Back on Irish soil!

Return to Ireland

The last flew weeks in Malaga turned rather hectic and after we finally left, time has just flown since we returned to Ireland. We experienced a bit of hassle with getting the dog transport finalised but we got Bones safely home after extending our return date by a week. Let me know if you need help transporting a dog from Spain and I can help you with a recommendation for a Pet Transport Company that can asssist.

Since our arrival back in Ireland I have returned to my 9-5 day job in the library service. Outside of my day job I am helping Ciaran work on his next art exhibition in Kenmare, County Kerry. He has a fair bit of work to do for the exhibition and additionally he is working on getting his new art studio set up. 

Ireland 2021

So how am I finding Ireland after being away from it for a year.

Well to be honest it's great! Right now we are not back in our home as it is still rented so we are currently living in a lovely apartment in the Liberties area of Dublin. It's a pretty cool area and is kind of hip and definitely on the turn towards gentrification. We were down in Kerry last weekend to check out the art venue for the PIGSY exhibition as mentioned above. The venue is the Kenmare Butter Market in the centre of Kenmare and it is a fantastic space. The weather was incredibly good (Ireland was in the middle of a heat wave) in Kenmare and we had a fantastic time. It was a flying visit, we only spent one night there after after heading down on Saturday morning and returning Sunday afternoon, but we got to go out for a meal on Saturday night (in the BBQ attached to the Gallery) and then had a nice breakfast in The Rookery on Sunday morning.

This weekend is a Bank Holiday here in Ireland and given that only outdoor dining is available to Ciaran and I (due to only having one vaccination completed at the moment) we made plans to go for an outdoor dinner with friends on Saturday night. A night on the terrace of Fitzwilliam Tennis Club was planned and it turned out to be a great night with a bit of rain that didn't bother us because the terrace has large awnings. There are also heaters under the awnings and it was a mild night along with all of us wearing layers so we were all comfortable and had an enjoyable night out.

Covid Vaccinations Ireland

Right now Ireland is in a situation where it is flying along with the vaccination programme but we are still under certain restrictions. Restaurants only opened for indoor dining in the last few days after travel starting back on the 19th of July. Digital Covid Certificates are needed for access to the inside of restaurants and they are also being utilised for travel. With vaccinations available for all in Ireland over the age of 16 (12-15 yr old vaccinations will be starting soon)

, I am half way to being fully vaccinated with my next Pfizer jab due in two weeks. So it's all good!

Here's a few pics from the past few weeks for you to enjoy.

My vaccination card - I'm a member of Team Pfizer! 

PIGSY exhibition starts on 2nd of September in Kenmare Butter Market Contemporary Art Venue in County Kerry

Visiting Kenmare - what an incredibly picturesque part of Ireland 

Living in the Liberties in Dublin City - life is good

PIGSY's new Art Studio in Dublin - contact him to visit

Seafood Tower enjoyed by us last night in Fitzwilliam Tennis Club

Junio - a month of sea swimming

June has come in fast!

For this month we are making like tourists in the city of Malaga so the plan is to go swimming in the sea everyday and to partake in regular tapas, wine and cerveza sessions! 

We've also visited a few restaurants that we had been eying up and have made reservations for a few more for the end of the month.

Surprisingly we have also visited with friends in their homes with people beginning to relax over covid - many of them have also begun to get their vaccines of which we will get ours back in Ireland. It's felt so normal going to people's homes with a drinks socialiser two weeks ago and dinner on a terrace on Saturday night and now an invite to an art collector's home on Tuesday night (he has bought some PIGSY pieces).

Here's a few pics of some of the things we have done and the tapas we have partaken in.

Normally we try and go to the beach first thing in the morning and then go for a coffee at the Marina afterwards. But if we go later in the day, we bring a cool bag and enjoy a cold Coca Cola Zero and Beer afterwards.

Bones loves life here in Malaga and always enjoys hanging out in bars with us. He is generally content enough to let me have a glass of wine and Ciaran to have a glass or two of beer before he gets bored and barks at us to go.

Above is food from a nice little spot at the side of the market. It was somewhere that I had wanted to try for awhile and I was glad I visited before we left the city.

La Compana was Ciaran's choice and I really liked it!! Very traditional, great atmosphere and fantastic food. I hope we go back there!

It's about 100 meters from our apartment on Calle Granada.

Here's a funny story about something that happened us when we visited with friends for drinks. We knew the host from our recent language course and were introduced to his wife on arrival to his home. When I was chatting about where we lived she revealed that she had lived in the same building two floor below us. This was quite coincidental as there are only 7 apartments in our block. It got more strange when we discovered that another guest at the socialiser had lived in our actual apartment a few years ago......and she was Irish too!  Small world - it sure gave us all a laugh. What are the chances?!

Celebration Ice Cream - Casa Mira

Casa Mira has been serving ice cream (helado!) in Malaga since the late 1800's. We went there to celebrate PIGSY selling a sculpture about 2/3 weeks ago - but have since returned a few times as he sold two more painting since then! One of the paintings is now in Torremolinos and another is on its way to Dublin. The art life is seriously exciting! 

Summer!

Summer is here in Malaga!  It is hot hot hot!!

Bones got his Summer hair cut and he is feeling much more comfortable. Of course, he does his usual silly thing of heading out to the hottest spot on the balcony and then overheats and has to go inside and sit in the bathroom to cool down. He won't be told to stay inside......

Hedgehog!!

Bones gets groomed in his vets. When I went to collect him the vet showed me this little thing that had just been dropped off. Only 2 weeks old, she was feeding it little nibbles of maybe cat treats or Guinea Pig food and he was loving. Munching away on snacks between drinks of water and living his best life!

The vet said she would give him a little flea treatment and then let him go out in the wild. A great thing to see!

Different country, same ask.....

Safe cycle paths 

I've written in the past about cycle protests that I've attended in Dublin where the ask was for safe protected cycle lanes.

Here in Malaga, the local council introduced fines for cycling in the city streets in certain pedestrianised areas but did nothing to provide safe cycle lanes in replacement. This in effect means that they expect families with young children to drive on busy roads with fast traffic and it also means that delivery cyclists and couriers are receiving fines for just doing their jobs. Many delivery cyclists load up their bullit style bikes with large loads of packages for deliveries - they would be unable to push their bikes with the loads that they carry. Personally, I think this was a big mistake on the city's part and after all the years of seeing increases in cycling and a reduction in car usage, this fine system will reverse all of this positivity.

Yesterday there was a protest cycle to call for safe cycling infrastructure, so Ciaran and I enjoyed the other 2,500 people who got out to call for this.

Here's a few pics from the event - and you can also see more here on Facebook.

Lazing on a Sunny afternoon....

Sunny days in Malaga

Yesterday was a Kinks type of day - we sat in the sun and chatted and drank and then at one point Ciaran checked his email and discovered a great piece of news about PIGSY art!

The reason that I called yesterday a Kinks type of day, is that as I formulated my thoughts for this blog as as well as the blog title, The Kinks "Sunny Afternoon" popped in to my head.

The tax man's taken all my dough
And left me in my stately home
Lazing on a sunny afternoon
And I can't sail my yacht
He's taken everything I got
All I've got's this sunny afternoon

Save me, save me, save me from this squeeze
I gotta big fat mama trying to break me
And I love to live so pleasantly
Live this life of luxury
Lazing on a sunny afternoon
In the summertime
In the summertime
In the summertime

My girlfriend's run off with my car
And gone back to her ma and pa
Telling tails of drunkenness and cruelty
Now I'm sitting here
Sipping at my ice cold beer
Lazing on a sunny afternoon

Help me, help me, help me sail away
Well give me two good reasons why I oughta stay
'Cause I love to live so pleasantly
Live this life of luxury
Lazing on a sunny…

Gosh, even reading the lyrics of that song brings back memories. Many's a sunny day in the 1990's was spent by my twin sister and I sunbathing in the garden listening to our Dad's 1950's / 60's record collection when we should have been studying for our final school year exams. The lyrics bring me right back to that time and I hear all of the other songs on the records like "I want to be Bobby's girl" or "Chantilly Lace" -  I will see if my twin sister can remember some of the other songs.

Here's some pics to show that sunny day...

What I LOVE about Malaga

I've jotted down just some of the things that I love about Malaga!

Dog Friendly

Dogs are not only welcomed in shops, restaurants, cafes and bars but they are positively doted on! Seeing dogs in clothes shops is something that I don't think I'll ever not find it strange......but in fairness it was convenient to pop in for a browse in S'Fera one day with Bones in tow.

Pictured is a dog loose lead wandering around a shop.  As you do in Malaga......

Cycle Friendly

The city is mainly pedestrianized (but new laws have been introduced that you have to push your bike in these areas) and there a lot of top quality bike lanes in parts of the city. The cycle out to the Russian Museum and La Termica on the bike lanes is particularly pleasant and achievable by all ages when using the bike lane

Pedestrianization

As mentioned above, there are very few places you can drive in the city. If people bring their car to the city, they park in massive underground car parks and wander in to the centro. The city being pedestrianized makes it spotlessly clean and I would image it has very good air quality. Being car free means that public road ways are used for  cafe and bar outdoor seating which is a great way to enjoy the fabulous Malaga weather.

Haberdashery, Fabric and Leather shops

Yes there are still haberdashery shops operating in the the city. Want a piece of cord or a piece of ribbon - take your pick of numerous shops that sell these things. There are also lots of fabric stores in a particular area of the city and then you will also find small leather shops that sell belts, bags and other leather goods. Ciaran bought a hand made belt in one of the shops and the owner cut it to size, punched holes in the belt and added a loop to it. Ciaran then went and lost a ton of weight about 5 months later(!) so he went back to the shop and had it adjusted getting more holes punched and a bit of it lobbed off. How great is that?!

Small unique stores (not chains) add so much to the culture, charm and ambiance of a city

Panaderias / Bakeries and Bread shops

Another of the charming type of shops that adds to the atmosphere of the city - there are panaderias all over the place. When we first arrived we happily partook in this tradition and bought homemade bread every few days and shared a Napolitana (sort of like a Pan au Chocolate) every day when we were doing our Spanish course as the sweet treat at morning coffee break really helped us get through the struggles of lessons! We've given this habit up since we went back on keto a while back - remember I mentioned Ciaran needing his belt taken in, this is why!!!

Malaga is a Living City

People live in Malaga. So when the tourists all stopped visiting due to Covid there was still a bit of activity around the city. OK, so it is very quiet (it is definitely a unique time to be experiencing the city and probably the greatest in recent times) but it is not a ghost town by any means. 

Cafe Culture

The cafe culture is vibrant. Everyone in Malaga loves to chat over coffee in the morning and then a cana of beer in the afternoon or a glass of wine, leading in to a slow late dinner with family and friends. There is a buzz around the place outside cafes and restaurants most of the day.

Art Scene

Because I am involved in PIGSY art, I am seeing tons of art. Malaga has lots of galleries both private and state run. I love the attitude that the people I meet have towards art and artists. They are so respectful and show a reverence for art. Perhaps this comes from being the home town of the art great Picasso?

See here for details of Art Galleries and Museums in Malaga

Friendliness

We have found Spanish people in Malaga to be very friendly. They love dogs and always chat to us about Bones - particularly older people which is very nice. When we go out and if we are struggling with speaking Spanish most people we encounter have no problem by helping us and speaking English. Our taxi driver yesterday was a lovely man and told us all about his two brothers - one living in Dublin, the other in Belfast (conversation was in full Spanish) he then went on to say that he doesn't think the Irish and English are alike but that he thinks the Spanish and Irish are more alike. I have to agree!!

Cleanliness

Bins are EVERYWHERE and there are large crews of council staff on foot who regularly empty the bins and sweep the streets. Every morning about 4.30am the street that we live on is hosed down by the council. Possible due to the fact that if you were to compare where we are living now in Malaga with Dublin, you might say we live in a Temple Bar like area of town. Luckily it is very very quiet at the moment due to the pandemic and low volume of people in the area. 

For household rubbish in the city there are large communal bins made up of a small looking bin in the street that drops the rubbish underground when you place your bag in. These bins are then collected daily by crews. It's a great system! Recycling of cardboard and plastic is also provided.

Public Transport

Buses and Trains are regular and cost effective. Yesterday we took the bus to Marbella, going on the slow less direct bus on the way there (stopping in Torremelinos and Fuengirola) it took about 90 mins. The return journey on the more direct bus was 60 mins. Tomorrow we are heading to Fuengirola to meet up with a friend but will take the train and not the bus. The train is modern and extremely comfortable. For info the bus to Marbella was less than 7 euro each way.

Convenient access

From Ireland you can conveniently get to Malaga with one short plane ride with Aer Lingus or Ryanair. From the airport there is an airport in to the city centre or you can take the train which leaves you up at the river in the city. 

I'm glad to share a few of the things I love about Malaga with you - let me know if you have visited and what are your favorite things!

The Old Knitting Factory in Carraroe

 The Old Knitting Factory in Carraroe

Back in 2017, I spent a few weekends in The Old Knitting Factory in the Gaeltacht area of Galway in the small village of Carraroe. 

The little cottage is on the banks of Loch on Mhuillin and I spent a few different weekends there. One trip was with my twin sister and my husband while the other was with my twin sister and our best friend. It is beautiful tranquil place - at the time of my visit there was no mobile data coverage, so I was able to take a complete digital detox which added to the tranquility of the place!

It's great to hear the news and developments of what is going on in the cottage now. Best selling author Betsy Cornwall is working on setting up an artist residency for single mothers in The Old Knitting Factory. I'm excited to see it all evolve for her and how she creates her dream.

PIGSY has written a great blog all about the history of The Old Knitting Factory - click here to read it. It also gives further information about Betsy's plans for the cottage.