summertime

snacktime! summer in the city.

kind of like garbanzo crackers. tastes like a pretzel.

Today was a gorgeous day. It was 16°C. I am still not hip to the Celsius temperature scale, but I know that anything above 11 is pretty warm good enough to go without a coat. The internet says it was 61° F today. Ok so I thought it was a bit warmer. Who cares, it felt like the first day of summer. 

To celebrate the sunshine, I took my towel + sunglasses up to the rooftop of the building to read my new book. Instead of learning all afternoon, fate stepped in and I had a lovely little kip. As a result, I was also rewarded with a mini-tan.

Later, hubs and I tried out this recipe for baked garbanzo beans (chickpeas). You have to leave them in the oven for much longer than I was willing to wait. Although a bit soft, they were delicious. For best results, I recommend you start baking them before you are ravenously hungry.

A grab bag of Irish vocab words I've been corrected about in public recently. Fun:

"kip" = nap

"soya" = soy

"bum bag" = fanny pack
"fanny" = female frontspiece (arrested d joke)
"lift" = a ride in a car

"ride" = sexual connotation (really wish I could stop saying this one)

"drop the hand" = getting to 3rd base (or at least joking about it)

"debs" = Irish equivalent of prom

not working...yet

pinchos + sangria @ Havana Tapas Bar -George's Street, Dublin 2

Folks keep asking if I'm working yet. The sad answer is no. I was supposed to start last Monday but I am still wading through the red tape. Here is the breakdown of my permit paperwork timeline:

• March 14th: Habitat for Humanity Ireland calls me and offers the job
• March 16th: I send my permit application forms to Habitat
• March 25th: Habitat completes forms and I pick them up from the office
• March 29th: I complete + send application, passport photos, and a hefty fee to the Department of Enterprise, Trade, & Innovation
• April 1st: Application comes back in the mail, claiming I did not include a job description (I did)
• April 2nd: I highlight the job description, place it in the front of the packet, type up a Table of Contents--to avoid confusion--and post again
• April 6th: Email arrives confirming receipt of my app + hefty fee
• April 10th: Still waiting

For whatever reason (the phone message says staff training but I presume that's code for 'budget cutbacks') the DETI no longer has office hours. They allow people to ring for information between 8am-12pm on Monday, Wednesday, and Fridays. I am calling three times a week to check on my application. Today, the DETI website states they are processing applications from March 21st. This means they are at least 2 weeks away from mine. 

Oh and the best part about waiting? My employer needs to have a copy of my work permit before I can officially get on payroll and begin work. I've been told by Habitat that I need to start in 3 weeks or they might have to reconsider the job offer. Excellent. I am not freaking out at all.

tummy nostalgia

only cheap sushi anywhere -YO! Sushi, Dundrum Town Centre

I'm sure I've harped on about missing Mexican food more than you can stand. Lately it's been more than just delicious burritos with tons of guacamole...mmm...but all kinds of food. I think my tummy is having a case of nostalgia for all the places I've lived before:

• CA Bay Area (Chinese) - salt + pepper fish, garlic asparagus, fried tofu
• San Diego (Japanese, Mexican) - miso, edamame, sushi, burritos, fish tacos, hot sauce
• Madrid (Spanish) - tortilla de patata, manchego
• MN Twin Cities (Vietnamese, Thai) - banh mi, spring rolls, pad see yew, som tum

Instead of lamenting the lack of food that I can't have, maybe I need to figure out what Dublin does right. So far, I know they have Italian down. Based on the number of nationals I've met here, I should probably go looking for Brazilian, Polish, and Mauritian food next. 

tramore

hello, Ocean. so nice to see you again.

Dear Tramore,

You are a lovely little beach town. Thanks for the hour I spent staring at the ocean, watching surfers and the never-ending waves. Even though it was a bit chilly, I forgive you. I want to hang out at your crappy little carnival and play at your putt-putt golf course near the coastline. You also serve delicious chips at 3am. Thanks again for the free food when the chipper guy messed up my order. It made me feel like a stealth, chip-stealing ninja. I had an entirely pleasant time hanging out with you. Have a great summer. 

Love,

Alison

oh and Sunshine too. welcome.

"ringbuoy" = lifesaver

Beach.

kite boarders and actual surfers. reminded me of Mission Beach, SD.

view from our hotel balcony

yes 

making eating motions at a blue cheese brownie-Seahorse Tavern, Tramore.

adorbs

getting pink cheeks for the first time since spain

lebowski sleepover

perusing the hotel attractions

The concert was a lock-in at the Grand Hotel Tramore and they left the venue open for attendees the entire night. What started out as a wild midnight show ended up with people sitting around the pub singing songs, telling stories, and cracking jokes until the wee hours of the morning. I met a bunch of really cool people that, unfortunately, all live in Waterford.

hubs filled in on bass for a song

hubs, v showing off her blue raspberry WKD, and myself

flute sounded awesome. wish i hadn't given up on the flute in 5th grade.

new friends

time for bed

waterford

so ready to ride this train

So hubs and I went to Waterford + Tramore for the weekend to see a show. The trip to Waterford on the train takes 2 hours 45 minutes from Heuston Station in the city centre. I was overjoyed to book tickets online using a special Tuesday discount last week. Then, all I did was show up at the station and retrieve them from an automated machine. €18 for two adults and we were on our way to the southeast corner of the bear. The whole weekend was loads of fun and seeing some green countryside as well as the ocean (!) did wonders for me. 

Aside from some cool street art and a few upcoming festivals, I can't see spending a ton of time in Waterford. Tramore was a hilly little beach town with surfers and kite boarders and a beach that reminded me of Mission Beach in San Diego. As gorgeous as the coast was, I am glad we live in Dublin with all the crazy people and mix of cultures. This was the first time that we were driving into the city and got that feeling of coming home. Home!

riding the rails

my main thought as i looked out the window

was that everything (including the lambies) looked

exactly how ireland should.

Waterford, Ireland

Waterford, Ireland

Waterford, Ireland

the big reveal

in love with H! by Henry Holland. pretty sure it's a clothing line for teens.

falafel sandwich with sriracha + last of my yucateco green sauce. moo.

staff party. oops only took one picture.

my last day as a chef (for now at least)

I spent this week gearing up for a change in my life. The big news? 

I got the job with Habitat for Humanity Ireland. I start April 4th. Kablow.
200 applications. 7 months. Finally...and it's the one I wanted.
Life is good!

To get ready, I did a little shopping and bought a very office-worthy blazer.
I said goodbye to my short-lived + beloved restaurant family.
Now I get a week off for a staycation.
Big things are in store.

name game

personalized wallets with common names

Some totally normal Irish names:

Boys: Eamonn, Caoimhín, Eoghan, Eimear, Pádraig, Enda, Cearnaigh
Girls: Mairéad, Gráinne, Finola, Aoife, Eabha, Gormlaith, Maeve, Niamh, Una

more door

somewhere near Crow's Lane-Temple Bar, Dublin 2

I guess I have a thing for doorways. Please excuse my obsession with pictures of doors. I am realizing this is not normal. Anyway, notice the sweet brunch art featured to my right.

food

ñom ñom ñom

Grubbing on the couch: Spanish tortilla made by a real, live Spaniard. Whoa buddy.

sweets

almost as tasty as George Michael himself

Ireland knows sweets. The candy display at the corner Spar is bigger than the candy selection at an American grocery store. That says something a whole lot. I have heard stories of Irish people visiting the US or Canada and coming back with bags of new candies for their friends and family to try. Candy as souvenirs = awesome. The Irish are such fans of sugar that they even put it in their tea with milk. I have learned that I like my tea 'black'. To me, this is like asking for my ice cream served 'cold'. Please excuse the state of me and enjoy this photo montage of me eating a WHAM bar. 

The moral of the story is that I've found amazing candy here in Ireland. It is super sweet and sugary and all of it sparkles like rainbows and shooting stars. Current Top Three:

1. WHAM bar = semi-hard raspberry thing the consistency of a Now and Later
2. M&S Butter Mints = hard candy that mixes the flavors of butterscotch + mint
3. Curly Wurly = a chocolate-covered toffee bar in a cool, twisty shape

Irish vocab lesson of the day:

"sweets" = candy

"toffee" = caramel

"biscuits" = cookies

"fruit gums" = gummies

"wine gums" = gummies that taste like wine. gross. 

"digestives" = plain flat disc cookies like MarieLus

"jaffa cakes" = fruit + chocolate is usually gross as well.

"penguins" = tim tams for those of you aussies out there.

"banoffee" = a caramel and banana cake that Jamie Oliver loves

"buttons" = chocolate circle tweaked-out animal eyes. see above. yeah.
"the state of me" = a phrase meaning I am doing something horribly unattractive
vrrry useful.

over the lips and through the gums...

look out cavities, here we come!

pot + kettle = black

the aftermath - George's Street, Dublin 2

Oh Mr. Moylan...stop pretending like it is only Americans who use St. Patrick's Day as an excuse to get drunk. Please, do expound on how you celebrated this 'once-meaningful holiday'.

st. patrick's day

got my wellies on

So I didn't get to enjoy the festivities or see the parade but the streets of Dublin were full of people today. Here are a few snapshots from my morning 'commute' and coming home. Lots of wild orange and green hats, face paint, green neck towels, and green leggings. Aside from the outfits and the fact that it was a Thursday, I can't say it looked different from a normal night out in Dublin.

I am not interested in a themed frat party in the streets, so hubs and I ordered in and enjoyed some cheap cider from the Spar around the corner. Does that make me a party pooper?

I was hoping to get a sense of something St. Patrick-related. Maybe some snakes could slither away from me or maybe a special extra-Catholic St. Patrick-themed prayer could be recited. Or honestly any aspect of history that would make St. Patrick's Day in Ireland different from St. Paul, Minnesota. Unfortunately, I didn't learn anything. All I kept thinking is that I can go to an Irish pub and drink Irish beer with Irish people any time I want. That's something to be thankful for, right? At least it was a festive day and people seemed to be in a good mood. I especially enjoyed the flags along the river.

southside quays

parade route blocked off -Dame Street, Dublin 2

George's Street at 9.00am

George's Street looking south at 6.00pm

George's Street looking north

Dame Street

heading towards Temple Bar

Temple Bar