Flour Power

Before coming here I was wondering what the cost of living was like in Galway, a city that had a huge growth in the last few years and is now suffering quite a bit with the economic crisis. And while I found some stuff, it was all either too generic or a bit outdated. To make it easier for any Galway newcomers, I’ve compiled a list of some stuff that might help in getting an idea of the prices (if there’s anything else you want to know, drop a line in the comments):

• 1 pint (0,57 liters) of Guinness in a pub: €4.20
• 1 can of Guinness 0,5 liters in the supermarket: less than €2
• 1 pack of Lucky Strike (20 cigarettes): €8
• Cellphone call: €0.29 per minute
• Public water-supply: free
• 1 frozen pizza: from €2.50
• 1 bottle (700ml) of vodka: €20+
• 1 bottle of Porto wine (700 ml): €12+
• 1 bottle (1 liter) of Martini: €13
• 1 double cheeseburger at MacDonald’s: €2
• 1 room in a shared house near the centre: €250 to €400
• 1 t-shirt: as low as €2.5
• 1 kebab: €7
• 1 bottle (1 liter) of water: €1+
• Broadband Internet: €20 to €50 per month
• 1 supermarket bag: €0.22
• 1 Kg of rice: €1.80
• Sliced bread (400g): €1.50+
• Taxi minimum fare: €4+
• 1 bus ticket: €1.60
• Dinner at a restaurant with real food: €20+

I hope this helps in getting a better picture of how much it actually costs living in Galway. And if you’re a smoker and love vodka, this might not be the place for you. Just go to Ukraine instead

… this is what I see. Not bad, eh?

After 2h30m in an airplane to cross more than 1600Km and another 3h40m to cross the 200Km that separate Dublin from Galway (hooray for Irish buses!), I finally arrived at my destination. And what’s the best way to celebrate the fact that I arrived safe besides the fact that these folks drive on the wrong side of the road? With a pint of Guinness, of course.

But only after dinner! Never have a drink on an empty stomach…

Dinner was at the Charcoal Grill, a kebab place that I’ll probably be visiting a lot in the next few months, since it’s one of the few places that stays open until late (perfect for a snack on the way back home). The meal was very nice, but I have the feeling I missed something.

After dinner, the tasting of a proper Guinness, in a proper Irish pub, in Ireland, took place in The Dáil Bar. And I have to say this will be the first of many… Even though it might take a while to get used to the price… €4.20…

That was the first day. Nothing too exciting, because I was a bit tired from the trip. There will be plenty of time to explore Galway’s nightlife in the next few months. I could sense some… let’s say… potential for lots of fun…

Hello everyone! (yes, both of you!). I present you the first post of what I hope to be my long lasting personal blog.

First, some background.

I’ve been planning to start a blog for some time now. I guess I felt the need to have some kind of presence on the web besides having an account in all the major social networks. Or maybe I just wanted to share my ramblings with more than just the person that happens to be next to me at the time. The truth is, the blog never got started until now. And why was that? Those that know me might say it was laziness (which, I must admit, is one of my many “skills”). I prefer to think it had to do with the fact that my life wasn’t that much interesting and that I shouldn’t waste my time writing uninteresting stuff for no one to read.

But something happened to make me take the step to actually do it…

And that was being selected to be part of the Inov Contacto program! What that meant was being sent for an internship in a company I didn’t choose, in a city that could be anywhere in the world. My destination: Galway, Ireland!

This was the tipping point for the blog creation and so, from now on, this is going to be my small space on the web. For starters, I’ll be posting all kinds of adventures I happen to stumble upon during my stay in the country where Guinness was born. Since this is a personal blog, you may also expect to find posts about my interests, which include movies, music, tv shows, poker, technology, books and, of course, funny stuff on the Internet. And then there might be some seemingly senseless posts…

You might be wondering why am I writing in English since I’m actually Portuguese. Well, this is yet another attempt to keep improving my English. And I have quite a few non-Portuguese-speaking friends that might be interested in reading what I have to say. And I’ll write in Portuguese whenever I need to say something that can’t quite be expressed without the richness of our beautiful language

And that’s basically it. Join me for the ride!