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Ireland

les24preludes said:
Very tempting! When I lived in Oslo I used to go down to the harbour where you could always get a pint of freshly cooked prawns with mayonnaise, straight off the boats.
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Yes its the same here. Crab, fresh mussels and sometimes prawns here. It is a great experience as you say its virtually straight off the boats or as close as. Can't beat fresh fish. Fresh mackerel off the boat is a night/day difference to what one gets in the supermarket.
 
I live on the NI border...can literally 'see' Republic of Ireland from my house. They've actually started work on the Narrow Water Bridge project that will make the links even easier...
I figured out over 20 years ago, after meeting my soon to be wife from here, that it's the best of both worlds. I'm in the UK tax system and housing, etc is cheaper here but I can dip into the 'south' for work and play whenever I want....80% of my clients are south of the border and I love their attitude to work and life in general (don't take it too seriously).

Our kids also have the choice of a UK or Irish passport and thats become a BIG bonus since you know what...

I lived and worked in SE England for years...traffic traffic, traffic is my abiding memory and the rush. Whilst Dublin has that rat race feel at times and I wouldn't want to live there, it quickly falls away once you get away from there whereas in England I felt so much of it has that feel..a population of 65 million will tend to create that...
Over here, now the southern motorway network is complete, I can be 3 hours from home seeing a client and literally predict my arrival time home in the car on largely empty (off peak) motorways to within about 5 minutes. Although, I sure wouldn't want to be buying and running a nice car in the South.
 
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andyoz said:
Over here, now the southern motorway network is complete, I can be 3 hours from home seeing a client and literally predict my arrival time home in the car on largely empty (off peak) motorways to within about 5 minutes. Although, I sure wouldn't want to be buying and running a nice car in the South.
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I live on the outskirts of Dublin; I agree the motorway network has progressed significantly but it’s still quite “hub and spoke” from Dublin; I think the links through the west coast need to be built up.

Since we had electrics/hybrids, running a nicer car here is far more comparable with other countries. It used to be that the tax was (relatively) very high but that’s really no longer the case.

The bigger challenge is Ireland has high personal taxes and these kick in from a lower level than in most other countries but our delivery of public services never feels as good as it should be given the high tax take.
 
gintonic said:
if the restaurant is full most of the time they wont care - the queue will not only keep it full, but it is an overt sign that it is good, popular and busy.

i have many friends in this trade, and reservation no-shows are terrible. The ones with queues outside do not need to mess about with reservations and/or the time to phone people back. I am more likely to commit and queue than bother with a short reservation
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Yes ok. We got in by turning up at 9. And the pizzas were disappointing. Compared to where I go in Strasbourg, anyway. I'd rate them as bang average for England.

Overall, across 12 meals in 12 different places, we failed to get a great meal. All were average or below average.

Galway is a place for hiking and drinking, at least out of the things I like to do. But this time I was on a course, so only really tested the cafes and restaurants.
 
wiresandmore said:
I live on the outskirts of Dublin; I agree the motorway network has progressed significantly but it’s still quite “hub and spoke” from Dublin; I think the links through the west coast need to be built up.

Since we had electrics/hybrids, running a nicer car here is far more comparable with other countries. It used to be that the tax was (relatively) very high but that’s really no longer the case.

The bigger challenge is Ireland has high personal taxes and these kick in from a lower level than in most other countries but our delivery of public services never feels as good as it should be given the high tax take.
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I could not find one bin on the walk from my hotel in the town centre of Galway to my course, 2 miles away.

And there was me thinking that people just don't check their shit on the floor!
 
That's a peculiarity of life here. Since they introduced bin charges (which aren't cheap - maybe 15 euro per wheel-bin or more in places) - local authorities had to remove large numbers of public bins to stop locals depositing their household rubbish in them.

Law of unintended consequences and all that.
 
andyoz said:
Whilst Dublin has that rat race feel at times and I wouldn't want to live there, it quickly falls away once you get away from there
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My son works in Dublin and spent months looking for a property to buy in the city. Rat race is correct. He was always outbid at the end, so gave up and bought a big house in Bray instead. Good decision - property is cheaper there and it's a super town right on the sea front with nice countryside around it. He's very happy - plenty of parties and barbecues in the garden.
 
To be proudly Irish & have the ignominy of being included in 'The British Isles'.. must be absolutely infuriating. And as an Englishman.. I too find it infuriating. One day sense will be established, & this wretched term abandoned to the history books (& Ireland united back to how it should be).

Capt
 
Could be worse..you could have to listen to the Little Englanders in the North constantly referring to 'The Mainland' :)

(And for the uninitiated - no, 'tis neither the mainland of Ireland or Europe to which they refer :))
 
richardg said:
Yes ok. We got in by turning up at 9. And the pizzas were disappointing. Compared to where I go in Strasbourg, anyway. I'd rate them as bang average for England.

Overall, across 12 meals in 12 different places, we failed to get a great meal. All were average or below average.

Galway is a place for hiking and drinking, at least out of the things I like to do. But this time I was on a course, so only really tested the cafes and restaurants.
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Too late now but if you had have explained you were looking for good food I would have recommended Kai. I think a lot of the joints you were frequently are tourist focused which often tends to be acceptable but not that great.
 
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