Always trust the local guy

A gentle mist has descended tonight. That was after the soft rain today. There was really great trad music on the car radio as I took an early evening dash to Tesco's to buy some lightbulbs, to replace all the one's in our apartment that simultaneously blew this week... But apart from the lightbulbs blowing, it's been a good week, where Clare and I have both been quite busy. I suppose it's taken us a while in Ireland, but between Clare's work, and my involvement now in photography & trips with the Hash and other things going on, we feel like we 'belong' a bit more than before. We're constantly learning (and it does take time), how things work here, and there's somewhat a sense of community emerging in Annagassan too.
So the trusty Nissan Almera has got a few more miles left in her yet, according to the local mechanic at Dunleer who installed a new radiator for just 180 Euros (which is an absolute bargain I can tell you - I was quoted 100 Euros just to get the car towed out of Dunleer!) Now she drives better than before - mmm, I guess that swiss cheese radiator may have been causing problems for a while (in hindsight). While going through my own car "withdrawal", I rented a car for a week from Budget for 100 Euros. A great little black 5 door Polo that went quite fast on the motorway (hhmm). If you're planning on coming to the UK or Ireland and renting a car, you must, must check out this site - http://www.travelsupermarket.com/. This seems to be THE BEST price comparison site in Europe for car rental, hotels, flights, etc. Even flights from the UK to Australia can be compared here. Clare's boss couldn't believe that you could rent a car for a week for 100 Euros (about AUD 160) - and that was all inclusive too, no catches. I don't think you'd get a car for a week in Brisbane for that. But when it comes to travel bargains, of course nothing really beats Ryanair over here, where you can regularly get 20 Euro return flights to London (well under AUD 40) - that's the TOTAL fare!
Got some good feedback on my 6 photos at the photo comp the other night. There was some really great beginner work, needless to say I didn't win (I didn't expect to), but my highest scoring photo was Siena Window, which I think got a 9 (out of 10) from one of the judges. My 6 entries were pretty much 'point and shoot' efforts, and while the quality of cameras are improving and everyone is becoming an expert, you still need to know about the basics of photography - composition, light, shutter speeds, etc. So I have lots of learning to do. Sorry no new photos to add to this blog tonight, as I haven't had the time to take any more!
Only 2 weeks to go before the Australian Leprachaun's hit Vegas & Wyoming...