Arrived in the Land of Green

Hi everyone!

We've officially arrived in Ireland! Not without a few road bumps along the way, but everything seems to be coming together just fine. The weather has been quite pleasant. We've only really had one rainy day and the temperature has been rather mild.

Gettin ready for takeoff

We arrived early Friday morning to Dublin Airport. Our flight was wonderful- good food, nice people and relatively painless. We were greeted by blue skies and sunshine. What a way to welcome us.

Once we got to customs, I went through with just a few questions from security, but I presented my visa and all was well. Michelle followed me in line and didn't get off so easy. She was detained for about a half hour and questioned thoroughly about how long she was planning to stay and whatnot. We thought she was going to get sent back because she was unable to present some details, but her cousins saved the day with just a quick phone call!

Michelle's cousin Anne picked us up and brought us back to her house where we took a quick nap and relaxed until we were able to check into our hotel. We got to stay in the Fitzwilliam on St. Stephen's Green, which is not only a great area (about 1 minute from Grafton Street), but it was also a pretty swanky hotel. We were livin' in style, that's for sure.

That night, we had went out to dinner at a great Italian restaurant and had some delicious food and wine (obviously) to celebrate our first night. We headed across the street and chatted with some locals over a pint of Guinness before making our way to the Temple Bar area to check out the scene. We were exhausted, but it was a fun night for sure!



Saturday, I got a super sweet phone and did a bit of apartment hunting because we wanted to hit the ground running. I've heard how difficult it is to find an apartment, so we didn't want to waste anytime in case it took us a while. We saw a few spots, grabbed lunch in a pub and then headed back to the hotel before going to the Carew's (Shell's cousins) for dinner. It was delicious! We had traditional Irish lamb, potatoes and some wine, of course before topping it off with an Irish coffee.

Sunday, Michelle and I viewed one more apartment before grabbing a couple pints in a bar on St. Stephen's Green for the Heineken Cup for rugby. We had such a great time being surrounded by all the locals. We're going to have to pick a worthy team to support so we can fit right in.

Monday, we checked out of the hotel and were greeted by another one of Michelle's cousins who owns a Bed and Breakfast here in Dublin. They were gracious enough to allow us to stay here until we found an apartment. We took a city bus tour and got to see a bunch of the sights via double decker and learned a lot about the city itself.



That evening we checked out a few more apartments and absolutely fell in love with one in Ranelagh. The realtor was so lovely and the apartment was gorgeous. Soon as we left, we knew we had to have it. I emailed her that night and said we wanted to take it.

Tuesday, we got back on the tour bus (it was a 2 day pass) and got off at all the stops we wanted to revisit including Kilmainham Gaol, which is one of the most famous buildings in Ireland. It is a former prison that is now a museum. The tour was very informative and we learned a bit more about the revolution, civil war and even the famine.

Being big ol' tourists/fighting jetlag

Hall of Jail Cells at Kimainhem Gaol

Jail cell

Sheila snappin a pic of the inside of a jail cell

Newest part of Kilmainhem

That night, we got a call back from the realtor that said we got the apartment! We were ecstatic. Thanks to all of the help from Michelle's cousin GT. He's been so wonderful and a HUGE part in helping us adjust and get everything done.

Today, I applied for my PPS number, which is comparable to a social security number in the States. I'm on my way to being an honorary Irish citizen, y'all! We also put part of our deposit down and after tomorrow, we'll get the keys and be ready to start our Ireland adventure for real!

It's been a bit stressful, but once we have our own place and can FINALLY unpack, we'll certainly be able to enjoy ourselves, adjust to life in the Emerald Isle and perhaps even, dare I say it, make some friends!

Sending lots of love back home,
Paige

Christchurch Cathedral

Little bit of lunch/dinner in O'Shea's pub

Nice big ol' Guinness stash