Dia dhuit (not that we know how that is pronounced)!

Our introduction to Dublin was a day of uncharacteristic rain – in that it spit all day, not just for part of it. We think the isle was just trying to “help” us get acclimated. Sid was none too pleased.

^{last days in South Africa – Sid with her daddy’s old friend Jill, visiting from NYC}

We tried the hop-on / hop-off bus, to learn our way around, but finding a flat proved as difficult as everyone promised, and having planned our hunting and orientation around what we did not know was a bank holiday was not as conducive to learning the lay of the land as we had hoped.

Still, we finally found a place to live in the great green city. OK, so, the bathroom is a little ratty (and no bathtub for us or Sid – got her a portable Pooh bath) and it gets a bit cold (so the heating will be pricey), but the place is a lot bigger than we thought we’d find in our price range, and in one of the most wonderful areas. Within 5-10 minute’s walk, there’s a beautiful green park with a pond and ducks and geese, a children’s play-set, an area full of restaurants (indian, italian, even a wine-tasting place – not that we can afford any of this anymore), a starbucks in the other direction (hee), and quite a few hotels and lodges for when friends want to visit. And yes, we actually have floor space for friends on a tighter budget. And, like almost everywhere in the city, we are within spitting distance of water, on several bus routes, and are just 10 mins on a bus to the vibey city center – nathaniel is already on the lookout for a used bicycle, cuz hey, it’s that kind of city (yay!). Less than one block away is our local coffee shop (free wireless!), a bookstore, and a fancy schmancy delicatessen, for when we want to treat ourselves (tho for most groceries we will go the 15 minute walk to the cheaper ‘tesco’).

^{Sidonie in her pooh-bear bathtub, and with her daddy in fron of their dublin flat}

Our li’l brick building has a lot of “character” (real estate speak for old and decrepit), but we like it nonetheless. It’s not quite done with the minor touch-ups we insisted on – they are still painting and fixing a few things, and they should have cable-based internet installed next week some time (there’s no phone jack or anything!) – but we are already camping out in the bedroom and we daresay it’s starting to feel a bit like a home.

Guinness does indeed taste MUCH better in dublin (apparently, it’s not pasteurized here, and the factory offers “lessons” on the best ways to maintain pipes and serve the Brown Gold), and we’re also v. into smithwick’s (pronounced smithicks) and killkenny. (Read: nathaniel is into these, really, while nicole tastes and tries to pretend it’s from the Stellenbosch region.) We’ve been past the famous brewery’s main building, but not yet inside – haven’t had much of a chance to see the sites – but we have heard some of the stories. For example, did you know Guinness had 21 kids, eleven of which survived? Apparently, his wife was a little deaf, and at nighttime he would often ask her, “So you want to go to sleep, or what?” Her hearing-impaired response was usually, “What?” Altho we’ve not seen the attractions, we have been to Talbott street’s “cheap and cheerful” shops – “fully furnished” is not quite fully furnished, if you know what we mean….

Sid really likes people-watching in and around the city, but not being brought up within one means that she doesn’t really “get” stroller / pram culture, and insists on being carried EVERYWHERE. Not fun for our backs, even when we have her sling. We must find a way to get her into “buggy etiquette.” Tips, anyone? For those who have not heard, her first tooth erupted around the time of our arrival, and the second is already sprouting – none too comfortable for Nicole, if you get our meaning. Sid has been charming citywalkers and bus commuters all over ireland, and we expect her baby-modeling career to get its jumpstart any day now – altho, her awkward hair growth on top and not on the sides might restrict her to punk rock commercials….

^{This is the view just after entering Trinity College campus from the bustling street, 5 mins from the city centre. Trail along the path to the upper right of the image, hang a left through a small arch, then a right along the side of Aras An Phiarsaigh til you reach its entrance. Nathaniel’s office is on the second floor, which would be the third floor in America… We love that it’s this huge, old, beautiful campus – like Cornell, only actually old as opposed to faux old – but in the middle of a city – like Columbia, but BIG.}

Nathaniel does’t spend much time in the office just yet (still setting up), and the phone is not even on, but when it is, the number will be +353 1 608 2253. He shares with three other postgrads (including Ralph), has super speed internet of ridiculous proportions (tho bittorrent is sadly blocked…), and all kinds of little geek toys he wants to sift through sit on his shelves. They gave him a good PC with a nice screen, so he’s thinking of going cross-platform with all his stuff, soon. Linda Doyle, his supervisor, is even more rad and sweet and supportive than he remembered when choosing this department. It’s going to be great working with her.

We’ve decided on not getting a landline at home, and are instead going with an internet phone. For geeks, our skype handle is nathanielstern (Hilary, this means you can call us for free from Trudy and Dan’s!), and messaging us will “call” our new skype phone once we are online. For non-geeks, all this means is that we will actually have an AMERICAN telephone number you can call – local rates for our US friends, and cheaper calls from SA! Other contact details below. We’ll give out that number to interested parties via email, once we have it.

nathaniel’s email remains the same
nicole’s email: first name dot last name at gmail
nicole mobile number: forthcoming
skype/land line: forthcoming number, handle is nathanielstern
nathaniel mobile: +353 87 913 9885

address:
Nathaniel, Nicole and Sidonie
Middle Flat
57B Morehampton Road
Donnybrook Dublin 4
Ireland

PS and FYI: We do daylight savings in Ireland; right now, we are 5 hours ahead of new york and 2 hours behind South Africa