Dublin, Ireland for New Year’s 2024

 

To kick off 2024, we decided to travel out of India and ring in the new year in a first world country. Ireland was just the retreat we needed. Living in India has been more of a hardship than we expected.

All of our overseas moves have been to “hardship posts” but India has been unique among them. 

We planned our New Year’s holiday in Dublin a couple of months in advance. I researched hotels and we hoped to just relax, enjoy first world luxuries, and maybe take in a few sights. Our holidays are low-key now as India has been tough on my health, my autoimmune disease symptoms have flared up, and that limits how much we can do in a day. Our first taxi driver in Dublin heard that we were going to have eight days to spend and he was aghast that we were going to spend it all in Dublin. To his way of thinking, as a chauffeur to rich Americans during the high tourist season, with that much time, we could see at least half of Ireland, with a day trip to North Ireland as a bonus! He was a wealth of knowledge. Speaking at break-neck pace, he gave us several history lessons in the short taxi ride to our first hotel. I know some people who might really enjoy his kind of jam-packed schedule and plethora of Irish historical stories, so I asked for his card. Who knows. Maybe I’ll have a change in health in the near future and we can use the card ourselves.

Our trip began with a red-eye from Delhi to Zurich, Switzerland. It was my first time in Switzerland, even just the airport, so I was very excited. I did a project on Switzerland in the 7th grade for the annual Social Studies Fair. Visiting Switzerland has been on my bucket list for quite a while now! It was early morning and only one boulangerie (aka cafe) was open. We had a chocolate croissant and coffee and immediately felt better. 

First world living baby! I have been studying French in the hopes of needing to use it should Stephen transfer to Geneva with the WHO. But in Zurich, and most parts of Switzerland, they speak Swiss German. I’ve spent some time studying German too but for the moment, I have momentum in my French language studies, so I’m sticking with French for the time being.

It was a nice layover in Zurich and then a short flight to Dublin. Can I just say: Swiss pilots are amazing. We flew Swiss Air and each landing was as soft as I’ve ever experienced. Stephen and I have flown a lot; we’ve had our share of bumpy landings. The landing into Zurich was as smooth as butter. The flight service is second to none as well. 

But for the aircraft, (short seats and very little leg room) Swiss Air would be my top pick for international air travel. They do give you a small bar of Swiss chocolate at the end of each flight: that almost redeems the less than ideal seating situation. 

Getting our luggage in the Dublin airport was quick and painless. Since we were early and couldn’t check in for several hours at our hotel anyway, we sat down and had a coffee. Then catching a taxi was super easy. 

Our first hotel was called the Lombard above a pub by the same name. The pub was welcoming and warm. After notifying the staff that we had arrived, we were told that housekeeping would try to rush so we could check in earlier than 3pm. We ordered our first Guinness of the trip and settled in to enjoy the wait.

While we waited, several groups of people were already getting started on their New Year’s celebrations. They were incredibly loud! Generally, I prefer quiet and calm, but there was something just comfortable and homey about that Irish pub. I recorded a little of the festivities to help me remember that unique New Year’s experience. 

We were hoping to eat in our hotel pub for at least the first few meals as we adjusted to jet lag and got our bearings. But it turned out that the kitchen was closed until after we would have checked out. So Stephen found another pub just up the block which turned out to be so good we went there twice.

Pubs are not difficult to come by in Dublin. There are often several on any block you happen to be near. 

At dinner Stephen had another Guinness but I wanted some coffee. I wasn’t sure how to order just regular brewed coffee and as I stumbled to ask, our waitress said, “So an Americano with milk on the side?” I don’t know why but that she understood exactly what I wanted AND that the term “Americano” was such a regular drink, I exclaimed, “Yes! Exactly!” She smiled, amused by me. The language barrier in India, and all the countries we’ve visited in the region, has made me expect communication to be difficult. To be in an English speaking country after all this time in Asia was a most welcome surprise. I just felt so happy to be understood. And to get exactly what I ordered.

That was how we both felt for the first several days in Ireland: just so pleased that things were easy. Easy to talk to people, easy to find what we were looking for, easy to order in coffee shops and restaurants. We settled into our hotel early each night, the time difference between Delhi and Dublin is 6 1/2 hours, and I couldn’t have felt more content.

We had some shopping we wanted to do so that was the primary focus for the first few days. As I’ve mentioned before, it’s super difficult to find things in India. The products may be in Delhi somewhere, but we’ve found it’s just more work to try to search than it’s worth. So we wait to get most things we need when we are in a 1st world country. I had hoped to buy some new boots but only managed to find some good socks and a couple of really fun scarves. Stephen had more success and found a new winter coat and a lightweight jacket to wear indoors. 

Dublin was cold to us, though not snowy or icy. And Delhi has been more cold this year than last. So we need cold weather clothes. Seems crazy, when the summer temps hover over 100 degrees for months in Delhi.

Our second hotel was something I was super excited about. And we were not disappointed. ArtHaus Hotel is my kind of hotel. The decor was inspired by Kandinsky, a modern abstract artist whose colors I’ve always been drawn to. The teal/blue/green color palette of our room was calming and peaceful.

After checking into the ArtHaus Hotel we were ready to start seeing some of the sites. First up was St. Patrick’s Cathedral (of March 17 fame). 

It was a beautiful sunny day as we walked the short distance. When I was in college, I did a study tour in London, and it was then that I discovered my love of cathedrals. I find cathedrals to be peaceful both during services and off times. One of my favorite classes in undergrad was a course called Ancient Architecture. I remember very little of the content at this point, but I do remember how intentional the architects and builders were. Very often to accentuate natural light. 

One of the history lessons we got from our taxi driver was about this door: the Door of Reconciliation. Two warring clans were at an impasse, both wanted to stop the fighting but neither side trusted the other. So the leader of one of the clans cut an opening in the door of this cathedral (that they were holed up in) to show he meant what he said: he wanted to stop the fighting. The leader of the other clan saw that the first was willing to put his hand out to be cut off by a sword and admired the bravery and honor it took to take such a risk. The clan leader decided this man could be trusted. From this experience came the phrase "chance your arm".

St. Patrick’s Cathedral was founded in 1191, but has been renovated, with the current main structure built in 1824. The stained glass windows and interior architectural design are just so beautiful. Towards the end of our exploration of the cathedral I found a bronze rubbing station. 

I thoroughly enjoyed making two rubbings that I brought home as memorabilia. I donated some Euro toward supplies for the station so other visitors could enjoy making rubbings too.

On our list of places to visit was the Guinness Storehouse. 

The self-guided tour through the whole process of making Guinness was quite interesting. We watched a video at the beginning of the tour of a cooper building a cask that would later be used for the brewed Guinness. Each cask was made by hand and it was wild to see how each one came together. The skill of a cooper made me appreciate artisanship all the more. At the end of the tour we enjoyed burgers and Guinness and heard the end of the set of an Irish musician. I managed to record a few notes while Stephen was placing our order. 

Our evening concluded in a most magical way-with a carriage ride from the Storehouse back to our hotel. 

I had seen the carriages and heard the horseshoes on the pavement several times in the previous days so when I saw the carriage sitting at the exit of the Storehouse, I just knew that was how I wanted to return to the hotel. 

We did take a short train trip out of Dublin to the coast at Grey Stones. As luck would have it, the rain stopped and the sun came out. 

We love public transportation and try to use it whenever we can, wherever we are in the world. Ireland doesn’t have a huge population so maybe that accounts for the only mediocre trains. Not like Japan or Singapore, both densely populated countries. 

When we returned from our day out to the coast, Stephen tried to use a taxi app he had downloaded to his phone. He had done a little research and found that Uber is not allowed in Ireland, so he looked for a different service. We use Uber almost exclusively to get around in India. It’s quick and reliable. But we waited for 30 minutes in Dublin, when the driver finally just abandoned the job. I was watching as taxi after taxi drive by us, so at that point I decided to just hail one. It took less than two minutes for us to be driving toward the hotel. The driver took us right to the front door, where we could close the taxi door, turn around, and walk right into the ArtHaus. The next time we are in Dublin, I think we’ll skip the apps and just hail any taxis we might need.

I could have just stayed in Dublin, living at the ArtHaus, but all vacations must come to an end. Now that we’ve seen what Dublin is like, we want to explore the rest of Ireland. Definitely a trip for the future, maybe in the summertime.

India Expat Life Chapter 4 ~ Life is Good

 {The following post was written almost a year ago. I’ve been writing posts steadily as the months have gone by, but then failed to polish and publish them. It's never easy to write when things get challenging, as they invariably do when living abroad, but I'll get to that later. For now we'll go back in time to the "honeymoon phase" of life in India. My plan now is to publish all my, until now, unfinished posts from the previous year in quick succession. It suits our times I suppose: Stephen and I binge watch whole seasons of TV shows in a couple of days. ha  So my first post of 2023 describes life in 2022. Hopefully the other posts will follow and I'll catch up to present time. Maybe then I can start publishing in a more timely manner going forward. *fingers crossed*}

 

August 20, 2022

“Life is good.” This thought has popped into my mind several times over the last few weeks. There are just so many things to enjoy about this expat life of ours, the India chapter.

I made tropical fruit smoothies this morning, like I have nearly every day now for the past three weeks.

Mangoes, papayas, pineapple, bananas…all so much more delicious here than they are in the US because they are local. But mango season is nearly over now, so I’m making the most of the days/weeks that we have left to get them.

At the market where I bought mangoes and papaya, I stopped at one of the flower stalls. Shops selling the same type of things are regularly grouped together here in India. I’ve bought from this florist before. He sold me the most beautiful lilies I’ve ever had. 

So, I’ve made a point to seek out his shop specifically even though every shop owner will try strenuously to get my business. This time I asked him to make a bouquet for a gift. I selected the flowers: white lilies, white carnations, purple orchids, lavender, and some greenery. He made the most beautiful bouquet I have ever held.

It was also enormous. Much too big for the size gift I was intending. Stephen suggested we keep it to enjoy ourselves and get a different bouquet for the gift at a different time. This guy is now my go-to florist. His work is art. 

From the market, I caught a bicycle rickshaw home. This driver actually met me at the entrance to the market and offered to wait until I was done. He patiently waited by the flower stall until I had finished my other shopping, I gave him an extra tip for his trouble. He said, “next time?”, so I think he was pleased.

Earlier this week, one of the owners/landlords of this apartment building kindly took me shopping for curtains in yet another local market. We went to three different stalls until I found a fabric I was happy with at a price that I was willing to pay. That afternoon a tailor came out to measure the space and said he would return with the new curtains Sunday or Monday. He arrived Sunday and quickly hung them for me.

Wow, right. They turned out better than I even expected. 

As the owner and I were about to leave the market, I noticed a pineapple cart just across the street. So, I bought a pineapple and asked him to cut it up for me.  He asked for 90 rupees so I gave him 100. $1.25 for expertly cut pineapple. 

Mrs. Gupta drove me to the market in her car, but our main mode of transportation here in New Delhi is the auto rickshaw. 

Although you can hail an auto, Stephen and I mostly use the Uber app. The price is preset so there is no haggling and we don’t get hoodwinked and overcharged. Most of my one-way trips are 60-85 cents. I always tip so it’s really generally $1.25 per trip.  I don’t need to speak any Hindi and the drivers don’t need to speak any English. I’ve taken 100s of trips this way, and I always get to my destination promptly. The added bonus is there’s no need for me to try to figure out parking. One autorickshaw driver drops me off and another one to takes me home or to my next stop. Before we moved to India, we thought we might buy a car. And then once we got here, we thought we might also hire a driver for that car because traffic in India is pretty wild. But in the end, autos meet most of our needs better than our own car and driver.

Now that we’ve moved to a more spacious and comfortable apartment, I’m painting in acrylic again. We’ve designated a room for my studio so I have the space I needed to paint large scale, something I’ve been so longing to do. I finished a large ocean scene so Stephen had something on the wall behind his desk. 

He has weekly calls for work and he wanted a nice background. 

I almost set a record for how quickly I finished this piece. India seems to have sparked inspiration. I’ve already started another ocean scene in acrylic and it’s coming along nicely. I had hoped India would be like an artist’s retreat for me. I think that’s exactly what it is turning into.

September 22 was the first day of Autumn. Living here, there aren’t the same markers for the start of my favorite season. In the Pacific Northwest, there is a crispness in the air, and the colors of red, orange, rust and ochre start to become more prevalent. What we’ve been getting in Delhi, this year at least, is rain. Finally, the monsoons have truly arrived in our area.

Other parts of India have been flooding, but in our specific neighborhood there has been very little rain until now. The skies are grey, almost white. This means less natural light for me to paint by. But I’ve moved to a corner of my studio that’s amazing in any light.

The rain has brought cooler temperatures. I haven’t had to use as much air conditioning. I can open the windows and let in some cool air. Saving on energy costs is always nice. But more than that it’s nice to have comfortable temperatures again. We moved to India at the hottest time --- from winter in the US. Quite a shock to the system.