We rented a place with an extra bedroom for visitors, and have been amazed by the use it has already had!
Ireland is not our forever home, despite the fun we have had and friends we have made during our time here. Because our years here are limited, and due to the challenge and cost of returning home, we have decided to limit the frequency of return trips. Thankfully, many of our family and friends have taken us up on the invitation for a bed to sleep in and a private tour of the lovely city we now call home.
Our Friends
When we lived in close proximity to many of our family and friends, it was easy to take for granted the access we had to one another. Too often we would go months without seeing close friends that lived across town or even around the corner.
Moving to a fun and interesting place, especially for a relatively limited time, has the benefit of motivating people to make a point to visit. In addition to showing around our new home and sharing our lives, we get to focus on spending quality time together during the short time they spend here.
Our first few visitors were some of our closest friends. Unsurprisingly, the pubs are a particular draw for our guests.
Not all of our friends came just for the pubs. After failing to secure a spot in the Dublin Marathon lottery, we convinced Kelsey and Patrick to sign up for the Dingle Marathon, the “most scenic marathon in Ireland”. It did not dissapoint!
In addition to hosting friends in Dublin, we have had the privilege of travelling around Europe and seeing friends in other countries.
The Conan Family
Jenna and our world-travelling niece and goddaughter came out in the spring. For a 2 year old from Texas, it’s impressive that this wasn’t even her first trip to Europe. Thankfully, we all survived a long day driving with a full car 7 hours from Dublin to the Cliffs of Moher, Galway and back - my first time properly driving on the left side of the narrow Irish country roads.
Shortly after the visit from my sister and niece, my parents came to visit. We had a great time showing them our life in Dublin, and had an lovely weekend trip to Edinburgh in Scotland.
This fall, we even had my cousins come visit on their trip to stay in a castle and ride horses in the Irish countryside.
The Peterson Family
Earlier this fall, the Peterson family came out for an extended trip across Europe. Marisa and Anna travelled to Greece, Croatia, and Austria; while Jeff, Kari and Uncle Mike visited Denmark and Sweden before they met and I joined in Munich where we spent a day at Oktoberfest.
After our German travels, Anna and the Peterson parents each came to see us back in Dublin. We showed them around town, visited some pubs, and even got to take them to the big Leinster-Munster rivalry rugby match in Croke Park.
Split the G
I have shared before about a lovely Irish tradition - drinking a lot of Guiness quickly with precision, down to the G. We have subjected the majority of our visitors to this challenge, and decided we should celebrate the victors and humiliate those who fell short. See the page here.
More to Come
We still aren’t sure if we will stay in Ireland beyond the original contract of 2 years, but we expect to host a good few more of our friends and family before we return. As we spend more time in Dublin and have had more visitors, we have gotten much better at showing them around town, giving our own walking tour and showing them the local spots.