Settling In

21 July 2025

I’m in Ireland and my Irish Adventure begins in earnest.

The flight was comfortable, or as comfortable as an airline flight can be.  A delightful Irish gentleman drove me from the airport to my flat in Waterford. I got my first look at Waterford and my flat. I frequently questioned my sanity in moving to a town I had never visited and renting an apartment I had never seen. When I mentioned to my Irish driver that I was concerned that Waterford was never mentioned in guidebooks. His replied that he prefers the non-touristy cities; they are more truly Irish. I’ll see what I think after several months.

My flat is as I expected. It’s very serviceable and will be fine for one person.  I do plan to tweek somethings since I will be living here for at least six months, maybe nine. I plan to get some fluffier pillows, softer towels, and perhaps even smoother sheets, certainly a top sheet. There is also a remarkable lack of drawers in this flat. I hope to find a very inexpensive three or four drawer chest, so I’ll have a place to put my underwear. These are small annoyances in the scheme of the adventure. Praise the Lord that my luggage is unpacked and most of the clothes are put away.

After getting somewhat settled, I set out to explore a bit of Waterford.  I’m not in the commercial center of town, but primarily a residential area that shares space with lawyers, accountants and the like.  I will discover the business sector of town tomorrow (I hope), because I must get serious about living here.  I’ll go grocery shopping tomorrow and hope to pick up a few other items.

I ate dinner at a local pub.  I had fish and chips plus mushy peas, a very traditional British

dish. Mushy peas is exactly what thi dish is. I would rather have had regular peas instead of mushy peas, and i don't like peas. This dinner of fish and chips plus mushy peas and two special, little drinks cost $33.97 (€28.95) about the same as at home.

On an earlier trip to Ireland, I discovered a drink called Baby Guinness.  This drink consists of Tia Maria or another coffee liquor topped with Irish Crème in a shot glass.  The result is a drink that looks like a miniature glass of Guinness.  It has the dark bottom of the black beer

with the white foam of a properly poured glass of beer. They are yummy. I ordered two. What a delicious start to my Adventure.

Each blog will end with a weather report from Waterford or wherever I am. 

Waterford’s weather today: High 66 (19 Celsius), Low 55 (13 Celsius), cloudy, but not raining

                                            Sunup and Sundown today: 5:33 am, 9:35 pm or 21:35 (EU time)

My nest post will have pictures of my flat.