Meg's Birthday

Yesterday was Megan's 20th birthday. I got up early yesterday morning and took the bus An Lar (to the city Center) in order to attempt to do some errands. Since my errands were thwarted I got Meg a birthday gift and some coffee and went back to Lissenfield. Megan called Rory our amazing RA person sort of to tell him to fix her broken boxspring. The previous occupants attempted to fix it with a shelf from the closet. Creative.
After waiting for Rory for some time, we ended up just heading to the National Botanic Garden in Glasnevin. The Botanic Garden is a good 40 minute bus ride on the other side of Dublin, but was well worth the journey. We wandered around the gardens and took alot of great pictures. Unfortunately the internet here is very slow so I am only able to upload a small amount, but I took alot of beautiful pictures. Check my Flickr album for a small sample.
After our adventure to the Botanic Garden, Meg and I went to dinner at our local thai restaurant.

This morning, I went out to Aldi, the other grocery store near by. Aldi reminds me alot of some of the hispanic grocery stores at home. You only get one choice for all the products, it is very cheap, and also sells random items such as TV's, pillows and hand tools. I manged to pick up a few items there including some cupcakes, which I have been trying to track down for some time.

The rest of the day is open ended. I plan on laying around for the most part. It is a rainy day here in Dublin, and it is making me really miss summer at Treetops.

-Liz

New Place

Today was our first full day in the new flat. My attempt to sleep in this morning was thwarted by a random individual literally jackhammering outside our flat. This comtinued well into the afternoon. Apparently, he was attempting to shorten the sidewalk that goes alongside the building.We will see what continues to go on in the next few days.
It was really great to be able to sleep in and get some much needed rest. After brunch at the Moda Cafe, our first adventure as a flat was to the local Tesco (the grocery store near by). There is also an Aldi, but apparently it is not as good. Thne experience was weird, we had to rent a shopping cart for 1 Euro, in addition to bringing our own bags. Ireland charges for plastic bags, and they don't typically have paper bags outside of retailers. We managed to buy alot of the things we wanted as a house, but I will need to make a trip on my own to get some more stuff. After we hauled all of the groceries home, Megan and I went to Boots. Boots is kind of like a CVS with alot less selection. Megan and I got a much needed hair straightener, and other necessities.
After some lounging time, we took the Dublin Bus into town to go to Penney's to get the last of our bedding and towels. Being adventurous we chose to walk back. After a few broken bags, we made it to Lissenfield.
We finished our day with dinner at local hangout Jo'Burger. Very delicious, with a live DJ. Bizarre but amazing.

Tomorrow is Megan's 20th burthday, hopefully we can find something to do!

-Liz

I am alive

I apologize for the delay in posting! I have been settling into Dublin since Monday, and been unable to get near a computer. The plane from Boston was uneventful, all my bags were underweight and made it here, and I was able to sleep on the plane.

I spent the first few days at the Abbey Court Hostel in the city center. The time was mostly spent sleeping, and meeting everyone else in the program. We also had a slew of orientation meetings and activities to help us all adjuect to our new social and academic life here in Dublin.

Today we finally moved into our flat. The area is really nice, the flat turned out to be more like a townhouse with two floors. The first has the kitchen and living area, and the upstairs has the bedrooms and bathrooms. (complete with towel warmers!) We also have a bathtub and a seperate shower, which is basically amazing. The townhouse is in a little cul de sac off the main street, with a bus stop right outside. There are all sorts of restaurants, bars, pubs, shops, and grocery stores along the main road in walking distance. Tonight Megan, one of our new roommates Kate and I went out in search of bedding, and enjoyed a traditional pub meal at a local hangout.

One of the first things I really noticed about Dublin is the weather. It is alot colder here already than I had previously anticipated. I had to go out and buy a proper jacket, which was made easy thanks to a wonderful discount department store known as Penney's (no relation to JC Penney stateside). They were simply unbelievable. However, despite the cold, the Irish people vary extremely in the degree of coats and gear they wear out and about. Some people wear literally no jacket and short sleeves, while others are completely covered with a hat, scarf and gloves.

Besides the weather, Ireland is fairly nice. I miss America, I desperately miss Lee, and I miss peanut butter.

I have a new cell phone number. email me for details.

I will try not to burden with too much info on my first post, but here is a quick photo from the flat, and a link to a flickr set of more.



Something about this view from my bedroom window, just reminds me of Hitchcock's Rear Window.

-Liz

St. Thomas

Today, I am writing from the beautiful shores of St. Thomas. I arrived here this morning, with my mother and Aunt Frances, for a few days in the sun before I enter the perpetual gloom of Dublin.

I miss Lee.

I miss Massachusetts.

I miss summer.

It all went by too fast.