House is made of bricks and stones, Home is made of Love alone

After a couple of crazy weeks, spent as much as I could with friends and family, enjoying the warm waters of a spa in the little city of Merano, some lovely dinners made of hugs, comfort food and little talks, the amazing autumnal colors of the mountains during a nice pic-nic, that ended up with a hot chocolate and many many laughs in the cozy house of a friend near a very picturesque lake, surrounded by woods, I’ve finally found some time for myself to stop and dedicate my thoughts to this little place of mine.

Leaving Dublin the first day of October, after three months full of discoveries, emotions and challenges, hasn't been as hard as I had expected! I mean, even if I really really love the city and I have been feeling welcomed and at ease there from the very first moment, during this period away from home, from the people I love, I  have realized that I can’t live separate from all of them, from the verdant, peaceful, tidy and comfortable little village where I live since when I was a child and where all my roots are.

The first days at home I've felt grateful even for the smallest things like enjoying breakfast with my mummy, the morning cuddles with Cloe, going to the farmer market to fill my bags with delicious vegetables and seasonal fruits and wandering in the little streets of Venice in a bright and sunny afternoon.

Living abroad is not easy and, in spite of the excitement of a new life that you can built from scratch, sometimes you feel lonely and miserable, and all you want to do is to fetch the first plane to go home! I must say I have been really lucky to have my dear friend Annalisa (who I met more than 6 years ago in the beautiful city of the lagoon) and her lovely boyfriend who have taken care of me and made me feel at home, and my new japanese friend Chikako, who I can't wait to meet again in a couple of months!Friendship knows no boundaries and, if it’s deep and genuine, it can last for years and years despite the distance!

Therefore, what I have learnt from this amazing irish experience is that every person, even the strongest and the most independent one, really need to have something or someone that can give sense to the life away, that can fill it with happiness, satisfaction, dreams, and that can give his/her help, day by day, to build a new "nest" there, where you can feel at home again and you can start to weave your own web of relationships which are the secret of a joyful life.

Love

Martina

Sunday In Verse...

" I want to travel the world

although in my path

I will meet the rain,

that coming down will make me wet.

And even with my eyes dimmed of water 

I will see things

that in a room, sheltered

I could never see."

Something I'm loving in Dublin...

Reading in the park: sitting on the grass, with a good book, enjoying the gentle breeze in a sunny day, it's one of the thing I love the most of my new life in Dublin.

N°7 Boots Lipstick "Sweet Copper": I want to say a big Thank you to the lovely Rebecca of "Halfway Home" who suggested me to go to Boots and ask for a "colour match" to find the shade of lipstick that matches perfectly with my skin tone. It turned out that I'm a "warm ivory" so I chose this beautiful bright color and I must say I bloody love it!

"Cornucopia": a vegetarian restaurant, on Wicklow Street in Dublin, in a beautiful Georgian building. I discovered this place thanks to my japanese friend Chikako and I loved the warm, friendly and welcoming atmosphere, but especially their menu! The food is prepared in-house, it's delicious and changes every day.
Being a dairy-free greedy girl, this is a paradise for me, because they are passionate about vegan and gluten-free food, so I can eat almost everything and, moreover, I can enjoy amazing cakes and scones!!!
The name Cornucopia is a symbol of food and abundance so I can't really think about a more perfect place to spend some quality time with my friends!

Sipping Chai Tea Latte with soy milk: the warm, aromatic flavors of cardamom, cinnamon and black pepper ...a beverage that is wonderfully sweet and spicy and makes me feel cuddled and regenerated!
I've tried it for the first time in a little Starbucks near St. Stephen's Green this summer ( how did I survive for 27 years without it??!!) and I'm determined to learn how to prepare it by myself before the long, freezing winter, because it's the perfect thing to enjoy under a wool blanket, watching the snow falling down...Any suggestion??!!

Wandering around in the amazing independent bookstore "Chapters" : housed on two floors, it sells an extensive range of books, music, and dvds, both new and secondhand, as well as thousands of bargain priced titles!
As you know very well I'm a booklover so, when I came in for the first time I felt completely speechless! I spent more than two hours inside, totally absorbed in this magic world! There were so many amazing books that I could have bought everything but, in the end, I decided to choose two classics: "Little Women" by Louise May Alcott and "Rebecca" by Daphne Du Maurier. I can't wait to loose myself again between the shelves of this little piece of heaven in the hearth of Dublin!

Love
Martina

And The Sun Was Shining In Howth...

Hi lovelies!

Here I am for another chapter of my life in Ireland!

The last weekend of July my parents and my sister flew to Dublin to visit me for some days, so I thought it would have been a good idea to take advantage of the sunny weather and going to Howth, a small fishing village, for a short family trip!

We met on Saturday morning in St. Stephen's Green and, after the sweetest hugs and kisses and a proper breakfast in Starbucks, we went straight to Tara's Station to take the train to reach our destination, ready to breath the salty air of the sea.

Once in Howth we started to wander around all the tempting little seafood restaurants of the pier and, after an accurate selection, we chose " The Brass Monkey", which had a relaxed and fun atmosphere!

After a quick look at the menu, I decided to go for a grilled salmon, with roasted baby potatoes, julienne of vegetables and citrus...utterly delicious!!!I don't know if it was because I was with my family and I felt incredibly happy and relaxed, but I enjoyed every single bite of that meal! 

After lunch we decided to explore the village, so we spent a couple of hours strolling around the tiny streets, the cosy cemetery with its old abbey and the market, which offered a fantastic selection of local, Irish and international food, but also jewelry and gift ideas.

Determined to see the seals, we went up to the promontory, where we could finally catch the sight of them...two tubby lovely exemplares, which were relaxing with their bellies up in the cold water of the sea!

Furthermore from up there the scenery was stunning, and we spent at least half an hour sitting on the grass, enjoying the view of the ocean in all its shades of blue, kissed by a pale sun and cuddled by the sound of the waves...

After a month spent far from my family, it was so nice to be together, laughing, chatting, taking lots of pictures...and I realised once again how lucky I am and how much I love them, especially my little sister who is growing up as a wonderful young woman and is always my best ally!!!

Love

Martina

A Day Trip To The Wicklow Mountains

Hi lovelies!!!

I'm so glad to be back in this little place of mine...life in Dublin has been really busy last month and I really needed some time for myself to share all my adventures with you!

The first weekend of July, less then a week after leaving Italy, I decided to join my new japanese friend Chikako, who works with me at the university, to a day trip to the Wicklow Mountains.

Being a girl from the countryside I couldn't wait to discover the surroundings of Dublin, a city that, despite being small and very cute, could be absolutely crowded, especially during the weekend.

Having been warned by the locals that in Ireland you can experience all the four seasons just in one day, I was well equipped against the bad weather, happy and excited about all the amazing places that I was about to visit!!!

As you know, I'm a great fan of the film " Ps: I love you", a romantic comedy with Hilary Swank and Gerard Butler, so you could imagine my happiness when I discovered that the trip included some of the most important places shown during the story...it was also funny to listen to our guide, a middle-aged irish man, when he tried to tell the plot of the movie, trying to seem as excited as the women of the group when we reached the salient points.

The day started with a very nice walking in an enchanting wood somewhere in the Wicklow Mountains, where we could see some of the oldest oaks of the country, a key part of the natural and human irish heritage.

In Ireland in fact the oak tree was traditionally a symbol of strength, kingship, endurance and fertility and is often considered the King of Trees.

It's unbelievable that a place so close to Dublin can be so wild, green, quiet and stunning! The city is just around the corner but you can feel the power of the nature, and enjoy the smell of the moss and the wet leaves, admiring the gorgeous colours of the countryside.

At lunch time we stopped in Enniskerry, a little village where we found an organic restaurant which served a delicious dairy free vegetable soup ...exactly what I desired to warm me up a bit! And after the soup we went straight in a lovely coffee shop, called "Kennedy's" where we spent half an hour sipping an amazing cappuccino with soy milk.

The last stop of the trip was Glendalough, one of the most important monastic sites in Ireland. It's a wonderful place, crossed by a small river and surrounded by hills and woods, with its cemetery, the round tower, the cathedral in ruins and the little church, which give it an air of mystery.

I really can't imagine a better way to begin my adventure in Ireland, because I'm totally convinced that the beauty and the essence of this island is not stuck in the cities, but in its green meadows, in the scents of the fuchsias, in its deep blue water, in the waves of the Atlantic Ocean and in the running clouds of its skies.

Love
Martina

My first days in Dublin...

Hello lovelies!!!

Guess what?! I'm in Dublin!!! I'm writing this post curled up in the bed of my room, with a cup of tea and some ginger biscuits..we don't have them in Italy so I was looking forward to savor their delicious taste again!

I arrived in Dublin last Monday, but it was late at night so I went straight to bed...carrying 35 kg of luggages made me feel really exhausted!!!

On Tuesday morning, after a quick breakfast, I went out exploring the surroundings..it was sunny and warm, so it was a pleasure to stay outside. 

I needed to buy some things, especially food, so I found a nice old woman, whose name was Beatrix, who was so kind to show me the road to a big supermarket where I found everything I was looking for! It was really funny to chat with her because she explained me many things about the old Irish language and the history of Dublin, and she made me feel really welcomed!!!

In the afternoon I had to meet my new colleagues at the DCU ( Dublin City University) and I was so excited! They were all very friendly and the department is situated in a very nice place, just in front of a big park, so green and peaceful!!! After the meeting I went there straight away and I ate some biscuits lying in the grass, with my book and my camera always ready to take some pictures!!!

Wednesday was my first day at work and, although I had to learn many many things, I was really enthusiastic and I tried to do my best to be useful and productive. I met two lovely girls, and they made me feel at ease from the very first moment...after a long day of loneliness I was so happy to have someone to talk with! Moreover the weather was absolutely gorgeous, so we ate our lunch outside and, after work I took some time to explore another part of the park, relaxing myself after such a busy day!

The past couple of days have been really intense, but I must say that, even if I need to get used to the city, to the new rhythms and to the million tasks I have to do at work I feel really happy to be in Dublin living this experience!
Yesterday was definitely the best day of the week because I finally meet my close friend Annalisa, who lives in the south part of the city with her boyfriend, an austrian guy she met ten years ago, during her erasmus experience in Maynooth! 
We lived in Venice together for nearly two years and we spent such a lovely time there that our friendship has lasted for many many years, despite the distance.

Yesterday afternoon she was studying for her master degree programme at the library of the DCU so, after work, she picked me up and we went to the city centre to do some shopping! It was amazing to stay with her, chatting and laughing, and then,to end with the bang, we joined some of her friends at a nice restaurant, called " La Dolce Vita", where we ate delicious things and we had a lot of fun, joking and listening to a live singer!

Last but not the least...this morning I bought my first kettle!!! We don't use them in Italy, but I think that for a tea lover like me it's an essential thing to own!!! So..I'm enjoying my cup of Apple and Cinnamon tea..feeling very proud of my purchase!!!

Love
xxx
Martina