First Week in Galway

So, we got married on March 29th and got on a plane to Ireland 5 days later! With 8 full suitcases in tow (that was an adventure by itself!) we arrived with very little trouble. We decided to rent a car for all of our luggage, so Marco got his first experience with driving on the left side of the road. After a couple of close calls in the parking lot, he was almost a professional. :) We arrived to our hotel right off of the main square and spent a couple of relaxing days and nights just exploring the city. It's not too big, so we have been walking everywhere. On Sunday we moved to a bed & breakfast closer to where Marco's new office is. He's working for the National University of Ireland, Galway, but the research institute he works in is off campus. He started on Monday, but we have spent quite a bit of time this week looking for apartments, opening a bank account, getting registered for an identity card, etc. So far, the weather has been the biggest adjustment! It's really cold here compared to LA. And the weather seems to change pretty quickly. When the sun is shining, it's absolutely beautiful, but there seem to be more clouds/rain than sun so far. And this is Spring. We hear that there should be about 2 months of "Summer", but we'll have to wait and see. The people are so friendly here and everyone is making us feel very welcome. We hope to find an apartment and move in by this weekend if all goes well. I am waiting on my work authorization, but I'll start looking for a job soon. Not sure what I'll be doing yet, but for now I am just enjoying my time off. I am keeping very busy just finding my way around the city and learning how things work. Marco and I are already planning where we want to travel first! I think we'll start with other parts of Ireland, but we are also looking forward to visiting other places around Europe while we're here. Each day is a new adventure and we are both so happy to be here.