend. Here are some pics from Glendalough and Kilkinney:

Exhausted

I am so exhausted from today. We walked all over Dublin and then walked all over Dublin Zoo in Phoenix Park. Michael and I are now legal and both of us have GNIB cards. The process did not take too long. Tomorrow is Michael's birthday and we are taking a day trip to Glendalough and Kilkinney. Here is a pic of us at Dublin Zoo:

American tourists

It was a beautiful sunny day in Dublin today. Everyone here really loves the sunshine and many people were out in the parks, including us. We tried to get our GNIB card or Irish immigration card today but were missing some documents and will try again tomorrow.
We then did the tourist thing today and rode a city sightseeing hop on and hop off bus. We walked around Trinity College, saw Book of Kells, toured Guinness factory and had a beer at the Gravity bar. We also ate at a Japanese restaurant and let Connor run free at the playground at St. Stephens.

A few differences I have noticed from the US:
Something that has been hard for me with going to restaurants in Dublin with Connor is that most do not have high chairs. We have to keep him in his stroller while we eat and he gets easily bored that way.
You don't get refills here on your drinks, if you want a refill, you pay full price again. Also, you usually only get one napkin and that's it!
The Irish call strollers a buggy and diapers a nappy.
Nothing necessarily bad, just different things I've noticed.

Here are some pics from today:

Almost like home

I've heard from many people that clothes and food in Ireland are much more expensive than the US which made me really nervous. I also heard from people that the food tastes different here. I was also worried about finding baby food for Connor. I've been shopping for groceries at the local Tesco and Spar markets and the prices are pretty comparable to US prices if you're willing to buy Irish brands. I'm not snobby about things like that and why wouldn't I buy Irish brands since wouldnt't it be fresher? I also found jarred and premade baby food for Connor (not Gerber brand) but organic and for the same prices I was paying in the US at Target. I also saw Uncle Ben's and El Paso Taco brand. I walked through Grafton Street today and they have about the same stores we have in the US - no Ann Taylor though and the prices don't seem that high. Granted I think designer brands are more expensive than the US but I wasn't buying Gucci or Chanel on a frequent occurrence (or any occurrence really).

We bought a premade bacon and gruyere quiche and it was delicious! The food I've had at the restaurants have tasted the same as I remember in the US. Michael and I have been walking everywhere (my legs hurt everyday - but will get stronger) and I have seen Thai restaurants, burrito restaurants, Japanese restaurants, French restaurants, and Indian restaurants. I don't think I will really want for any food here.

Michael and I have already settled on a place to rent. It is a two bedroom on top of a Storefront with lots of character. It is right in the center of the city next to Merrion Square and St. Stephens Green. Only 10 minutes from where I work and where Michael works. Couldn't have found a better location. We are very excited. We also toured Connor's crèche and they have an on site chef. We received a copy of the monthly menu and I think Connor will eat better than me!

I will leave you with some pictures from St. Stephens Green:

We're finally here!

So it is my second day in Dublin! Yesterday we arrived in Dublin around 8 am in the morning (3 am Tampa time) , went through immigration, met our driver who drove us to The Gasworks building (our corporate apartments), and the whole family took a long nap. I think that goes against the jet lag handbook but we were all beat. Connor did fine on the flight, he slept for most of it but then was a little fussy - I think because the car seat was not as comfortable. We also went to the Merrion Park where Connor made friends with some puppies. We also viewed a rental property and ate at the Gingerman Pub (I had the fish and chips). Today Michael met with people at the office, got his PPS number (social security in US) and we walked on Grafton Street (pedestrian shopping street) and we viewed 2 rental properties and have 1 more to view tonight. Here are some pictures to add more color, unfortunately I can't organize the order on my Blogger app:

1 more day

So tomorrow we leave to Dublin, Ireland!!! Can't believe it's already here. This last week haas been incredibly busy which surprised me but I guess makes sense since we are moving our whole life over to Ireland. We had a few hiccups like both Connor and myself getting sick. I'm turning my phone and computer today and our Internet already shut off so I'll have no contact to the outside world until we arrive in Dublin. That part scares me the most I think! I do feel like this process has been that much harder doing it with a 1 year old. Excited but also a little scared. Can't wait to see what my new life will be like. But definitely will miss the people that have made Tampa special for me.

7 more days

Our flight is now only a week away.

My last real week of work in the US was yesterday. I haven't really had time to savor that as today was a very busy day. We had to rush a box of things to another colleague of my husband who is also going to Dublin to be shipped with her things, then rushed to breakfast with some friends, then had to let my husband's family in for them to take the rest of our furniture, and then had dinner with some close friends. Our apartment looks very empty now as you can see in the picture. We have our tv, two camping chairs, and an air mattress. Connor has been running around the apartment to his heart's delight. It will definitely be a hard week for us.

We have a pile of left over things to go through and make a decision of whether to store or not.

I haven't yet received approval of my green card which is frustrating for me. Thankfully I am covered under my husband's green card to pass through immigration. But I would like to get my green card finalized as I need that to get my Irish SS number and a bank account. I have a call with my Irish HR on Monday so hopefully some good news then!