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WTF?: Contact Lens Solution Prices
Look at those prices. Why didn’t I swing by Costco when we were home for the holidays?! At least amazon.co.uk sells contacts lens solution for a more reasonable price . . .
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WTF?: The Backwards-Ass AIB Card Reader
Here in Ireland and throughout most of Europe, contactless credit cards are the norm. Chip technology is so 2007. My Leap card, which is what we use here for all public transit payments, is contactless. I can even put the card against my smartphone and use the Leap card app to top up my account in less than 10 seconds. It’s pretty amazeballs. So imagine my surprise when I tried to send our landlord our first rent payment a couple of days before it was due. I had all her bank account details and was ready to initiate the transfer online. And then I got this message: WTF is an…
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Explore: Christmas Markets in Stuttgart, Ludwigsburg, and Esslingen, Germany
Experiencing a real German Christmas market has been high on my bucket list for years. This past week, we got to visit three in the Baden-Württemburg region: Stuttgart, Ludwigsburg, and Esslingen. They all lived up to my lofty expectations. Lebkuchen hearts dangled from stall awnings, the smoky scent of grilled sausages wafted in the air, and red and white glühwein flowed freely. In a word, the markets were “magical” and I would love to somehow make a trip to Germany a Christmas tradition. Stuttgarter Weihnachtsmarkt The first market we experienced was in Stuttgart’s city center. It’s one of the largest in all of Germany and it’s renowned for the elaborate decorations…
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Word of the Day: Doorstep
At first, I thought this was just a goofy name for this specific brand of bread. Turns out, “doorstep” refers to the thickness of the bread slice (and other brands, like Hovis, use the term, too). Here, it typically represents the thickest slice available (think similar to Texas toast back in the States).
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Dublin Dishes: Thanksgiving at Token
Dublin Dishes explores our dining experiences throughout the city. Who would have thought that a retro arcade/bar in Dublin would serve an impeccable three-course Thanksgiving dinner? Token was booked solid tonight, and we were lucky enough to snag the last two seats for the evening. We already loved Token for its games, having spent this past Saturday night there. Now we had pretty high expectations for the grub since Food Awards Ireland recently crowned Token as Dublin’s Best Restaurant of the Year. Tonight’s menu was devised by Irish chef Shane Guilmartin, who we were told had never cooked an American-style Thanksgiving dinner before. Well, he could have fooled us. He…
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Observations: Week 4
Ireland may not celebrate Thanksgiving, but it sure does love Black Friday. Sales have been going on all week. Yesterday, Ryanair had one-way flights to Belgium, France, and the UK in January for €5. €5! The tram from Edinburgh Airport to Edinburgh city center costs more than that! Many buildings here require you to press a button to open the door when exiting (not really in restaurants and shops, moreso in apartment and office buildings). We’ve gotten the hang of this and are walking into doors less often now. A couple of weeks ago, I wrote about the bread here and how we have to keep it in the freezer. Dairy…
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Word of the Day: Lodgement
In Ireland, you don’t make a cash “deposit” . . . you make a cash “lodgement.” And you “lodge” money instead of “depositing” it. Do any other countries say “lodgement?” I don’t recall England using it (banks there just seemed to use the term “deposit”) . . .
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One Month!
On our one-month anniversary in Dublin, we also finally received all of our belongings from the States! Lots of unpacking and settling in to do!
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WTF?: Lucky Charms
WTF? is a blog series where we look at the processes and events that have made us say “WTF?” during our time in Dublin. Look what we found at our local Fresh store! It appears we struck gold since Cillian Murphy said Lucky Charms didn’t exist in Ireland: But sorry, we’re not paying €9,95!
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Explore: Kilkenny, Ireland
The other night, I grabbed dinner at Bunsen and happened to sit next to a tourist from Chicago. He had been traveling all over Ireland the past week and was telling me how Kilkenny was one of his favorite spots. Intrigued, I did some research when I got home. Realizing how close it was to Dublin, it seemed like the perfect day trip destination. Kilkenny is a medieval town, set about 130 kilometers south of Dublin. Roughly 25,000 people live there, but with a castle dating back to 1195, Ireland’s oldest brewery, and one of Ireland’s two climbable round towers, Kilkenny has become a bonafide tourist destination. When we arrived in…
