Paris, and back in Ireland

So we had an incredible weekend in Paris, it had been a long time since either Josh or I had been there and it was really cool to be able to be there together. The pictures are below. Loved it, and loved the ability to just pop over there for the weekend and then be back to start up a normal week. The travel options here are truly the best part of being in Dublin.

http://picasaweb.google.com/erinhittman/ParisFebruary2009?feat=directlink



We've moved upstairs...our building has 2 penthouses, one of which is a bit larger and nicer than the other. We've been promised the best one, but it's not available quite yet. There isn't anything wrong with the other, it's quite nice and large with tons of natural light and a better configured living space than where we were before, so we are quite happy living here until the other one opens up, hopefully soon. It's not like we have a lot to move, only the stuff we brought over which is the equivalent of abt 5 suitcases, so I'm happy to move us like gypsies to get the best possible place. I'll put pics of the place up soon. Our shipment should arrive by the end of March, and things will start to feel like home then. More than anything else we are looking forward to obtaining our bed. Obviously we are quite large, and the two of us attempting to sleep in these tiny double beds is ridiculous.



We made the first steps toward completing our legal status in Ireland. We got the green card, and had to register yesterday with the Gardas, the Irish police. We spent the better part of about 5 hours standing in line, waiting, and finally getting Garda cards, which aren't residency cards or even identification cards, just proof we complied with the basic requirements of registration. So we have to register with the Office of Social Welfare to try for a PPS#, the equivalent of a SSN in the States that we need to get anything done here, and what that will accomplish i have no idea, but we'll play along later this week. It's frustrating as hell, and honestly i understand why people enter countries illegally, this is wildly inefficient, time consuming and expensive. At one point yesterday, with about 250 people waiting to be seen, the 12 service desks that were available had 3 people working, and each person takes 15-20 minutes. The most efficient they got was to have 8 of the 12 open. There were people from Russia, Nigeria, China, India, all trying to get this card, and we were among the few lucky ones who managed to walk out of there with the card we set out to obtain.



This week is pretty standard, we've got the English/Irish match Saturday that we are trying to get tickets to, and Mick is helping us look too, so if they can be found, we'll find them but if we can't we'll head to a pub. Mom is sending me a package that includes Kraft macaroni and cheese...it's funny the things you miss when you can't get your hands on them. I am craving chips and salsa and that mac and cheese. The food here has been rough to adjust to, overall it's just not good, but we are sorting thru the bad restaurants and have found a few we really do like so we can hit them regularly and continue to explore.