could use a ...

haribo right now...
and instant coffee, making a pot of coffee is great for the lay around weekend days, but for the quickie before work, 1 cup is perfect

and Sarah would say, a walk ... way to much time in the car for he liking

Rob

moving back

Well I can say we didn't move back for the weather. Record number of days in the 90s (or mid 30s if Centigrade is your  pleasure) in June and July seems the same. yesterday peaked at 38C/103F. Which might not be that bad if we had A/C which we don't.

If have heard that Ireland skipped summer but a nice day in the 60s sounds great to me right now.

We have not had 2 sets of movers- storage (about 85% of our stuff), air shipment (5%)...
One more to go which is air/sea of our stuff from ireland. This just landed in US and takes train across country. This means end of August for final move of stuff.

So we are 90% moved in and will be that way.

We have mostly settled in the house, other than sweating a lot. We bought a grill and used a couple days when the heat wasn't too bad. Jack has been out to Sauvie Island and filled up a whole bucket off blueberries which we have been enjoying.

anyways, still missing our Irish life. Cooler weather, walking to town, friends....

Rob

european food....

Well back to more cheerful topics

Here are my favorite foods from our journeys, in no particular order

Bitterballen  (Amsterdam)- (minced meat, spices, rolled in a ball, breaded, fried... yumm
Foccacia ( Italy)- In the US this is usually a fancy bread, in italy it is basically pizza crust with olive oil, balsamic, rosemary, salt ... pure goodness
Gelato-(Italy and Germany) yes it is good, and also cheap
Belgian waffles (Belgium), yes in Belgium are better
Beer- (Belgium, Germany) yes it is good, even there NA beer is good
croque monsieur (France) not sure how I never had this before, grilled cheese, smothered in cheese
baguettes, croissants (France) available at the local boulangerie
Lamb shank (Ireland)- free roaming happy  sheep make good food
Sticky Toffee pudding (Ireland)- , no reason we should have this in the states
Open fire pit meat (Germany)- the meat at the Christmas markets was divine
Cornish Pasty (UK) - anything in puff pastry is good on me, the original hot pocket

will need to return to continue to explore the culinary adventure of europe

Rob

some of the little things to miss

A list of the little things

will miss

• authors/books only available here (authors like Jaqueline Wilson, Enid Blyton, series like Dirtie Bertie)
• Haribo
• bike/train commute to work
• morning coffee break
• walking to school
• farm fresh eggs (no need to have chickens at home)
• no tipping at pub

Won't miss

• separate hot and cold water taps
• having to plan for hot water by setting a timer on the boiler
• no free ATMs, charges for every card use
• unadvertised events, leagues- most everything seems to be word of mouth
• school projects sent home with verbal instructions only
• wind (would be great if I were a windsurfer...)

I am sure there's more...

Rob

deep thoughts, bittersweet departure

Well after 2 years it has been quite an adventure

People have been asking 'are you excited to go home?' My answer is that it is very mixed, bittersweet. We have had some great experiences here in Ireland and met some wonderful people. I have experienced as much in 2 years as we did in 5 years in England when I was a kid (thanks Ryan Air for that).
Some different choices at the start (house and school) and we may have decided to stay for a longer time. Would I recommend this to other people?  I would say absolutely (especially if you get an expat deal), but obviously don't make the 2 avoidable mistakes on housing and schooling that we made.

Here is a list of some of the things that went well and that we will miss:

• School trips (bog jumping for Audrey, Tayto park this year for Jack)
• GAA (Gaelic football, hurling, camogie) all great craic
• Soccer (disorganized but the games were competitive and fun to watch)
• Holidays (so many places, once in a lifetime opportunities: Venice, Paris, Lisbon,...)
• Donegal's catch brand breaded haddock and Bachelor's beans with tomato sauce (our regular Friday evening meal)
• Adult friends- Sarah in particular has made some great friends (old and young), perhaps would have made more if Jack were in the correct class. I have enjoyed being a sideline 'soccer' dad (ditto for gaelic sports also...) and interacting with the sideline parents.

Some of the things that went wrong /we won't miss:

• House with carpet throughout downstairs, no wood floor or tile in entry area - odd choice for a country with lots of rain and sports on wet, muddy pitches.
• Jack assigned to wrong grade- he was placed in Senior Infants when he should have been in first class.  This has been a two year irritant that ultimately is one of the top reasons for our departure. Advice to anyone moving abroad with kids - make sure your kid is in the right grade according to age.
• Long days - you would think this would be a good thing, but when kids are knocking on the door to see if your kids can play at 9:30p,  it is a bit extreme. Convincing your kids to go to bed when the sun is a long way from setting is not easy. For those in Portland take your midsummer sunset and add an hour plus (and of course mornings start equally early).
• Sweets- They say that the US is a fat country, but sweets on Friday and even more sweets on holidays (Easter, Halloween, Christmas) start to make the US not look quite as bad.  Here it is balanced by an overall more active lifestyle among kids. 
• Food selection- don't get me wrong, we have had some great food here (see above), but we have been challenged to keep our meals varied.  
• Friends ... 
• for Audrey it took 1 1/2 years to start getting invited to birthday parties, Audrey had some local friends in the neighborhood who ended up drifting on after the first year, so no real local friends she hangs with.  
• For Jack, being in the wrong class meant lots of friends younger and less mature (and that is saying alot for an 8 year old boy). The friends he did make were by and large indoor kids. Which frustrated him because he would almost always choose to be outdoors. He also missed out on possible friendships in sports because all of those kids were a grade or sometimes two higher.
• Communion- Jack missed out on communion in 2 countries because of the grade SNAFU. It is hard enough getting him to church. To get him to go extra for communion will be a challenge.
• Distance from friends and family- While I am used to long distance family, Sarah and the kids are not. The kids would have loved to have their friends and cousins visit them (versus grown ups like Florida Thompsons, Chilcotts, and Lynns visiting us...Not that we didn't love seeing you all, just they wanted the kids to come too. 
• Expat- we did live in envy of Intel friends living the expat deal. Free lodging, utilities, cars, plus allowance means much more disposable income, less financial worry. Would have been a much sweeter deal if we could have enjoyed all of these experiences and made money at the same time. 

That is a heavy post, big sigh, some Irish scenery for a zen-like finish

One month left then back to the states.

Rob

Ireland so far...

Well it has been a busy 2 years in Ireland

We have been to 7 countries

We have made it to 30 of 32 Irish counties (missing Down in Northern Ireland and Waterford in the south)

37 castles in those 7 countries , 24 from Ireland...

Our time is drawing to an end which is bittersweet. It will be great to return to friends in family in Portland, but will be equally sad leaving the friendships we have made here.

We will return of that there is no doubt

Rob

Best food in Ireland by county

Well Ireland may not be a country known for its food but there is some good stuff if you know where to look. Now that we have made it through almost all of Ireland's counties here are some tips  on there to go for some top notch food.

Best pizza - Galway 

Best mussels - Galway
Best chicken curry- kildare ( our local in maynooth)
Best lamb shank - Donegal, runner up kildare ( the avenue - maynooth)
Best ice cream - Kerry (dingle)
Banoffie pie - Kerry ( dingle)

Dishes that are uniquely irish :

- Chicken curry -not a thai curry, not an indian curry, unique to pubs and chip shops. Also associated with chips (curry and chips)

- Lamb shank- not seen too much in the US , lots of sheep in Ireland means good wool and good lamb. This is simple meal, but when done right the meat falls off the bone

-Banoffie pie -  bananas, cream,  toffee, graham cracker like crust... There is some variability with how sweet toffee is , so for some this dish can be too sweet

Sticky Toffee Pudding- moist sponge cake,  covered in a toffee sauce 

Most of these are available in England also , but then there is some overlap between these islands.

What will I miss

Sticky Toffee pudding, Banoffie, chicken curry (we will be taking some curry mix home for this)

For the normal home staples

-brown soda bread (irish soda bread is nothing like soda bread made in US)

-instant coffee (one particular brand), I know sounds bad but you try it and it actually is good

-donegals catch- frozen breaded haddock (Trader joes sells some breaded Tilapia fillets we used for fish tacos, but the irish fish is better...)

-scones- the irish scones can be quite wonderful, and nothing like the starbucks scone in the US

well thats it on this one, until next time

Rob

the missing post

Why hello blog, where have you been...

You think you take a month off, how much can happen.
Where to start...

December: We decided to squeeze on a trip to the famed Christmas Markets in Germany. Sarah and I were skeptical but figured we would have a chance again, it is not a convenient time or activity from the US. We were delightfully impressed. We went to Cologne (Koln in German) which has 7 markets. Each market had its own theme and their own collective cups. The food was marvelous at the markets. The crafts were actually quite good. There was also a skating ring at one of the markets that the kids loved. We also had Stacey along which is a proven vacation booster... Not sure when we will have a chance again but would definitely do again.
After a few weeks of school we went to Florida for Xmas. We had great weather and a predictable good time.

January: a month off

February: I started part time my new job , this meant a few weeks in California.
Then upon return the Chilcotts and Macs arrived for 2 week visit. A busy house , long days, and nights but fun for all.

March: We spent beginning of St Pattys Day weekend in London. Got to experience the London Eye, tower bridge (saw it lift), tower of london (a misnamed castle in my book)... Overall we had some great food and good times. We then made it back for our last St Patricks day in ireland. The kids got to march in the parade . Then after watches some irish dance, then off to the GAA for some skills challenges. A tiring but good weekend.

thats quick update. Still plenty more vacations to recap, plus our parting thoughts (and regrets). until then


Rob

a few more trinkets

From Venice
a glass gondolier

From Vatican City

Icon of Jesus

And a nativity scene from Galway

fun stuff...

Rob

Christmas abroad

We are now in our second holiday season in Ireland.
We went to the Gaiety Panto Peter Pan last night. Definitely a bow Troy Irish form of entertainment, cross dressing, musical, comedy, satirical show.
Today we got our tree. Last year we bought a tree and they said they don't doesn't shed needles here so no need to water,. We didn't believe it, but turned out to be fairly tire. Our Irish tree unwatered shed less needles than the ones in Oregon we watered. Hopefully this tree serves us equally well.

 We decided that we would by ornaments from each of our trips so

we have mask from Venice

Fleur de Lis from Wales

Titanic from Northern Ireland

Dragon from Wales

Ball from Paris

Sardine from Lisbon

Pinnochio from Rome

We are off to Christmas markets in Cologne this weekend so likely more to add,

but with that I am off. 

Nollaig Shona Daoibh

Irish wedding recap

We had the opportunity to enjoy our first Irish wedding yesterday.
First  unusual thing was a Thursday day wedding. Not something you would see in the US ( maybe night but not day)

Now for the timeline of the days events:

approximate times since I was wearing a watch with a dead battery (story for another day,,,)

12:30-2:00 (for us) met bride at her house. The bridesmaids and brides  mom and sisters were at the bride's house getting hair and makeup done. Tea, Coffee, snacks (cookies, sambo's (small sandwiches) , scones...) all there for bridesmaids.

2:00    leave for wedding (venue was 1 hr away)

3:30   Wedding (civil ceremony)

4:30    Post ceremony cocktails (champagne, coffee, tea, small dessert treats)

6:30    move in to reception  (take food orders)

            best man, father of the bride, groom give speeches

7:00     food arrives

9:00    bridge/groom have their wedding cake (note- cake was made by the grooms mother)

           dessert was actually not the wedding cake but some tapas size desserts to finish meal 

9:30    dinner complete, kicked out of reception hall so they could pull tables put in dance floor

9:30-11:00 hang out at bar, socialize

11:00 and on dancing in reception

11:40   They delivered some food to keep us going (sambos, wedding cake, sausages) 

We left at 12:45 or so .... Band was set to finish at 2am

So how does it compare to the american norm?

Long gaps between wedding and reception dinner, reception dinner and dancing. This was actually great. Gave lots of time to socialize without having to shout over music .

Wedding band- this is probably mixed in the US. We prefer DJs, but music was decent for a band (albeit loud for us old folks)

Pace- With the long gaps above , it seems like the irish wedding is in no hurry. In the US there seems to be big rush to get in all the traditions (cutting the cake, first dances, toasts, bouquet tosses...) . In this wedding that all happens but doesn't feel nearly as rushed. There isn't any pressure to finish the party and leave the venue like there would be in US.

Alcohol- not an open bar like the US, but the champagne pre-reception and dinner wine was included, plus coffee and tea. Drinking didn't seem to be excessive though the night was young when we left...

We had a grand time and if we hadn't had work and friends watching the kids, we would have made the effort to stay to the end whenever that may have been (my guess 4am ish...) We felt very welcome despite the fact that we didn't really know anyone other than bride and groom.

Rob

Correction to 5 and counting..

Need to work on my world geography, make that 6 because Vatican City is the smallest country in the world. So we have matched in a little over 1 year what I did in 5 years...

go team

5 and counting...

Okay yes 2 blog posts in 10 minutes... kids quiet for now...

So we have now been in Ireland for 15 months and have made it to 5 countries (Portugal, France, Spain, UK (3 times), Italy). Pretty impressive considering that I loved in England for over 5 years and made it to 6 countries give or take.

Next up on the list is visit to Cologne (Germany) early December to see the Christmas markets ( there are 7 in Cologne...) . We will then have visited all the EU leaders than we can just fill in the gap countries for the rest of our visit...

Those passports are going to run out of pages at this rate.. We are grabbing ornaments from each country, so far sardines from Portugal, welsh dragon, venitian mask, titanic ball... More to follow from Germany

Before our Germany trip we have 1 birthday party ( Audrey's), Disney on ice, late late toy show, an Irish wedding ( will post a review after..,)
After Germany pre Christmas we have 2 panties, Peter Gabriel concert, Jack's birthday party....

Will be a busy month

Rob

Random stuff

So some things that need mentioning

Ireland -
1) not sure why but they seem to have rampant inability to pick up dog poop

Italy -
1) the taxi drivers follow the stereotype of Italian driver., crazy! And in case you weren't concerned they are pretty much looking at their phones the whole trip
2) chihuahua - who knew this seems to be the dog breed of choice, they were everywhere
3) pope - popular dude, everyone likes pope Francis

That's it for random thoughts

Rob

Trip report - Italy

Well unlike the last post I will this one is pronto...

Kids have their fall midterm break every year in the last week of October. The last Monday in October every year is a bank holiday, so kids are always out of school during Halloween. Last year we went to Wales pre-Halloween, came back for Halloween (Thursday) and then to Northern Ireland after.  This year I decided to book the whole week away instead of trying to constrain ourselves with Halloween  (kids not so happy with my ambitious idea).

After some research I decided on an Italian holiday. I was able to find flights to Rome and return from Venice for €160 per person. 

We landed in Rome Sunday afternoon. No big plans for the day, so we went to the Time Elevator. A 40 minutes movie with effects (moving seats, air jets, etc...) Not as good as the Gaudi 4D experience but kids enjoyed. We also had our first of many Gelato treats during the week. For dinner we dined next to the wall of the Vatican. Kids had pizza , adults pasta. I also decided to order some foccacia with rosemary and sea salt , this was spectacular.

Monday, we were off to the coliseum  We had pre-booked tickets (see lessons learned from Barcelona). Almost no wait and we were in. Spectacular views all around. After lunch (more pizza, pasta- best food hear was bruchetta with balsamic reduction, bacon, arugula) we were off to the forum. Audrey enjoyed this somewhat, Jack was getting a bit squirmy.  After the forum we were off to gladiator training. This had received mostly good reviews and we thought kids would enjoy. I'd say they would give it a B. Audrey thought instructor was a bit harsh. I enjoyed the comedy of the kids training.

The next day was our planned vatican day. The morning we spent wandering around. We went to the bone church where Cappuchin monks had made crypts with over 4000 bones

 In the afternoon it was off to the Vatican. We splurged on a private guide. It turns out if you have a guide you get to skip lines, so entry was painless. Guide was pricey. She did provide some good info, but a 3 hr tour through the Vatican was not Jacks idea of fun . There was tons of great artwork , but with so much to see 3 hours can end up feeling rushed.

Wednesday was our last full day in Rome. No scheduled activities, so a chance to see some of the stuff we missed. We wandered through Rome center to a great Gelato place I had read about (Fridgidarium) , it was as good as the hype. We then went to the pantheon where we ran into some people we had met on the airplane (with their kids). After the pantheon we went to a Leonardo DaVinci machines exhibit. Kids were excited for this after watching Sherman and Mr Peabody movie recently. The exhibit was quite good with many hands on exhibits.

We then went to Il Parco Scuola del Traffico (traffic school park) for the afternoon. This is a park with a full driving course with roundabouts, stop signs, cross walks, etc... The cars has proper accelerator and brake bedals and kids were taught to use properly with one leg. This was good fun and educational.

That pretty much wrapped up Rome for us,  

Thursday we took the high speed train (155mph) up to Venice.

Venice was a whirlwind trip. We stayed out on the lido, an island next to Venice island. We ended up arriving there late afternoon, so just had time to unpack then head out to dinner. The venice trip was full of water bus rides, walking, shopping and to finish a gondola ride.

Venice is truly a beautiful city. The gondola ride was a nice memory to close out the trip.

lessons learned in italy

-study menus before committing 

-portion sizes can often feed 2, we went from ordering 1 pizza per person to 1 for two, same with pasta.

-be watched for nickel and dime charges. A bottle of still water with dinner was €4-5. A basket of bread was €4 at one place and the would keep bringing more unasked. A single espresso shot cost anywhere from €0.80 to €2.50

-ask taxi cost first (we asked 2 different drivers a block apart the cost of a ride to the gladiator school. One driver €40 , the next €25)

-gelato is cheap (€2-2.50), but portion sizes are large ( would have been happy with half the size)

and there you have it Italy in 6 days. According to the phone that was 36 miles walked, and not a single complaint about walking from the kids. Maybe if you had gelato stops during a marathon people might do better

link to pictures

Google+ Italy Story

until next time

Rob

Trip report - Barcelona

I realized on our recent trip that I had been remiss in a recap of our last holiday. We decided that we should try and fit in a holiday before school starts, and not just make it the summer of camps.

After some research I decided on Barcelona, fun in the sun, 

Tickets, booked, apartment near the beach all reserved....

The flight was an evening flight so late arrival. We had to pick up the keys to apartment at apartment office . So we grabbed the keys and headed to the apartment. First impression, smaller than the pictures, dirty floors... Wait 10 minutes just starting to put on p.j.s then we see a roach stroll across the floor. With screaming children we quickly vacated and back to the office.

The person in the office did give us a refund but would only give us name of a hotel (not make any calls), so we were sent packing at 11pm at night to find a new hotel. We did find one which had 2 neighboring rooms (not cheap) but worked for 1 night. So moved in got kids to sleep, then frantically searched phone for options for the next day,

 We found a self catering apartment available in Castelldefels , Masd Mediteraneo apartment 22 (same as out house in ireland) . 

Turns out this was a big win. Great pool, close to beach. We did get to visit the beach for a couple of the days. Got to see what the locals wear or don't (nudity, James Bond swimwear, speedos,...) 

We did do 1 day in Barcelona via bus. Unfortunately we hadn't planned well and many of the attractions had huge lines >2 hours. In hot weather (30C) with kids waiting was not an option. We happened upon the Gaudi experience 4D movie. Kids loved this (moving seats, water spray, 3D glasses) . The Gaudi architecture throughout the city was amazing , we only really got to enjoy the Casa Bastllo because ti didn't have huge lines. We did try the hop on hop off bus, sicne that was really good in Dublin, but unfortunately in Barcelona it wasn't nearly as good. Buses were crowded, the audio headset commentary  was underwhelming.

Weather was hot , but being on the coast was great, Food options were decent , better than Paris. 

 I got to sample tapas, paella, cerveza clara (beer with lemon). Prices were mixed, some meals ended up surprisingly expensive (Tapas) , others were fine. 

Lessons learned in Barcelona...

Check if attractions can be pre-booked 

Read reviews carefully

Keep parent friendly touristy stuff to 1/2 day

Kids love pools

Barcelona pictures

Google+ Story - Barcelona

on to the next trip

Irish dictionary redux

A return to the Irish English words to help you survive your day to day life in Ireland.
handy for all you visitors (yes we have a room ready...)

takeaway > to go
ready-made > prepared meals at grocery store, or frozen/tv dinners
lift> elevator
jumper >sweater
coach> bus
estate car> station wagon
saloon car> sedan
film > movie
maths > mathematics
trainers or runners> sneakers
Series > season on tv
Revise > to review
car park> parking lot
multi-storey> parking garage
plaster > band-aid

thats all for now

Rob

at the grocery store...

As we have said before, it is the little things. Here are some insights on how a grocery shopping experience is different here

Shopping carts : you need a €1 coin to unlock / use (you do get coin back at the end)

In the bread section
     Pancakes ( precooked in an 8 pack)
     Waffles ( precooked, smaller)
     Brown soda bread
     Wholemeal bread
     Brown and white bread (labelled best of both worlds)
     White pan bread
     Wraps (tortillas)

Eggs
      usually in the baking section, refrigerated

Produce
      A whole aisle of potatoes. In big sacks, labelled by purpose ( frying, baking, roasting, etc...)
      Local and seasonal vegetables
              - countries of origin prominently labelled

Alcohol
       restricted shopping hours due to blue hours, but they sell beer, wine and liquor at all the grocery          stores

Drugs
      no prescriptions at grocery stores. Ibuprofen only available behind the counter at grocery stores.         Paracetamol would be their pain killer of choice

At checkout
       Bring your own bag or you have to buy bags, or just carry what you bought.
       Bag it yourself (so race the cashier game, can they sscan items faster than you can bag... hint they             always win)

it seems like most foods have expiration dates that are only 3-4 days after purchase so small grocery runs are a little more common.

that's all for now

Rob

Can opener not required

Day to day life is about the little things, here are some of those that are different

In the kitchen:
cans: the cans all have pull tops so no can opener required

yogurt: not fruit on the bottom, its fruit on the side. The upside is you don't get the handle of your spoon covered as you try and mix

coffee: as maybe mentioned in previous posts, instant is king. Upside no coffee maker
potato crisps (chips): They don't have big american bags. When you buy a big bag it is just a bag containing 6 mini bags (the US snack size)

Elsewhere:
newspapers: All magazine style (1 fold on side), I have heard the Oregonian recently switched. Once you get used to it it does make for an easier to handle the paper.
kids magazines: like National Geographic Kids, Highlights, etc... every one has a toy. Will kids not read without a toy?
shopping carts: all require coins to use, (you get back, the coin is like one of those locker room locks)
Taxis : only Ireland will you a taxi line at the mall
floors: first floor is the second floor. Ground floor is the first
Front door knobs: in the US knobs are on the side of door, in Ireland the door knob is right in the middle of the door
Inside rooms: In Ireland every room has a keyed door (including most closets and bathrooms). we have a key at our house for every room door that is 12 interior keys. Key is on both sides (not a key on 1 side switch on the other ).

there are many more , but of course they are all mostly natural to us now.

Rob

I know a Lady...

Today I had an amazing experience.  I was given a private tour of Dunsany Castle in County Meath by none other than the Lady Dunsany herself.  Just the Lady and myself spending two hours in a leisurely stroll through her family's current home.  I described it to Rob this way:  "you know how we get tours through great houses and castles and see all the beautiful furniture and artwork behind the velvet ropes? Well, in this tour there were no ropes."

Original artwork from the 17th century, weapons used to defend the castle against Cromwell's attack, and family photos of Lady and Lord Dunsany and their two sons all mixed together in amazing rooms with 20 foot ceilings and hand carved wood and plasterwork.  In the dining room I asked Lady Dunsany if she ever ate there.  "Sure," she said and pointed to a slightly smaller square table in the room "this is the breakfast table".  At which point she rubbed at a teacup ring on the wood.  Sadly, because of the staggering collection of priceless pieces, I could not take photos of the interior.  Lady Dunsany said that security was an issue for them. She doesn't want pictures of what is there to be stolen posted all over Facebook.  Seemed silly to me until we got past the foyer.  Then I understood.  Standing next to an original Van Dyke from the 17th century I understood why she wouldn't want photos all over the web.  This is what the place looked like from the outside.

Lady Dunsany invited me to return next summer and to bring Rob and the kids next time.  She's so nice.  

Sarah