This post is for new residents to read before they arrive. Yes, Olive is very obliging with answering any and all questions, but I found that the trouble upon arrival day, especially after the sleep deprivation of crossing the pond, is that you don’t yet know what questions to ask. I’m hoping this blog will answer questions that came to us after Olive left us to our own devices in the apartment and gallery!
We found arriving into Shannon Airport very easy. Before the plane lands, you will fill out a small customs form asking for your address in Ireland (4 Main Street, County Kerry) and how long you are staying. They don’t tell you, but apparently there is no restriction about bringing in your apples or carrot sticks, so no need to wolf them down before you land like you have to do when returning to the states. Going through customs was quick and easy, they didn’t even do a luggage check.
If you elect to take the bus from Shannon Airport to Listowel as we did, just walk out the door after you collect your luggage (and, the wheeled luggage carts are provided free of charge), turn to your right and the bus stop is right there in the first lane. Either purchase the bus tickets in advance online with a credit card, (www.buseireann.ie ) or arrive with some Euros in your pocket as the bus driver can sell you your ticket but only takes cash. You don’t need exact change. You buy a ticket from Shannon Airport to Limerick (I don’t know if the price varies according to the time….our flight arrived in time for us to catch the 7:20a bus and the ticket was 22.50 Euro. Next bus wasn’t scheduled until 10a). You get off the bus at the Limerick bus depot (last stop on the bus from the airport) and there is an agent that will tell you which bus to go to with your luggage to buy another ticket (8.60 Euro) from Limerick to Listowel. Just in case there is no one there to direct you, ask for the bus to Tralee….the next major town after Listowel. The total trip was to take about 2.5 hours, but unlike mass transport in Europe, we have found this Ireland bus is not always on time. I recommend choosing a seat on the left side of the bus so you are able to see the town signs as you travel along. The bus driver does not announce the names of the stops, so watch for Abbeyfeale, as it is the bus stop just prior to Listowel.
Olive will provide you with her cell number so she can meet you at the bus stop. If you are using your cell phone with an international plan, you dial or text her number without the “0” after the 353 prefix. However, once you are working in the gallery, if you need to call Olive with a question, you dial from the gallery phone starting with the “0” (omitting the 353 prefix), followed by the 9 digit number.
the 4 Main Street residents’ “Bible”
First thing to do after Olive leaves you to your own devices is read the scrap book that Emily and Kerry started! It answers many questions such as where to shop and eat, how to operate the oven and the clothes washer/dryer. Nard and I have added a map of Listowel with locations we found helpful marked on the map, as well as a number of other critical pieces of information. Including the first one that stumped us and resulted in an embarrassing call to Olive….how to flush an Irish toilet! Trust me, it’s not just the apartment facility that requires a certain speed of the hand and flick of the wrist. We encountered similar challenge in many of the B&B bathrooms. It became a badge of our Irish-ness each time the flush was successful on the first try!
Music: If you want to listen to music in the studio or gallery, of course there is the headphone/player option, but as a practical means, this may not be the best because if you are working in the studio on your art during your “manning the gallery” time (generally, Monday – Thursday, 10:30a to 6p) the studio is located up a flight of stairs and when a customer comes into the gallery, you need to be able to hear the bell that rings so you can scoot on downstairs to greet them. There is a radio in the studio that I enjoyed tuning in when I wasn’t on duty, to hear local news, music, and a foreign language: there is one station that is entirely in Gaelic (Irish)! Nard and I brought our Jam box speaker that we could plug into our mp3 player that was loaded with music, for listening in the studio before or after gallery hours, or if you want background music while sitting the gallery. I also brought my laptop, which I would take to the gallery desk to research weekend road trips, and I could have music playing from that, as well.
Electrical Devices: Check them before you come over to see which ones can take both 220 and 110 voltage. We found most newer ones can take either, in which case you only need the plug-in adapter to fit the three prong Irish 220V electrical outlets. However, my hair dryer needed a voltage adapter as well as the plug in adapter.
Sleeping: I’ll just say this: the Irish are not the English. Whereas English pubs are proper and folks use their “inside voices,” Irish pubs are the opposite! And they bring their exuberance from the pubs out into the street into the wee hours of the morning. There are pubs aplenty in Listowel, and the gallery apartment is located at the crossroads of them all. The living room window provides for delightful people watching during the day, and the bedroom window provides for generous volumes of conversation and singing, so either join the locals out late on the weekend (including Sunday night) or bring earplugs!
If you like your coffee or tea to stay hot after it’s brewed, we found bringing along our two small klean kanteens was a great idea. Not only did we use them here in the studio/gallery which is kept cooler than Americans are accustomed to, we used them on weekend road trips in our rental car.
Speaking of temperatures, there is no heater in the main level gallery, it is the coolest area of the building, at least that’s what we experienced here in March, especially when the wind is blowing between layers of the historic building. Bring clothing layers options. We were pleased to have our smart wool zip neck tops and fiberfill vests. I was also happy I had both my knit fingerless gloves for inside the gallery and my regular full finger gloves for morning walks along the river. Although, you will notice that the Irish rarely wear gloves or hats! I also brought my umbrella and shopping bags, but Olive has provided both in the apartment. And of course, it goes without saying, you will need a rain jacket.
Along the river walk, momentarily out of the rain under the “big bridge” that crosses the River Feale, our first day in Listowel, February 29, 2016.
The apartment itself is well furnished and equipped with bedding, towels, kitchen supplies. We brought small binoculars which was great to have on road trips to the Dingle Peninsula and Ring of Kerry. There is a printer in the gallery which my laptop connected to just fine, but its temperamental nature required me to go down the street to the printer for copies of my workshop flyers, so it may be easier if you bring any workshop handouts already printed.
This info should get you off to a good start. Follow up this blog by reading the earlier posted “NEWBIE” blog, for more helpful advice to assist you to navigate your temporary Irish citizenship after your arrival. Finally, know that you are going to LOVE living in Listowel!
ITS NAME WOULD BE “CHEERS!”
exciraanddelira 