Friday, December 13, 2013

Oh Canada!

So I've fallen off the face of the Earth lately in terms of blogging... Due to a valid reason though of course. I've been in Dublin now for a month this Wednesday & can easily say I'm enjoying every second of it. Before I get cheesy though with my love of Ireland, I'll just say that being an expat always makes me appreciate my home country, Canada! What I'm missing...

A Trenton Police badge in the oldest pub in Ireland... Trenton's close to where my Mum lives.

Kraft Peanut Butter & Dinner, need I say more?! Though I did find what looks like a sketchy box of Kraft Dinner at one of the grocery stores here, at 4 Euro a box I think I'll pass.


Maple Syrup... All the 'Canadian' ones here are made in Ireland haha, but s'pose I'll survive! My first Irish breakfast with the fam, they literally gaped, mouths wide open gaped, at the fact that I poured maple syrup over their hard work. I'm determined to get the kids hooked already... Hahaha.

As much as I miss Canadian food, you can never go wrong with a home cooked Irish dish from what I've learned. Bangers & mash is my current favourite.


All Day Breakfast Buffets! I've yet to find one, but if anyone at all knows of one in the Dublin area I will buy your breakfast. Seriously though. Also I haven't found anywhere who does decent pancakes yet, so it's a good thing I'm a pro at home made. When I think about it, the pubs may just make up for it though & that's a bold statement...

Canadian Whiskey & Beer. I've found a few labels at the Celtic Whiskey place on Dawson Street, which is actually incredible for their selection, but there are still a few I've yet to find... Kokanee anyone? Guinness will happily do for now.


Swear one pint always seems to turn into ten though, a vicious cycle ha!


Poutine! No-one knows what it is here?! Not even my American friends, so I'm determined to make it for them at xmas... One major food group for Canadians that can't be replaced.


Timmy's of course. Though I've heard some Spars have them, I'm still on the hunt. I was actually debating on whether I should make a day out of it or not, too far? Not for good coffee.

Driving... I do miss having my own vehicle dearly. Also, trucks. Real trucks. I miss them too. Luckily the public transpo is something Europeans do well.

Sephora. Boots will do, but it's no Sephora. Though my wallet's not complaining whatsoever & I definitely have a soft spot for British cosmetics.

Snow/Ice Hockey/Snowboarding is one aspect I miss about home that I probably always will. Being able to go night riding on a whim & drive 15 minutes to the hill is now considered a luxury. Thankfully I have trips already planned to Norway (booked!), Austria & Finland for the season or else I'd probably go mad. 

A photo of our backyard my Mum sent me.


The palm trees here are lovely though & oddly enough I'm in love with the gloomy/drizzly weather. Also, I've been walking about in a t-shirt these past few days! IN DECEMBER. This is unheard of back home. Come to think of it I've got a few funny stares here, but it's warm. Rugby will never replace ice hockey for me, but I can deal! Already love the atmosphere rugby creates here, literally everywhere. When New Zealand won against Ireland the other weekend there were literally men in tears at the pubs, was brilliant. No sarcasm either.

Am I the only one who thinks it's bizarre & incredible cool that Ireland has palm trees? How did I not notice these on my last trip?!


Lastly... Medical Care!!! 50 Euro for a visit to the doctor here?! Um, no thanks, think I'll suffer. I admit Canadians are spoiled when it comes to our health & I'll always be grateful knowing that my friends & fam back home are well taken care of. They're the biggest part of what I miss back home & to add more sap to the mix, I'm ridiculously lucky to even have people I can say I miss. Bisous.

Seemed fitting.

Can I just end this by saying that as much as I already do & will miss Canada, the accent & genuinely nice people here make it easy to call Ireland my new home. What do y'all miss?! When you're an expat, when you're long-term travelling or even on vacation? I think it'd be interesting to know everyone's home comforts depending on where they're from & where they are now. Also, I have to add that I found it incredibly hard not to fill this entire post with hilarious Canadians memes. Google them for your own enjoyment, please! But I will leave you with this...
xxx



8 comments:

  1. Oh, I know how you feel! I miss all of that, especially poutine. And you know, it took me moving to Honduras and living with Americans to find out that it's called Kraft Mac & Cheese there, not Kraft Dinner. They all thought I was retarded when I kept calling it KD. I had to Google image search it to prove it to them!

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    1. Ah yes poutine is the killer for me.
      I KNOW! I literally just found out a couple weeks ago that it's Mac & Cheese here, not KD. Everyone though I was literally nuts hahaha. x

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  2. I'm the same… whenever I'm gone for an extended period of time, I miss home so much. But I think that's the beauty of travel, and I think it's why a lot of people who never travel or leave home are actually unhappy… because they don't know what they have to be grateful for in the first place! Glad to hear you are settling in well!

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    1. Exactly :) We appreciate home that much more. Just another reason I'm in love with travel. Thank you! x

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  3. Canadian salad rocks! I remember working on a collaborative post on different breakfasts from around the world and the blogger who was contributing the Canadian breakfast said "we eat a lot of maple syrup and drink a tone of coffee" and it made me laugh! :)

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  4. I find I miss many of the same things about home: food, driving, etc. but it's always the best reminder knowing your replacing it with things you'd miss about oyur new country!

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