Dublin Visitors: Round 1

I've been neglecting the blog, I know! We've been traveling through Europe the last few weekends in a row and I haven't found the time, but I'm back in action today and will try to write much more frequently.

I decided to start my posts about all our visitors at the O'Naber B&B. First of all, let me say that we're extremely appreciative of everyone who has come to visit us. As anyone who has moved to a land far far away knows, you get plenty of, "I'm totally coming to visit you"s. As expected, the follow through on this is always pretty poor. 

Believe me, we know how much time, money, and planning it takes to actually take a trip to Ireland, so we understand when it's just not feasible. However, for those that have, kudos to you! It's likely a once-in-a-lifetime chance to visit a friend or family member abroad (and stay for free!) in a country with someone who knows the lay of the land. Best of all, we get super excited to take people around and show them the sights and what our lives are like over here. It's a "stay-cation" for us and we always feel recharged when familiar faces are around :)

Bray to Greystones

Our first familiar faces were those of my parents. They had been to Ireland twice previously, but didn't hesitate to hop on a standby flight over (thanks to my airline captain brother). Per their usual luck, they brought seldom seen sunshine and warm weather with them to the Emerald Isle. They arrived on a Thursday morning and, thanks to my Accidental Housewife status, I was able to play tour guide and design my own walking tour of Dublin and the surrounding areas. 

We had lunch at the Village Market across the street from our apartment, then walked to the centre to hit the tourist spots -- St. Stephen's Green, Grafton Street, Trinity College, Dublin Castle, The Liffey -- then stopped at Oliver St. John Gogarty's in Temple Bar for a pint of Guinness (my Mom actually had Guinness!) and some live music. Jet lag set in pretty hard after a beer, so we made our way back and had a nice, low key evening at home.

Patrick Kavanagh on Grand Canal

On the Liffey

Pints at Gogarty's - proof of Mom with a Guinness

Friday was spent on the Bray to Greystones walk. It was one of the maybe 5 days that we've had 70 (21+ C) degree weather in Ireland, so I was in a t-shirt and loving it. My Mom, however, actually complained that it was a little hot, ha! I think we should really switch climates.

The 4 of us took took a road trip to Northern Ireland for the weekend, then I took a trip around southwest Ireland with them during the week (both of which I'll cover separately), and we capped the final weekend in Dublin with a trip to Howth. It was a jam packed trip, but well worth it!

It was an amazing experience to make memories with my parents in Ireland AND I was able to take a trip the 3 of us around the beautiful countryside. I guess I have the Irish government to thank for the time off ;)

Next, I'll go over our trip to Northern Ireland and the Antrim Coast...

Arrival in Dublin

We landed in Dublin the last week of March, and checked in to our temporary stay (below) for a few weeks, before finding a new place to call home. I've passed this door countless times since our arrival, but I vividly remember standing on the street that first day, with our entourage of suitcases, feeling foreign and full of energy, having little idea of what to expect. I had never been to Europe before the move, so I guess I crossed that bridge in style! Forget traveling, why not live here for a couple years!

The first few days were spent getting things in order, including getting PPS numbers (similar to SSN in the states), registering with the GNIB (Immigration police) and getting an ID that, in reality, does not count as a valid ID (makes sense, right?). It's actually fortunate I don't have to use it frequently... we got our IDs after a long day of traveling and sitting in 3 hour queues in government offices, so my picture resembles more of a zombie/black widow than a blushing bride. Apparently the immigration police don't care if you'd prefer to retake the picture like a driver's license!

St. Stephen's Green

After the basics were squared away, we took to the streets to begin exploring our new city. Dublin is a pretty small place and is easy to walk around and get to know quickly. Very manageable, especially coming from Chicago.

Grafton St - main shopping street

As you can see from the pictures, it is sunny and people are wearing t-shirts. DO NOT let this fool you! We arrived during a fluke week of warm and sunny weather. To be clear, when I say "warm," I mean 65°F or, I should say, 18°C (the fahrenheit to celsius conversion is a small example of one of the many mental adjustments we have to make). We've had 2 weeks like that since, so it's lucky that we got to discover the city at its most vibrant.

Dublin Castle

Dublin Castle

We saw many of the main "sites to see" in the city centre: St. Stephen's Green, Grafton Street, Dublin Castle, Temple Bar, Trinity College, etc.

Temple Bar

Strange to think many of these sites are commonplace for us now! And yet, Temple Bar (the name of the bar, as well as the surrounding neighborhood) is reserved for taking visitors, as few local people actually go there!

B is even squinting from that bright Dublin sun!

Wandering around got us quickly acquainted with the city and even more eager to settle into life in Dublin.

Ha'Penny Bridge

Trinity College

Here we are, freshly married and "fresh off the boat," ready to embark on our Irish adventure.

After spending a few days in Dublin, we set out on our first trip in Europe, a little honeymoon, or "mini moon" if you will, around the south and west of Ireland (I'll cover it in the next post)...