The Great Bacon Debate

Adam and I had a lively debate with some of our new Irish friends regarding American bacon vs. Irish bacon, which are also known as rashers. I'm not quite sure how it even came up but upon the very mention of American bacon the noise level of our group escalated as shouts of "American bacon is RUBISH!" filled the air.

Adam and I were a bit taken aback and even a little hurt. We quickly put up our defensive shields and came to the rescue of crispy, smoky, delicious American bacon. The Irish were not having it. They called it soggy, fatty, and disgusting. 

I like to think I'm open minded so let us look at this from both perspectives. The best way is to make sure all involved is this debate have a clear understanding of both sides. So here is the American vs Irish bacon breakdown:

So here is my other big problem with the way the debate went. They absolutely bashed our bacon. While I prefer our bacon (streaky bacon as they call it here)  I don't dislike their bacon, and I certainly do not hate it.  It's salty and nice, but it's a bit like eating a piece of ham, and I guess I just prefer the crunch of our bacon.

While I feel it is important to devote the bulk of this post to bacon alone, it is worth mentioning that a typical Irish breakfast is also a bit different than our American breakfast. Potatoes or hash browns are not a common part of breakfast here, beans however are. Also the addition of black pudding (aka blood sausage) and white pudding (oatmeal sausage) is something you won't find on an American menu. Stewed or baked tomatoes and a fried egg usually round out the Irish breakfast plate.

I know I am not alone in my love of bacon. In fact while searching for pictures and information on bacon I came across some very interesting things that prove how much Americans love their bacon. So here is your bacon montage!
Enjoy
&
EAT MORE (American) BACON!

Can't forget Kevin Bacon!

Lost in Dublin!

Not sure how I want to approach this particular post.  The last thing I want to do is insult the very country that we are now calling home.  I don’t want to be a stereotypical American on their high horse acting as if our way is the right or only way.  However I just need to vent about one thing in particular that has caused me more grief than anything else in the last week.  So here it is.  I am completely blown away by the lack of street signs, the constant street name changes, and bizarre numbering system.

Of course getting lost is typical when visiting any large city for the first time.  I was fully expecting to be turned around a few times, but it seems to be an everyday occurrence especially when we are in search of a specific place. 

Example:   last week we needed to locate the main branch of a particular bank in order to open a new account.  Before heading out we checked both Google maps as well as a traditional paper map.  The bank is located on Dame street.  This is a main street which cuts straight through the center of Dublin.  Upon further inspection of the map however you will find that Dame street changes names not once, not twice, but seven times!  I am not kidding.  The same street from left to right on my little tourist map is named as follows:  Thomas street, Cornmarket, High Street, Lord Edward Street, Dame Street, College Green, and Westmoreland Street.   

Crazy right?  And this is not the only street in Dublin that does that.  Just about every street changes name every couple of blocks.  It wouldn’t be such a bother  if the streets were clearly marked.  For those of you back in the states be thankful for square city blocks and street signs on every corner.  Here in Dublin the street name is not located on a pole sticking up neatly at the corner.   It is up on the side of whatever building happens to be situated on that corner.  However, even that signage seems to be hit or miss.  I can’t tell you how many times we’ve found ourselves standing on a street corner, and I’m not just talking about tiny little alleyways here, and there is not a single indication anywhere as to what street we might be on.  It’s absolutely maddening!  What good is a map!

Back to the bank example and this has to do with the numbering system.  The bank was supposed to be located at number 96.  In most of the U.S. odd numbers are on the left and even on the right.  So 96 would be on one side of the street and 95 should be more or less across the street from it.  Here in Dublin that of course is not the case.  The street numbers on Thomas-cornmarket-high-lordedward-dame-college-green-westmoreland street didn’t seem to go in any particular order.  At one point we were standing in front of a building with the number 8 on it and the next building over was listed as number 23?  WTF!

We did eventually find the bank no thanks to the numbering system!  We stopped in a store and asked.  I guess there is no shame is looking like a lost tourist when it helps to get you where you’re going!

An additional note on the numbering system.  Some places don't even have numbers.  The perfect example is the address of Adam's office here in Dublin. 

This is the address:
Irish Dairy Board Co-Operative,
Grattan House, Mount Street Lr., Dublin 2,  Ireland

Notice that there is no building number.  It's not 405 Mount Street.  It's simply Grattan House.  The name of the building seems to be taking place of the number.  This seems so odd!  It's not as if it is a great big building like The Hancock in Chicago, or The Empire State in New York.  So this too has us scratching our heads.  Maybe in time it will all start to make sense, but until then I'll fall back on the tried and true method of looking like a tourist and simply asking a friendly Irish citizen!

The Wheels on the Bus

In addition to attending a Gaelic football match on Saturday we took advantage of a rare blue sky and decided to take a bus tour.  It was a three hour tour (insert Gilligan's Island theme song here) that took us just North of Dublin's city center along the coast.  The main stop on the tour was of Malahide Castle which was owned by the same family for 700 years.  In fact it wasn't until the as recent as 1975 that the last remaining heir of the castle sold it to the Irish government. 

It is not a particularly large castle, but still impressive given the fact that well... that it's a castle!  Complete with turrets and 8' thick stone walls!  However the inside felt similar to an old Victorian home.  Very well decorated and with amazing examples of period style furniture that had been well preserved.  Pictures of the interior were not allowed, but being the bad girl I am I tried to snap a few anyway.  It's difficult to photograph the interior of a castle without a flash and I only had one or two that turned out. 

In one of the children's rooms displaying a collection of antique toys

I did however manage to capture a few photos of the outside.  It was such a beautiful day, and we had just a bit of time to spend walking around the grounds which are now a large public park.

After leaving the castle and boarding the bus once more we headed down the coast back towards Dublin's city center with a stop at a harbour town called Howth.  We were able to wander for just a bit around the marina and breath in the sea air!  It was really quite beautiful.

 
One more quick scenic stop for a panoramic view of the North Coast of Dublin.  I had Adam snap my picture in front of the tour bus.  Speaking of the tour bus, the very best part of this outing was the commentary of the driver.  He was very entertaining and informative.  He pointed out little things like the school where Paul Hewson (aka Bono) and David Evans (aka The Edge) met and started their band which we now know as U2.  We also passed by the neighborhood and childhood home of Bram Stoker who of course wrote Dracula.  He chatted quite a bit about other famous Irish authors like Oscar Wilde and George Bernard Shaw, but best of all he completed the tour by singing some Irish folk songs!

Some Things Never Change

Back in the states Adam has a mild obsession with the art and skill of beer collecting, trading, selling, and of course drinking! I'm not complaining because I too happen to enjoy my husband's little beer hobby. So you might think that being here in Ireland would provide us with much beer joy. All that beautiful Guinness flowing freely.

However, that's not really the case. Disclaimer:  I thoroughly enjoy Guinness. However, the lack of choices beyond that are a bit disappointing. So leave it to Adam to hook up with a beer buddy within our first week here. Adam is a member of an online group called Beer Advocate  I guess I always assumed that this group was only present in the U.S.  Turns out Beer Advocate has a much further reach! Go figure. So before heading over The pond Adam put a call out to the beer geeks in Ireland to announce his pending arrival. Wouldn't you know it a fellow beer geek heard the call, took pity on Adam and agreed to meet in order to show him the best place to find unique beers and imports.

So a trip to the best bottle shop in Dublin was arranged. Here are a few pictures of Adam and his new beer buddy, Graeme, checking out the beer selection. Look how happy he is!

It's All Gaelic to Me?

A day without rain gave us the opportunity to get out and really imerse ourselves in Irish culture. We did this by attending a traditional Irish sport called Football. No, I'm actually not talking about soccer, because football is of course what they call soccer in most of the world. For sake of ease, for the rest of this blog soccer will be referred to as futbol. But football can also refer to Gaelic football which is one of the four main traditional Irish sports. The other three are handball, hurling, and rounders.  Check out this link if you want additional information about these sports Gaelic Athletic Association

So on our very sunny Saturday after our bus tour and brief stop at the Guiness factory (more on that later) we made our way up to the pitch (aka field) to check out what this football match thing was all about. Dublin happened to be playing Cork, which if you've been following my blog you would know that is where we are going to be living. Without even knowing it I had put on my favorite red scarf before heading out, and when we arrived at the stadium I was thrilled to find out the Cork team color is red! Must have been fate. Dublin's color happens to be sky blue.  For those of you who know me you  will know there is a certain team back home with sky blue uniforms, or as they like to call them Carolina blue (as if they own the color of the sky!) who I detest! Again, I'm chalking it all up to fate. 

However luck was not on my side because my new home team couldn't pull out the win and lost by 6 points. Better luck next time I guess. Let's get back on track with what exactly Irish football is all about. Irish Football is best described as a cross between soccer and rugby. The ball, which resembles a slightly smaller volleyball can actually be moved up the field while being carried in the players hands or being kicked. 

Sounds easy enough right?  Not so fast.. there is a catch. The ball can only be carried up to four steps. If the player with the ball wishes to advance they have to bounce the ball off of the ground, or their foot every four steps. However one bounce on the ground is all they get, then it's only a bounce off the foot or a pass or kick to a teammate. (Adam comment-go ahead and try running full speed while kicking a volleyball back up into your hands every 4th step)

I already feel as if I might be confusing you! If you are still following let me try and explain the scoring system. Like soccer there is a net guarded by a goalie, and like American football there is a goal post. It basically looks like a soccer goal with goal posts attached to it.

A kick through the goal post equals one point, and a score in the net is equal to three points. Like soccer the clock does not stop which I think is nice because the game is much more fast-paced and exciting than American football. Don't get me wrong, I still very much enjoy American football, but it was refreshing, even if a little confusing watching the Irish football match.
This video I found on youtube may help to give you a taste and describes it better than I ever could.

Of course there is certainly plenty more to know but I think I've outlined the basic and most important points. There is a ball that can be kicked, passed by hand, or hit with a closed fist into a goal for two different ways to score, and in the end the team with the highest score is the winner. If you need more info Google it!

So that was my introduction and yours into Irish football.  After the match was over we stopped in a pub for a pint of Guinness. Can you believe how Irish we're becoming after only a week!? Ha ha!



Rain Rain Go Away

Nothing but sunshine and blue skies since the day of our arrival had me wondering if people were perhaps wrong about the weather here in Ireland.  But alas, the truth unveiled itself today in the form of you guessed it …RAIN.  Someone at Adam’s work described it to him as a “soft” day.  Soft meaning light rain and low winds.  This got me thinking about a post I had read a few weeks back on Evin's Blog, 40 Shades of Life

WeatherDry Rain = Mist that doesn’t get you wet even though it’s technically raining
Lashing = Diagonal hard rain (think hurricane weather)

Pissing = Vertical hard rain (not as much wind as Lashing Rain)
Soft day = Cloudy weather with soft mist or drizzle (typical Irish weather)

Wet Rain = Not necessarily a heavy rain, but one that dampens you and soaks your clothes

  I guess I had just allowed myself to forget that the Irish have about a dozen different ways to describe the rainy weather commonly associated with their Emerald Isle. 

Of course I haven’t figured out the bus system just yet so I spent the day on foot.  This wouldn’t have been so bad except for the fact that we only packed one umbrella, and guess who needed it on his walk to work?  So I was umbrella-less most of the morning until I managed to make my first purchase.  Can you believe it’s taken me two whole days to buy something other than food?!  There seems to be good shopping here, but I just don’t really need anything right now.  (Don’t tell Adam I said that!) I’m sure I’ll have more to share on shopping later.

Back to my rainy day; it’s already hard enough being a pedestrian in a large city where the cars seem to be coming from the wrong direction.  Add to that a dozen umbrellas on each corner and it really becomes a challenge.  Fortunately at most major intersections the words “Look Left” or “Look Right” are painted on the asphalt right at your feet.  Thank goodness because I need all the help I can get!  I can barely walk here so I can hardly imagine what it must be like to drive.  Maybe I’ll have a post about driving someday, but for now I’ll stick to the sidewalks!  So wish me luck!  And wish a little sunshine my way too!

Beep Beep, Bye Bye Jeep

Even though I should be moving forward I feel compelled to take a quick look back at a part of the moving process that was very emotional for me.  Remember when I posted that you can’t take it all with you?  Well, part of what I had to leave behind was my car.  No big deal right?  When we return to the states you can get a new one. 

WRONG!  The car I left behind wasn’t just a car, it was more like a little piece big blue piece of me.   The Blue Jeep, also called Parker’s Jeep, had been in my life since 1999!  It was purchased new then during the second semester of my freshman year of college.  Roger and Lynn were not digging driving four hours back and forth from home to The University of Illinois to pick me up for holiday breaks.  I did try and take the Greyhound bus once believe it or not.  Somehow I managed to survive, but just barely!  So it was with great relief to both parties involved that I should have my very own vehicle.  I remember driving her off the lot shining and blue with that new car  jeep smell swirling around me!

From that moment on The Blue Jeep was a part of me.  We’ve been through a lot together.  Around campus I felt like a taxi service.  I can recall piling in 6 to 8 of my friends just to go three blocks to the bars because it was simply too cold to walk!  There were road trips to Florida, The Grand Canyon, Las Vegas and many more; camping trips, pow wows, make out sessions, a beloved dog head hanging out the window, and even an unfortunate throw up incident (Don’t worry, you know who you are and you have been forgiven).   But best of all not a single accident or speeding ticket was had!  So you can see how nothing but fond memories abound. 




One of the many road trips during the college years





The first time she hauled a Uhaul, moving to NC

All of these good memories are what made it so sad when it came time to leave her behind.  Don’t get me wrong, there were times when I begged and pleaded for a new car.  Most of my friends had long since abandoned their first car, and here I was 10 plus years later still driving mine!   At times I felt it was a bit of an embarrassment.  However, now more and more I’m starting to realize that there was nothing to be embarrassed about.  It was still a fine vehicle in the end, and I’m proud I drove the same car for as long as I did. 

So on February 7th; the day before we left our life in Raleigh behind, I also left a big blue piece of me.  I took her to CarMax where she was evaluated, and an excellent offer was made.  With no choice but to let her go, I feel good knowing she has a second chance to keep on movin’ down the road. 
To whoever may have the pleasure of being the next to own my Blue Jeep may I just say thank you and good luck.  Treat her well and she’ll do the same for you with a smile on her face grill and a spring in her step roll.  Enjoy!

Saying good bye in the Car Max lot.  I'll miss you!



Truckin'

Sorry for the huge gap in post! Last week was total chaos. The final stages of packing had me in tears. It's so amazing how much stuff you can accumulate! This was only compounded by the fact that I was sick. I attended our going away party doped up on cold medicine and cough drops. Thankfully by the final day in Raleigh I had turned the corner.

Loading up the Uhaul in Raleigh.

Thank goodness because I was about to get behind the wheel of a 14 foot Uhaul truck for 12 hours. Adam had spent his last 48 hours in Raleigh finalizing things at his lab and I don't think he slept at all during that time. Therefore, I was the one charged with driving the truck. I was nervous at first behind the wheel, but eased up quickly after a few miles on the highway. I am happy to report we arrived in Florida safely and on schedule. We spent several hours unloading the truck into a large storage unit we are sharing with my parents.

Truckin'

Roger and Adam unloading the truck.

Inside of our storage unit.

In Florida we only had one full day with my family which seems sad, but I think it helped us to not linger over the difficult parts of moving away. I am finding it hard to believe that I didn't even shed a tear. It seems odd, but I guess at that point we were still so dizzy with all that had transpired in the days prior, and excited about the journey ahead that tears really had no place.

So we boarded a plane on Friday afternoon finally on our way to Ireland after all these many months of anticipation. Even at JFK while waiting to board the plane, making final goodbye phone calls, it hadn't hit me that we were actually moving to Ireland. In fact 48 hours after our arrival it still hasn't hit me. I feel as if I'm on vacation.

So...bear with me as I let this all sink in. More post to come as soon as I get more settled in. Stay tuned!

Yo Ho, Yo Ho, 13 Boxes and a Bottle of Rum!

OK, so there is no bottle of rum, and there is probably no pirate ship (sigh!), but our boxes left yesterday on a high seas adventure!  So I guess it's official, we really are moving to Ireland, or at least our things are.  Now lets address the non pirate related part of that title... yes, that says 13 BOXES!  As they say you can't take it all with you.  Of course that's a reference to death, and no one is dying here!  But that cliche does hold true with this move.  We simply can't take it all with us, nor would we want to.   So somehow we manged to narrow it down to the essentials and it came out to be only 13 boxes.  Pretty impressive right?

So what exactly is in those 13 boxes?  They consist mostly of clothing, and shoes, but there are also some personal items like photo albums, and small paintings.  Additionally I found space for my good knives, measuring cups and spoons (in case I want to use an American recipe) and my slap chop, yes I have, use, and love, a gadget from an infomercial, check it out here!

One little trick that helped to  fit  cram it all in was taking advantage of our resources.  Working in the food science building has it's pay offs, chocolate milk anytime being one of them, but what I'm talking about here is the industrial sized vacuum sealer!  Typically this bad boy is used to seal large blocks of cheese that weigh more than most 2 year olds, but we put it to work in a slightly different way. Taking a hint from yet another infomercial  (should I be charging for this free advertising?) space bags  inspired us.  Check this out:

I apologize for not having the forethought to take a before picture.

So much better than you could ever do with your at home vacuum, no offense space bags.  We mostly sucked the air out of things we wouldn't care if they were wrinkled much, like socks, athletic gear, etc.

Here are a few pictures of our moving mess, and sending off our boxes.

Adam packing up his bike

 inside of the bike case

some of Adam's boxes

the boxes on the right are the boxes headed to Ireland

Adam in the truck saying good bye to his bike!

There is one more thing I want to address here.  If all of my clothes and shoes are on a boat for the next 4-6 weeks (oh yea, did I mention that it's 4-6 weeks!?) what am I going to wear between now and our reunion?
I did my best, and I think I'm down to one suitcase!  It's a big suitcase, but still that's just crazy for a gal like me!  While I was sorting through what was going to be shipped and what I would leave behind to wear for the next month and a half I recalled a story I had seen on the today show called closet diet, living with only six items of clothing.  While I certainly have more than 6 items of clothing packed, I tried to take into account some of the basic principles they discussed.  So I have mostly black, white and grey, and only a few colorful tops and scarves that don't take up too much room.  I also only have three pairs of shoes!  Tennis shoes, black boots, and neutral flats.  Wish me luck!

Have to get back to packing up the kitchen now!  I think the worst is over, with the exception of the horrible flu that has taken over my body.  I'm feeling a little better today, but not great.  However, as they say... the show must go on!