Precious ruins, Kilkenny and dolmen

My day didn't start off too well: I took a taxi to get to PaddyWagon because I was afraid I'd have to run all the way or be late. The taxi driver was undercharging me (or I thought so), so I asked him if he was sure he was giving me the right change (I had heard it cost 4 EUR but the meter said 5,85) --I think his ears couldn't believe that I wanted to pay more than what he was asking for, so I had to repeat my explanation/question again. Suddenly, he started yelling and ended up insulting me because he lost a client while we were talking. I opened the front door and gave him 2 more EUR while I said "You didn't need to talk to me like that, I just wanted to pay you more than what you wanted" and his response was "Bitch!"


I went into the office/hostel and introduced myself. They made me wait for the driver, like last week (I was early). I took my jacket off and filled up my water bottle in the bathroom downstairs. I took a few deep breaths for a few minutes, try to calm down after the scene with the taxi driver. I thought about Greg and wondered if he'd be there: since I didn't want to socialize with the whole group right then, I sat somewhere else and started playing Jewels with on my phone (Nexus One, Android). Effectively enough, he came laughing and sat next to me a minute later: he'd seen the phone we were all given last week at work.

Soon the driver came and we took off. The drive was nice, the water on the side of the road frozen. We were announced before departure, in fact, that the trip would take a route different than planned because the roads in the mountains were too slippery to drive on. The new plan sounded very interesting: visiting the ruins of a castle.


I loved the spot. You can tell on the pictures that the sun or its absence changed the views a lot, so I'm very grateful that it was sunny most of the day!



It was otherwise extremely windy at the top of the hill, but not too bad at the bottom, where the bus waited for us.



We departed, made a coffee and pee stop and made our way to Kilkenny. Before getting to the town our guide told us very interesting stuff about the most popular sports in Ireland, relating that to the fact that hurling is huge in Kilkenny. Hurling seems to be something like field hockey with flying balls. Greg said it looks very dangerous when you watch a game :-o


Kilkenny was very neat, but smaller than I had imagined it. We walked around town, to the cathedral, along the river and back around the castle. We had a nice lunch in a restaurant on the main street and an espresso in a little, super cute and calm coffeeshop in a smaller street off of the commercial area.

On the way back to Dublin we stopped at a dolmen site for a few minutes: pretty cool too :)

Since we were back quite early, I went to Graphton area. I wasn't planning on doing big (post-)Christmas shopping but rather looking for a place where I could buy threat to saw. Of course Graphton was really nice with the Christmas lights still on, people walking down the street but not crowding it and... wait, what is that music?! The sound of very lively music played with tradicional instruments hit my ears and I inevitably headed that way. I was walking toward them thinking I'd leave a tip when I noticed they had CDs for sale. I didn't need to stand there and listen to realize I wanted to buy one, so I just grabbed 10 EUR, put them in a guitar case and took my new album. I stood to hear a couple of songs (they were quite short), and moved on.

A few meters later I stopped at a scarf/hat/glove stall. I looked through many wool hats, tried one on and got it. Walked further and... I just had to go into Clarks because they still have that 50% off: I got myself a super comfortable pair of shoes (I'm sure my mom is very proud of me) for 35 EUR.

And sure enough, since I needed some pants I went into some other store and got a pair of jeans and some other pair of slightly more formal pants on sale. Finally, I walked into a health store and got nuts and tea of different kinds that will last me for a while :)

The walk back home was very nice: along the Liffey, I listened to an NPR music show that talked about different topics. Everything was interesting, and it wasn't cold. Life seemed wonderful. And then, the show lead interviewed a young female artist who basically stopped her life to take care of her dad who was dying of cancer --for seven years, till he passed awau. She took care of him and wrote music. And she said at one point: and that's what I did, I wanted to say it, I didn't want to hide it when people would ask where have you been. And a tear fell down my cheek --I felt sad when I thought about my mom.

My wonderful day in the nature, among the ruins, in a little town, near an ancient dolmen, my recent purchases, the nice walk by the river suddenly lost importance. (My eyes are watery again while I write this...) But I made myself go back to listening to the show --that woman is brave and is moving on. Just like the show, which now talks about some band that makes dance and trance music: I concentrated to listen to it and forget and leave behind any sad thoughts. I reached the Grand Canal and just before crossing the bridge, the show was over. Good timing, I'm getting home.

Check the photos of the trip

Grand Canal Dock from my room

Cliffs of Moher, The Burren and Howth

My parents visited me this weekend and I think they have really liked what they've seen of the country (except the literally freezing temperatures and winds we have had).

On Friday they walked around town while I was at work. We'd scheduled to meet up at Oneill's at 8pm, and thank god they were waiting for me outside because the pub was as packed as ever. We soon realized that every single restaurant and pub was extremely busy that night. We finally ate something at an Italian place on Dame st., trying to keep to their request of leaving the table by 9pm because they were booked up. It was good, though not excellent.


On Saturday we got up early to join a bus tour to Cliffs of Moher (images) and the Burren (images) with Paddy Wagon tours. I decided to book it with them because I'd read very good reviews of the several day-long trip. My parents enjoyed the trip and, although they don't speak English, they also liked our guide. I loved our guide (very knowledgeable and friendly) and the fact that I didn't have to drive, but I found the schedule a bit non-sensical: too little time in Burren, too much time on Cliffs of Moher (cliffsofmoher.ie), too many coffee/pee stops.


The cliffs are spectacular and, of course, I got better views going on the other side of the sign that alerts you of the danger of falling (some people have actually falling, but mostly those who died there had killed themselves jumping off of the cliffs).

After arriving in Dublin we went to the Christmas Market and strolled under the rain. We ate a very filling savory crêpe and walked back home along the Liffey.


On Sunday we went to Howth and we all loved it, but we all froze our *sses off. Temperature was 2º, I belief, but the wind was very strong and it felt like being up on the slopes, in the mountains, on one of those really cold days where skiing all day long is just not possible without a break to warm up with a hot chocolate in the cafeteria. In Howth we ate brunch, hiked a little bit into the trail along the coast of the peninsula, and came back to town. My dad had lots of fun taking pictures of the seals and I bought a piece of veggie quiche for myself (to take away for dinner) and two blueberry scones for my parents, since they've never tried that type of pastry.

Back into town on DART, Ringsend received us with clear skies and bright sunlight.

Close to home

2nd Irish surfari: West Cork

Update: added these two pictures by Chris.



Just got back from surfing in West Cork county. I rented a car with my housemate's Brazilian friend, G., another addicted to surfing : )

After some needed adjustment to driving on the left side of the road (thank god I had a co-pilot to remind me I had to stay on the left side every time I turned into a new street!), we got to Cork city and took a walk and had dinner with G.'s sweet Brazilian friend, at whose place we stayed. G. and I went surfing in Long Strand today. The conditions were good enough (offshore wind) and I manage to catch a few nice waves, although my feet got cold quite soon and it could barely feel my board after taking off and standing on it. My new wetsuit and rash-guard worked wonderfully and my body was perfectly warm. G. had some trouble coming out to the line-up, esp. because he didn't have a hood and his head couldn't handle going into the water... so he ended up giving up and staying ashore this time.

I guess the average wave was at least chest-high, because most looked shoulder-high and a few bigger than that at their breaking point. The smallest wave I caught and rode for a while was waist high at its smallest sections –that one would have taken me all the way to the shore if I hadn't pulled out to avoid having to paddle back out all the way facing the white waters again. The biggest wave I caught, at least head-high, was the first one, though I fell off of it when I stepped on my leash at the take off : (

After surfing we went back to Cork city and hang out with D. and ate some pizza to recover energy after the surf. Cork looked like a nice place last night, and so it did today at dusk.

The scenery driving in Cork and West Cork was beautiful, both the tiny, winding roads and the open areas surrounded by fields, farms, castles and trees. It was also sunny on and off, and overall we had a great time : )

shopping weekend

Ahir em vaig comprar el neopre mes bo de la marca O'neill, en la versio de 5/3mm, o sigui que no hauria de passar fred ni en l'epoca mes freda, aqui a un parell de mesos. Avui he anat a l'Ikea a comprar llencols, un nordic i elements organitzadors per l'armari, i tan aviat com el pintor acabi de fer el pis, em mudare : ) La meva habitacio, el passadis i el menjador ja estan fets, pero dema el meu company de pis haura de dormir a la meva habitacio perque la seva sera insuportablement pudurenta.

Yesterday I went to a really cool surf shop on a boat and bought a 5/3 Psycho 2 wetsuit. Yes, it was expensive, especially because I paid it in euros, but I'm sure I'll be happy to have in a few months when the water is freezing. On Wednesday I'd bought a fleece-like rashguard to wear under my other wetsuit, another super-stretchy O'neill that I've loved since the very moment I tried it on a couple of seasons ago.

Later I met up with a friend at Stephen Green's mall and looked for bedding and such, but I didn't get anything. Dublin center was packed, like any city center on a Saturday afternoon before Christmas, I guess. It was drizzly but not too cold (for me anyway, now that I have built resistance to 2+ degree temperatures ; ) There were Christmas lights hanging between buildings on Grafton st. and more musicians than usual played to make money for good causes --or for themselves.

This morning I took it easy, and after a late breakfast in the hotel a friend picked me up to take me to her place, where I picked some nice clothes for the black tie Christmas dinner coming up. I then went to Ikea, had lunch and bought all my linen and organizers for my huge closet. I also got a furry companion --will show a picture of him when my room is all tidy and ready to show : )

It was cold today! Sunny but cold, with a freezing breeze. Good thing I stopped at Boots (a pharmacy) to finally buy detangler and a hair brush, because my hair was all over the place today...

settling in

My first week of work at Google Ireland in Dublin has been very positive! It's been exhausting, but much fun : )

Besides the training, all of us new to the country and the company have had to do lots of paperwork and other non-work stuff like requesting a PPS number (like Social Security), opening a bank account, finding a place to live, applying for a health care plan, etc. I also attended my first yoga class as a googler in Dublin, and I met people from lots of different departments and many different countries of origin.

I will continue my work training for a few weeks, because there is a lot to learn, but I'm looking forward to starting real work soon : )

I found a place to live: I will be sharing an apartment with a very nice French guy on Charlotte Quay and I'm very happy about that (it has awesome views!!!)

Other than that, say that although I'm trying hard, I haven't caught up with the Irish in their capacity of drinking beer. I love the atmosphere in Irish pubs, but here in Dublin and on the countryside (and I like the prices of the latter better)

surfing near Sligo

Last weekend I went on a surf trip with the people at the East Coast Surf Club. The social meeting on Wednesday at O'neill's and more had been loads of fun and the Christmas surfari looked promising.

Conor was very nice to pick me up and give me a lift. We drove past Sligo and stayed in a few rental houses on the road between Sligo and Bundoran, not sure where. Some of us hang out in the house and then headed over to the pub in the little town nearby, where other club members joined us as they arrived from Dublin and other parts of the country.

In the morning we checked out a few beaches before we decided to stay in one. The peak in Bundoran looked great at around 9:30am --glassy, shoulder to head-high a-frame, but given that the person who was giving me a lift didn't want to stay and the air temperature was only about 2 degrees, I found sensible to skip that great break and move on to her preferred wave of the day, a beach break with lots of nice, long rides, both lefts and rights. Before checking Bundoran we found an almost flat spot, and just north of the touristy town, an extremely messy one. A few km further north we stopped and changed into our dry wetsuits at almost freezing temperature and hauling winds.

I went out close to the parking lot and caught a couple long rides, but got cold soon despite the shining sun. With my shoulders tired from wearing gloves filled up with water on top of the cold temperature, I gave up and sat by the car hoping to warm up in the sun, but a couple of minutes later Glen came back to leave his too-small-hood in his van and cheered me up to come back out. I'm so glad I did!! I joined him and the other guys at the far left end of the beach and had a blast! I caught lots of really long rights and a couple of lefts.

Once back in the car, now with Frank, and Judith driving, the air temperature was 2.5 degrees at 1pm, with the sun still shining but the fog coming in. We went home to eat something warm, and came back with our dripping wetsuits for a second afternoon session. Now the tide was higher and the break on the left, by the cliff, didn't work so well. I went out in front of the parking lot and had a great time again! I caught tons of waves... and got my back frozen too... My booties and gloves are great, but I need to get some extra layers for my upper body if I don't want to get that cold again. Anyway, I caught so many waves between the morning and the afternoon, that less than an hour after the beginning of my second session I felt, when stretching my arms to stand on the board, that my arms wouldn't hold much longer. I then decided to come back in, but I was so tired it took me a while to catch my last wave.

I had a fantastic session and Judith loved the board she was borrowing. We went back, rested a bit, ate dinner, briefly hang out with other at home, and headed to the pub. I have pictures of that but I cannot yet download my cell phone pictures because I forgot the cd to install its pc software. Most people stayed later and then continued the party in another rented house, with live music and awesome singing, I'm told... but at that time I was already dreaming about the waves I was hoping to ride a few hours later.

On Sunday, however, there was no surf. We went down to another cute town nearby and walked around in the crazy wind... geez, it was difficult to walk : ) I also took pictures of that but they are in my camera, and the camera is in my hotel room.

Ok, I think I should stop here. Sorry for the length and the detail of the post... it's my first surftrip in Ireland : )