My next mission was to find a place to live in. After my first few nights at Kinlay, I stayed at place similar to a hostel where you share a room with 3 other people with an ensuite, a communal kitchen and lounge room. Again, I was fussy with where I wanted to live. I love walking, therefore needed to be within walking distance to the city. Because I am in Ireland, I wanted to live with Irish and not other foreigners. It would have taken me 3 days to find what I wanted, a nice cosy little apartment with an Irish girl and an Australian girl just 20 minutes walk out of the city.
After landing a job and an apartment, I decided I should take a little break before starting work, so I booked myself on a bus to Galway for a long weekend away. The bus ride was a gorgeous drive through the country side and going pass the little towns from Dublin into Galway.
I remember from last being here, Galway was my favourite city in Ireland, it’s a gorgeous little Irish city situated by the beautiful ocean, a great break away from the city lifestyle. I’m contemplating going to work in Galway in summer when jobs are available as it is quiet season for jobs at the moment. Having said so, there were Australians I came across at the hostel I stayed at in Galway who managed to just get themselves jobs at the bar and retail outlets.
From Galway, I took a bus to Doolin, a small town where you can either walk or catch the bus to the beautiful Cliffs of Moher. Being the active traveller I decided to walk, it took a good hour or so before I got to the cliffs. It was indeed a trip down memory lane for me to when I saw it a few years ago, watching and listening to the water crash into the cliffs like thunder... I hiked along the cliffs for a couple of hours, it was pretty damp, I accidentally slipped in a pile of mud – but hey that’s all part of being adventurous, at least I didn’t fall over the cliffs. I met a couple of Irish guys whilst at the Cliffs where I was invited to a roadtrip heading back to Dublin. After a good hearty Irish dinner at the pub, we headed out on a 4 hour drive to Waterford city to where the nightlife was very lively. In the early hours of the morning, we ventured back to Dublin. My first experience hanging out with a couple of very hospitable Irish will be a great start to my adventures here in Ireland.
My first couple of weeks have been thoroughly enjoyable working with the Irish, they assist you with getting settled in, making sure your well looked after and offer their wonderful sense of humour. In between training I’ve been given quite a few good tips on where to go and how to go around Ireland.
Another job that I had considered doing here in Ireland was bar work, you do need bar experience though, which I have minimum. However, I’ve learnt that if you are determined and put a little bit of persistency in what you want (with patience), you can achieve anything. So I’ve walked around to bars in Dublin city, most not currently looking as its still relatively quiet, there was one bar with a “staff wanted” sign. I walked in, was asked if I have bar experience, I was honest that I had minimal, however have great customer service skills and was given the job on the spot.
I do have 2 jobs, however I would like to consider the bar job more as a “hobby”, to get acquainted with the Irish and the culture.
One great thing about living in Dublin is that nature is not far to reach when you are in need of a good dose of fresh clean air and natural beauty. Last weekend I took the DART (train) 20 minutes out of the city to a town called Dun Laoghaire and walked for about 4 hours along the spectacular coastal route to Bray. People thought I was crazy for walking that distance, 4 hours is nothing for me though, especially not when I had the beautiful view to follow all the way through. Next weekend I plan to walk from Bray to the Wicklow mountains which is said to be about double the amount of time of what I did from Dun Laoghaire to Bray – any adventure is a great adventure.
I have also arrived in Ireland in perfect time for the rugby games where the streets are crowded with orange, green and white – representing the country. Pubs are packed as the games are played on the big plasma screens. Last night Ireland played against Wales, it was a great game where Ireland scored plenty of goals and won. The pub was crammed with people, eyes glued on the plasma screen, cheers of laughter belted out each time there was a score. The end of the game meant more drinking and celebrating to the crazy hours of the morning (a norm for Ireland) As I left the pub at a late hour, the streets were crowded with people carrying Irish flags - a great time to come and get acquainted with the Irish.
Shopping…I’m not a huge shopper but when your only allowed 15 kilos for luggage there is so little you can take with you. In a way it’s a good thing as there are a few shops here that are really cheap. Before I left home and from coming to Ireland 5 years ago, I knew things would be expensive, however things don’t seem to be as expensive as I thought. If you shop at the right place (thanks to USIT’s tips) you can actually get around at bargain prices. Penneys, which is the cheapest store in town, can buy you most things from clothes to shoes to Manchester to toiletries – 15 kilos worth of luggage is fine to get you sorted for the first few days here in Ireland.
My first month in Ireland in a nutshell….so much experienced in such a short time. I’m sure there will be plenty more experiences to come over the next year…It's all grand (aka great, fantastic, all good etc..) for now.
International
Exchange Programs (IEP) is a non-profit
organisation specialising in sending young Australians
on working holidays overseas, currently to Canada,
Britain, Ireland, the USA, South Africa, Cambodia,
Peru and Costa Rica. IEP also assists young travellers
from overseas on reciprocal programs in Australia.
With offices in Melbourne and Sydney and representatives
in other states, IEP is the largest non-profit,
work and travel organisation in Australia.
From Galway, I took a bus to Doolin, a small town where you can either walk or catch the bus to the beautiful Cliffs of Moher. Being the active traveller I decided to walk, it took a good hour or so before I got to the cliffs. It was indeed a trip down memory lane for me to when I saw it a few years ago, watching and listening to the water crash into the cliffs like thunder... I hiked along the cliffs for a couple of hours, it was pretty damp, I accidentally slipped in a pile of mud – but hey that’s all part of being adventurous, at least I didn’t fall over the cliffs. I met a couple of Irish guys whilst at the Cliffs where I was invited to a roadtrip heading back to Dublin. After a good hearty Irish dinner at the pub, we headed out on a 4 hour drive to Waterford city to where the nightlife was very lively. In the early hours of the morning, we ventured back to Dublin. My first experience hanging out with a couple of very hospitable Irish will be a great start to my adventures here in Ireland. 
One great thing about living in Dublin is that nature is not far to reach when you are in need of a good dose of fresh clean air and natural beauty. Last weekend I took the DART (train) 20 minutes out of the city to a town called Dun Laoghaire and walked for about 4 hours along the spectacular coastal route to Bray. People thought I was crazy for walking that distance, 4 hours is nothing for me though, especially not when I had the beautiful view to follow all the way through. Next weekend I plan to walk from Bray to the Wicklow mountains which is said to be about double the amount of time of what I did from Dun Laoghaire to Bray – any adventure is a great adventure.
