My goal for today was to see as much of the city as I could between house viewings; I’m pretty sure I walked over ten miles. After a quick breakfast at the cafeteria, I set out to see the nearby St. Steven’s Green. The pictures don’t really do it justice. It’s easily the most beautiful thing I’ve seen so far in Dublin. Located about 5 minutes from campus, the park exhibits many statues, wildlife, and fountains (those who know me well know that I believe a fountain makes anything better tenfold). I walked back to campus through Grafton Street, a pedestrian-only street filled with shops and restaurants. The shops are pretty decent, but very touristy. For lunch, I sampled a donnor kabob (Irish lamb) which I thought was a wrap, when it’s more like a pita. I tried to eat it with my hands and made a hot mess of myself when sauce oozed out of it and the bread fell apart. They give you a fork and a knife for a reason.
I went to my first viewing at three which was tucked away in the south-west part of the city center. The woman Leo (?) was very nice but five other people lived in the apartment and she was none too pleased when I told her I would only be here for 3 months. The second viewing was directly across from St. Patrick’s Cathedral, like the first thing I would see when exiting the building would be the church (Sidenote: the churches here are beyond gorgeous, more impressive than most of the churches I saw in Italy). The place was small but nice and the landlord was fine with me staying three months (he, however, may have been the world’s sweatiest man: his hand was drenched at room temperature, even at the end of the viewing. The third viewing was in an apartment complex was on the north side of the city (a river divides the city in half). An odd thing happens when you cross the river. The touristy elements evaporate. Storefronts give way to lines of houses with a few industrial buildings and pubs scattered throughout. It’s not a glamorous area and it’s rough in some parts, but it feels much more authentic. I viewed the third place at a moderately nice apartment complex (The Old Distillery). The guy who showed it to me, Owen, was a 29 year old employee of a website which turned video into sound (don’t ask me how). We actually got along quite well and chatted about IP law and new technology (i.e. thebomb.com). The place was much larger than the others I’d seen, so I made an offer and told Owen to speak with his landlord to see if three months would be ok. I then had about 45 minutes to kill and walked around the area. I went into an Aldi (which we have in GA, but I had never been to one). It’s a grocery store with decent prices (you’ll find I have a small fascination for prices/pricing), but so small compared to US grocery stores (which I miss quite a lot). I kept exploring and went into a mall. Two stores of note: Penny’s and Dunnes. I don’t know how but they are stocked with dirt cheap clothes (eg dress shirt+tie combo for 9 Euro). Maybe they’re not of the best quality, but I don’t really care as I can make just about anything look good. They remind me a little of H&M (my local fave, which they also have here) but cheaper with more variety. Didn’t buy anything as I didn’t have the time. Went to my last viewing, a two-story house shown by a 31 year old man named Fergal. Fairly large place with a decent living room and bedroom. An Italian woman also lived in the place, but will be moving out early October. I made an offer to Fergal to take the place and he said he would contact his landlord and get back to me.
I finally made my way back to the Trinity dorm around 8pm after stopping at a Subway (restaurants here are absurdly expensive, much better at lunch). Killed some time with my ITouch apps. Angry Birds Lite/ Sudoku are a lifesaver for life sans internet. Around ten Fergal called. He said I should just move in and any problem the landlord had with the three month period, he’d deal with. A little troublesome, but I liked the place and need a place to sleep tomorrow. So now with most of the busy work out of the way (bank account, phone, housing), I’m going to relax tomorrow. Maybe actually tour something. Definitely buy a mobile internet device for my laptop (sorry cafes!).
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