Galway, Ireland?

[Betty LaRue]

13 hours ago, Ed Rooney said:

Ah, the VA! Good choice, Michael.

 

I am Irish again. Arrived in lovely, cool sunshine on a lovely Ryanair flight where I talked non-stop with a lovely Iranian young woman. (We worked out some lovely ways to solve the world's problems.) Had a lovely Irish pizza for an early dinner at the hotel and fell into a lovely sleep. So far all is lovely. 

I am so happy for you. May everything go smoothly as you work through paperwork, set up your bank account, and find your home.

And good luck understanding that lovely Irish brogue! Wish I were there. I’ve always desired to see Ireland, rain and all.

Betty

[MDM]

3 hours ago, spacecadet said:

Ah.

Would you mind popping over to the sold page and telling me if my latest one is squeezed? It's also OK for me.

 

Looks fine on computer but weird on iPad if held vertically. It looks fine if held horizontally but the proportions look different to what they look like on my computer. Conclusion??

[Ed Rooney]

Let's not pop the cork on the Champagne just yet. Yesterday went well, it's true. And I enjoyed walking around Dublin today. But there are still hard tomorrows to deal with. On the train to Sligo tomorrow. 

[spacecadet]

1 hour ago, MDM said:

 

Looks fine on computer but weird on iPad if held vertically. It looks fine if held horizontally but the proportions look different to what they look like on my computer. Conclusion??

Images from AIM (copy/past image URL) aren't squeezed, but they're half the size. Something to do with the resizing, I expect.

Thanks for looking as I don't use tablets or phones so don't get to see what some see.

 

Edited June 7, 2019 by spacecadet

[John Walker]

On 05/06/2019 at 15:47, Allan Bell said:

 

Thank you for your good wishes. The area I am looking at at the moment is about 1hr 15mins from Donna Nook by car.

 

Problem is something has come to light with that area which I do not like so may have to look elsewhere but still not too far from Donna Nook.

 

Allan

 

 

Hi Allan

Have you looked into Brigg - nice little town and last time I looked prices were reasonable.

John

[Allan Bell]

3 hours ago, John Walker said:

Hi Allan

Have you looked into Brigg - nice little town and last time I looked prices were reasonable.

John

 

Not for me thanks John. Too small. Lots of travelling involved too.

 

Allan

 

 

[AlbertSnapper]

4 hours ago, Allan Bell said:

 

Not for me thanks John. Too small. Lots of travelling involved too.

 

Allan

 

 

 

Living in a small town is great.. 😃

The downside is that everyone knows your business. Before you do  !

 

Good luck to Edo. Don't know Eire well, but sure he'll be welcomed and happy when settled.

 

 

 

[Ed Rooney]

 

Early summer in Sligo is cold, 11C as I write this. 

 

On the train from Dublin, I spoke at length with a recently retired Sligo City couple. (I seem to have regained 72.6% of my conversational wit. Okay, a matter of opinion). But it is such a pleasure to be able to exchange thoughts with those around me again. The couple told me where I should go and who I should talk to about a furnished rental. 

 

I missed lunch yesterday so I went into the hotel bar/cafe in the early evening after checking in. I assumed the food would not be good. I had fish and chips that came with some mushy peas and a salad. The cod was fresh . . . and cooked perfectly. Everything was tasty. So far so good. Fresh fish could make up for this cold weather. 

 

This is not a pretty city like Seville. But I knew that. I'll let it be a challenge to me. 

[Bryan]

Missed most of this thread but hope it works out for you Ed.  Seems pretty wet all over the UK at present, but it can't go on forever - I hope.

 

I have only been to Ireland twice, once for work. On that occasion I took a bus from Shannon airport and was concerned when a thuggish looking young man with tattoos and a large scar across his face sat next to me. However, a couple of stops down the road an old guy got onto the crowded bus and my neighbour immediately leapt up and offered his seat to the newcomer. Funny the things that you remember....

[MDM]

1 hour ago, Ed Rooney said:

 

Early summer in Sligo is cold, 11C as I write this. 

 

On the train from Dublin, I spoke at length with a recently retired Sligo City couple. (I seem to have regained 72.6% of my conversational wit. Okay, a matter of opinion). But it is such a pleasure to be able to exchange thoughts with those around me again. The couple told me where I should go and who I should talk to about a furnished rental. 

 

I missed lunch yesterday so I went into the hotel bar/cafe in the early evening after checking in. I assumed the food would not be good. I had fish and chips that came with some mushy peas and a salad. The cod was fresh . . . and cooked perfectly. Everything was tasty. So far so good. Fresh fish could make up for this cold weather. 

 

This is not a pretty city like Seville. But I knew that. I'll let it be a challenge to me. 

 

It is abnormally cold at the moment Edo so 11 degrees is not what you would expect at this time of year in Sligo. I had the heating on yesterday here in Cambridgeshire which is very unusual in June. It is probably due to the jet stream being too far south, Arctic ice melt and so on.

 

If by any chance you like Indian food, check out Poppadom Sligo, 34 O'Connell Street, Sligo. I was there back in 2013 and the food is very good.

 

[NYCat]

1 hour ago, Ed Rooney said:

 

Early summer in Sligo is cold, 11C as I write this. 

 

On the train from Dublin, I spoke at length with a recently retired Sligo City couple. (I seem to have regained 72.6% of my conversational wit. Okay, a matter of opinion). But it is such a pleasure to be able to exchange thoughts with those around me again. The couple told me where I should go and who I should talk to about a furnished rental. 

 

I missed lunch yesterday so I went into the hotel bar/cafe in the early evening after checking in. I assumed the food would not be good. I had fish and chips that came with some mushy peas and a salad. The cod was fresh . . . and cooked perfectly. Everything was tasty. So far so good. Fresh fish could make up for this cold weather. 

 

This is not a pretty city like Seville. But I knew that. I'll let it be a challenge to me. 

 

So lovely to hear a happy tale from you again. I visited friends in Ireland years ago and had marvelous food. Of course, they were taking me to favorites but I suspect the days of food being boring in England and Ireland are far in the past. I think the only food I ate out when I lived in London was Indian but that was long ago.

 

Paulette

[Ed Rooney]

You're right, Paulette -- the cooking is great all over the UK and Ireland now. 

 

I passed the Poppadom this morning, Michael. I love Indian food and will be going there soon. 

[spacecadet]

13 minutes ago, NYCat said:

 I think the only food I ate out when I lived in London was Indian but that was long ago.

 

Paulette

It's still my first choice and still one of the most inexpensive ones.

[spacecadet]

4 minutes ago, Ed Rooney said:

You're right, Paulette -- the cooking is great all over the UK and Ireland now. 

 

I passed the Poppadom this morning, Michael. I love Indian food and will be going there soon. 

Too bad it doesn't open till 5pm, Ed.

Pretty expensive by London standards though.

Edited June 9, 2019 by spacecadet

[Ed Rooney]

Ah, not open for lunch then, Mark.

 

But I'm not worried about finding places to eat in this town. That will be okay. Sligo is a very small city, just 20,000 in population. Lagos on the Algarve has 31,000, Marbella 141,000. 

 

I'm feeling very positive about Sligo and Ireland. Every day since I've been here I have had a small victory or two. This morning I learned how to turn on the hot water in the shower and the heat in my room. Eureka!

 

The fact is I still have not found a rental, healthcare, or solved any of my other problems. Poco a poco, or whatever they say in Irish. 

[MDM]

I hope it's still good then Edo 😀. I am vegetarian so only ever sampled the veggie food which was very good.

 

Ireland has become incredibly cosmopolitan since I left in the early 90s. Most large towns in Ireland have Indian restaurants now typically run by first generation Indian, Pakistani and Bangladeshi immigrants. When I was growing up in Dublin, it was almost exclusively white and Irish. Nowadays there is a huge mix of different ethnicities and nationalities. I love the fact that this has happened - it has helped to change the country for the better. The idea that the Taoiseach (Prime Minister) would be a gay half-Indian man was unthinkable not so long ago. 

 

1 hour ago, spacecadet said:

Too bad it doesn't open till 5pm, Ed.

Pretty expensive by London standards though.

 

Ireland is expensive and seems even more so now with the fall of the  £ against the € since June 2016. At that time the exchange rate with the € was about 1.4, now it is about 1.12 😕. Food prices are not too bad in comparison to here, judging by the prices in Tescos which have arrived in most big Irish towns, but eating out is definitely quite a lot more expensive.

 

Food quality is good though. I was over recently in the town of Birr, County Offaly, which could be considered the middle of nowhere off the tourist trails in the Irish midlands. We found a fantastic Indian restaurant called Sanjay's Kitchen which has excellent veggie food, very different from the standard fare as well. We went there 3 times in the week we were there. It was jam packed with locals on the Friday night as well. Reminds me - I need to write them a Trip Adviser review.

Edited June 9, 2019 by MDM

[John Mitchell]

6 hours ago, Ed Rooney said:

Ah, not open for lunch then, Mark.

 

But I'm not worried about finding places to eat in this town. That will be okay. Sligo is a very small city, just 20,000 in population. Lagos on the Algarve has 31,000, Marbella 141,000. 

 

I'm feeling very positive about Sligo and Ireland. Every day since I've been here I have had a small victory or two. This morning I learned how to turn on the hot water in the shower and the heat in my room. Eureka!

 

The fact is I still have not found a rental, healthcare, or solved any of my other problems. Poco a poco, or whatever they say in Irish. 

 

Population of Sligo is 19,199 (soon to be 19,200) according to Wikipedia. That should be enough to keep you busy for quite sometime, especially when you factor in all the tourists and leprechauns. 😀

[Betty LaRue]

52 F ain’t bad, Edo. Better than over 100 degrees you might’ve been facing in Spain.  Remember what you said...you’d rather wear a jacket to enable you to put stuff in pockets than not.

if any consolation, when I checked the temp here it was 57F. That’s about 25-30 degrees cooler than what it should be. We already hit 92 in Wichita last week. A cold front came through last night.

I love the cooler weather, frankly. But the change up for you would be rather stark after being in the heat.  Give yourself a couple of weeks to acclimate and you’ll be grinning. Check Seville’s temp from time to time, and your grin will be wider.

+1 on conversation with people. I knew that would be important. I would imagine adapting to a new country would be hard enough without feeling the isolation from the language barrier. 

I also found out that when I go through something traumatic, I can only handle the easy, familiar things. I can’t deal with learning (or handling) something new and hard, such as learning a new language would be. Sometimes even little barriers could be the proverbial straw.

And you have been through much trauma, my friend.

I’m dealing with my insurance claim from the hail damage right now. Getting estimates, understanding the adjuster’s written report...it all looks like gobbledegook to me. But I did see where the adjuster mistakenly left off the damage to five windows and I  successfully made the call to get them added on this morning. I must not be tooooo stupid. Can you believe I have 17 windows on the back of my house? 😲 All but one with damage? Of course, 11 of them are in the sun/bird room.

I’m far enough past my trauma to deal with it. I have a calm center, finally.

Betty

[Ed Rooney]

You're right on the target with those thoughts, Betty. I was never looking for Shangri-La. With my 6 considerations -- cost, climate, cuisine, culture, walkability, and stock subjects -- I was always willing to compromise. 

 

What will I miss most about Seville? The cheap beer. 

[Allan Bell]

On 10/06/2019 at 15:01, Ed Rooney said:

You're right on the target with those thoughts, Betty. I was never looking for Shangri-La. With my 6 considerations -- cost, climate, cuisine, culture, walkability, and stock subjects -- I was always willing to compromise. 

 

What will I miss most about Seville? The cheap beer. 

 

I am going to land myself in it right here.

 

You don't HAVE to drink beer to have a good and full and happy life.

 

What you save on that will help in other ways.

 

Allan

 

 

[spacecadet]

29 minutes ago, Allan Bell said:

 

I am going to land myself in it right here.

 

You don't HAVE to drink beer to have a good and full and happy life.

 

What you save on that will help in other ways.

 

Allan

 

 

😮

But he won't save on it- it's more expensive.

[Allan Bell]

1 hour ago, spacecadet said:

😮

But he won't save on it- it's more expensive.

 

My suggestion is that Edo stops drinking beer to make the saving.

 

Allan

 

[wiskerke]

Or find the local Lidl. 🍺

https://www.lidl.ie/en/Suppliers-9705.htm

https://www.lidl.ie/en/awards-beer.htm

 

wim

 

[John Morrison]

1 hour ago, Allan Bell said:

You don't HAVE to drink beer to have a good and full and happy life.

 

Say it ain't so, Joe... Say it ain't so...

[spacecadet]

1 hour ago, Allan Bell said:

 

My suggestion is that Edo stops drinking beer to make the saving.

 

Allan

 

Sorry. I don't understand.