Settling in

September, we slowed down a bit and laid off the travelling.  The kids needed to get into the routine of school.  Our friend, Jason, came for a visit.  Alfonso managed to sneak out of work for a couple days and the two of them went sight seeing sans kiddos.  My mind can not even comprehend that concept.

Food

The food in restaurants is much better than I remember.  Pizza leaves much to be desired.  Their lasagna is a bit sketchy made with cheddar cheese and sour cream and very mushy noodles.  Overall, the food is pretty good; we have found a few exceptional places.

Our pizza in town.  Not exactly PC.

Grocery shopping is infinitely easier than Israel because things are labeled in English.  The dairy products here are heavenly.  I'm not much of a yogurt person but I have been scarfing the rhubarb yogurt like crazy.  It is soooooo good!  Cheese and milk just taste better.  Icecream however is made from reconstituted dried skim milk.  Nasty.  Seriously, who thought that was possibly a good idea?  You can buy Ben and Jerry's or Haagan Dazs but it is pricey.  The beef is grass fed and very tasty.  

Funny names.  Different flavors.

There are various products that you can't buy or are hard to find.  There are very few corn products as it is too cold to grow here.  The entire Mexican food section is comprised of Old El Paso products.  Breakfast cereal causes the drama in our house.  Dante doesn't like any of the cereals here so he typically eats peanut butter toast with banana (the jars of peanut butter are tiny.)  Some cereals are exactly the same but called something different i.e. Frosted Flakes are called Frosties and Mini Wheats are called Mini Max.  Others are flavored differently such as Honey Nut Cheerios are just Honey Cheerios and don't contain nuts -- and they are made by Nestle instead of General Mills.  Selections and brands are just more limited.

Random pictures on the OJ containers

Driving

Driving here wasn't quite as bad as I'd expected.  Driving on the left was an adjustment but didn't take too long.  The cars in the other direction are on the right -- so it is pretty easy to remember not to drive there.  On occasion, I still try to get in on the right side of the car only to find there's no steering wheel.  The biggest problem is the narrow roads.  We have decent sized roads near us where two cars can squeeze by to pass.  Many roads are only one lane but the traffic is two directions.  There are no shoulders most places and hedges or stone walls come right up to the road.  So you have to find a driveway to pull into to let other cars pass.

The one lane bridge over the canal on the way to school.

When Alfonso told me that we had to cross a double blind one lane arched bridge to get to the kids school, I had a mini panic attack.  When you get close to the bottom of the bridge, you honk and if no one honks back then you go up and over.  If someone honks, then it means they had already started over and you wait for them to cross.  Turns out that it is safer to cross these bridges because drivers stop and cross slowly, while the two other bridges on the way to school are narrow but have enough room for two cars can squeeze by each other so no one bothers to slow down.  I don't mind driving except for in Dublin. Dublin is too crowded and too confusing.

Please note the bull.

Parking spaces are tiny everywhere.  Most of the motorways were built between 2000-2010.  So travelling between cities is relatively quick and easy.  But many of the tourist destinations are off the main roads where it takes a long time to travel short distances.  There's an abundance of roundabouts (traffic circles) similar to Israel.  Drivers are much nicer here and let people merge and change lanes instead of intentionally cutting them off.  The lights take a little getting used to.  In the States, the light will be a solid green circle but have a red left arrow.  Here there will be a solid red circle but have a green straight arrow and a green left arrow.

Odds and ends

Wouldn't want to make the sheep worry...

I am compiling a list of all the words/phrases that have different meanings.  I will have a separate post with all the languages oddities.  It turns out that English is not English.  Most expressions I hear from the kids as they spend more time with Irish folk than I do.

For a really big cold

When I first got my cell phone, I was constantly getting calls for other people.  I figured it was just from someone else having the number before me.  One time, a man told me the number he was trying to reach -- not a single digit was in common with my number.  I'm thinking this guy is completely bonkers.  Then I try to call my sister and end up talking to some lady in Limerick.  After three attempts, I finally get through to Cathy only to find her phone has been ringing but she ends up talking to some guy looking for the lady in Limerick.  When I think of lines getting crossed, I picture the old time switchboard operators that are physically putting the lines in the wrong spots.  Not sure how it happens in this day in age.  There was one woman trying to reach her daughter in the hospital that was connected to me consistently for about two weeks.  We started chatting after a while.  I haven't heard from her in months now and kind of miss her.

Cows grazing by the kids' school on a foggy day.

It rains.  Frequently.  Never gets too hot.  One day this summer, it hit 75 and everyone flooded the beach.  Never gets too cold.  Rarely snows.  Because of all the moisture in the air, it tends to feel colder than it is.  The moist air also tends to cause a thin layer of black ice on the roads.

Escalator for the grocery cart at one of the bigger stores.

On Sundays, the mall and some bigger stores are open but generally speaking, most things are closed.

You'll see lots of kids (not mine) at the pub doing homework while the parents have a beer or two and socialize.

Tax is already included in prices about 23%.  Everything is more expensive here.  Except potatoes.

You have to take your own bags to the grocery store.  Or pay 20 cents a bag for the cheap plastic bags.

Irish drink tea, not coffee.  Yet, no one drinks iced tea.

There aren't many aquatic centers for swimming pools.  But you can pay to swim at hotels that have pools.

This was in Scotland but it is really funny.  I'm still laughing about it. 

Rock of Cashel

It is difficult to rate or rank all the various castles we have visited.  Each one has something that makes it special -- the tallest tower, the oldest ruins, interesting art, the best restoration, the history or legends, the gardens, the countryside etc..Some are remembered more fondly because of the people we went with and the memories we made during our excursions.  That being said, Rock of Cashel is definitely one of the more impressive places in Ireland as it hit several of the categories listed.

Hore Abbey

Welcome to Hogwarts!

The kids really attend St. Anne's National School in Ardclough, but the uniforms do have a Harry Potter vibe.  The kids thought the uniform policy in NM was strict with khakis and polo shirts. Now, their dress down days for PE has a tracksuit with a polo.  Nadia doesn't mind the uniform so much but the boys loathe them.  They got spoiled for their six month stint in Oregon getting to wear whatever they wanted.  I think they look pretty sharp!

The school has pre-K through 6th.  It is fairly small community with around 200 students and cows grazing literally right next to the school.  It is a Catholic school as are many of the public schools here.  Alejandro came home complaining that they have to pray all day long:  Morning ,  lunch and before they leave.  Torture!  They also have Irish Gaelic lessons.  Nadia is learning right along with the other kids.  Ale and Dante are years behind but no one seems to care.  Dante jokes about getting the worst Irish speaker award each week.  

The kids have settled into school well enough.  They have a decent amount of homework but it seems to be busy work more than anything.  The math is way behind what they were doing in the States.  However, these teachers are really getting their handwriting into shape.  The boys' teachers are great but unfortunately just long term subs covering maternity leaves of the full time teachers.  

Nadia is really thriving in school.  She has been so clingy forever, crying for babysitters, nervous around strangers, etc..  A week before classes started, she cried when I went to the grocery store and left her alone with Alfonso.  I thought there would be serious tantrums being left at school.  I was expecting a long adjustment period, several weeks like it took Alejandro.  Nope.  A kiss and a wave goodbye and she was ready for us to go even on the first day.

Nadia's a social butterfly and is loving having female companionship .  Four years of her brothers' influence wiped out by a month at school with girls.  She is all into pink and princesses now.   Very strange.  Nadia adores her teacher and school work as well.  She is just a sponge soaking it all in.  Comes home knowing multiple verses of songs after one day of practice.  Even she has homework though because a four year old needs to learn the value of good study habits.  Besides, I might get bored if I didn't have three kids all needing help with homework at the same time.

Dante's Birthday

 Good friends, good food, good times.

Scotland

Scotland wasn't our most organized trip to say the least.  We hadn't planned anything in advance because Intel kept changing our move date and then we were getting settled.  Alfonso was told to take a week's vacation before the kids' school started.  Plane tickets were too expensive last minute, so we took the ferry to Scotland.

I am a huge fan of the ferry.  No long lines at the airport.  No passport control.  No security.  No restrictions on liquids or worrying about how much the bags weigh.  Just throw everyone in the car and go.  Instead of cramped seats and fasten seat belt signs, you can wander around multiple decks with plenty of room to spread out.  They have a movie theater and arcades for the kids, as well as balloons and face painting.  There's shopping and a sit down restaurant as well as a cafeteria style diner.  A thirty mile trip took about 2.5 hours -- but it was a stress free 2.5 hours.  I would travel every where by ferry if it was feasible.  

A big part of the trip was the B&B experience, the kids had a lot of fun making friends with the owners' children at each place we stayed.  We had to drag them away from the trampolines to go sight seeing.  Overall, the places we stayed were beautiful with lovely hosts.  (One was a bit sketchy and the owners' kid bragged to the boys about stealing stuff from guests.)  The ferrets below were named after Breaking Bad characters.  Albuquerque's claim to fame; everyone had heard of our home town because of a bunch of fictional meth labs.  Lovely.

We got to go out onto Loch Ness for our quest to spot Nessie.  Dante was so excited.  I had tried to warn him ahead of time that we weren't going to see Nessie but hope springs eternal for Dante.  He was devastated that our exploration was nothing more than a "lame boat ride."

The Scotland highlands are absolutely breathtaking.  It is nearly impossible to describe.  There isn't just a beautiful shot in front of you.  It encompasses you on all sides.   You are just completely immersed in this gorgeous landscape with picturesque views in every direction.  Simply stunning.

 We didn't spend a lot of time in Edinburgh.  Driving through it, we saw so many fascinating spots to explore.    The crowds were a bit overwhelming.  We went through Edinburgh Castle but skipped the rest of the city.  Heard the cannons go off (and even though I was expecting it, the blast still scared the beejeezus out of me!)  We went to see the Crown Jewels, which were impressive as the name suggests.  It was a nice visit but the crowds were a bit suffocating.  Thousands upon thousands of people.

Back at the B&B, things were a little more laid back.  I think we may have been better off if we had just stayed in one spot the whole time and done more hiking instead of trying to race around trying to see everything.  

As it was, we had to cut a significant chunk out of our intended route.  The drive took longer than we thought it would and the kids were difficult to get moving (more so than usual.)  So we missed the whole Aberdeen area that is teeming with castles.  We stopped at Drumlanrig, which wasn't originally on the itinerary but I needed a castle-fix.  The grounds were just amazing.  There was also a fabulous playground where the kids spent a good deal of time on a mini-zip line.

We also stopped in Kirkcudbright at Maclellan's Castle, more of a defensive tower than a glamorous estate.  Need a little contrast to spice things up a bit or risk a revolt on castle tours!  

There is a severe shortage of playgrounds in Ireland.  There are some but they take effort to make the trip.  Not as easy as walking across the street in Albuquerque.  Because of the scarcity here, they are usually packed.  So the kids were thrilled to just go to the park.  I think we could have saved a lot of money and the kids would have been happier with a trampoline and trip to the playground.

Overall, fabulous trip.  Low stress ferry ride.  Beautiful countryside.  Friendly people.  Did I mention that I loved the whole ferry experience?  Loads of good memories.  That said, it was August and we had to wear jeans and coats the whole time.  Brrrrrrrr!  Nice cool weather is okay for a few days but I wouldn't want the permanent climate change.  Too many years in the Land of Enchantment has turned me into a cold weather wuss.  

August Day Trips

Castletown

Castletown is a rather modern looking palace built in Celbridge in the1720s.  Celbridge is the biggest town near us where we do our grocery shopping and such.  We had driven past the entrance just about every day since we had been here.  Only took us about 7 weeks to stop by for a visit.  The tour guide, however knowledgeable and witty, spoke too quickly and too quietly for the size of the group.  We also got stuck standing near someone who was translating for others as well.  The kids enjoyed running around outside more than the tour.

 Balbriggan Beach

Went to the beach with my friend, Aoife, and her kiddos.  (We had met in a previous life when we were paid for working.)  A storm the previous day warranted red flag conditions, so the kids couldn't play in the water but were happy enough to dig in the sand.  

Glendalough and the Wicklow Mountains

Glendalough was another one of those days where we just piled the kids in the car and started driving without having a destination.  "Let's head south. What is south?"  "Let me check -- there's a monastic settlement from the 6th century."  "Sounds good."

There was a decent amount of tourists but the bulk of the people were locals that go to the site for its various hiking trails.

We drove home through the Wicklow Mountains.  Words just can't describe the beauty.

I absolutely love this shot despite my mishap.  The clouds are not threatening as they may appear in the picture -- that would be the edge of my thumb unfortunately.






Oughterard

So the Relocation Company sends someone out to give me an orientation -- show me where grocery stores and malls and such are -- 8 weeks after we arrived.  Really.  Anyhow, the woman did happen to tell me about this old church/castle/cemetery that is close to our house.  There is no way we ever would have found it (or known to look for it) without her.

Very cool spot.  There is a spiral staircase still standing that you can climb onto a partial collapsed roof; it has a stunning view of the county in all directions.  (It is as treacherous as it sounds -- so the kids loved it.)  Incidentally, Arthur Guinness, the founder of the slightly well known brewing company, is buried there.

Nadia really does own other clothes.  It is just anytime these ones are clean, she puts them on.














This wasn't really a day trip.  This was an after-supper-let's-get-out-of-the-house-since-it-is-sunny trip.