It's a long way to Tipperary

I finally made it to my new home town 'Thurles'. After a grand time in Hamburg with plenty of sessions in beer gardens and great weather I arrived in Dublin last Monday (September, 11!). I was a little upset arriving in pouring rain after I had left Hamburg in a sweat at 30 degrees and blue skies. I then got onto the wrong bus (the one going to Belfast), as I struggled to understand what people were actually telling me. Luckily I noticed before departure that I was in the wrong bus. I quickly got out and battled my way, still in pouring rain, to the Dublin AirCoach and landed a seat next to a very friendly lady who lived her whole life in Dublin. We chatted away and she said to me "If you don't mind a drink, you will love Ireland" And from that moment onwards I felt a whole lot better!
I spent the following 2 nights with my friend Kylie (we worked together at Flight Centre). Kylie showed me around Dublin and we got to see 2000 year old 'bog men' that were found in bogs and are so well preserved that you can still see their beards, fingernails and other interesting flaps of skin... From there we went to the oldest church in Dublin, where you are allowed to climb down into the crypts. In those crypts lay 1000 year old coffins that had fallen apart and still contained the , now mummified, bodies. Absolutely amazing stuff. We were even allowed to rub one of the mummy’s hands. I chickened out but Kylie went for it. Go Aussie go! After the crypts it was time to meet Col and to check out a few Irish pubs. I tried my first Guinness and it went down like water. I always thought I did not like Guinness... i am in trouble now. I guess you can all imagine how the evening/ night went on.
Our heads were hurting the next day and it is true that your poo goes black. I say no more! That Wednesday Col and I said good bye to Kylie and headed to Thurles (pronounced: Tur-less). Thurles is approx 80 minutes by train from Dublin.
Thurles positively surprised me and is a very pretty picturesque and busy town. Even the weather seems to be alright here. Thurles has 36 pubs, to start with the important facts, 3 night clubs, a cinema, 2 gyms and even a brand new arts complex with a very modern library. This is where I am right now. Col and I are still staying in the hotel but are moving into our new 1 bedroom apartment tomorrow. Soon we should have Broadband - watch out you skypers! - and a home phone etc. The apartment is pretty small but has new heating and a fairly new kitchen, which is all we need for now.
I will post some phots and more info about our contact details as soon as we are online again.
So folks, that's all for now. Wish you were here!
Breeza

P.S.: Here you don't have to watch for dog , you have to watch for spew. Crazy!