Au revoir Paris! Hello Dublin!

Some decisions and some actions affect your life for a long period of time. First time I signed a flat lease it was for 6 months only, however it felt like a lifelong commitment. I had just moved to London with my friend and we sat on a bench in a crowded park in Whitechapel. I remember I felt a pressure. A pressure that if I didn't sign I would fail myself, and even worse - my friend.

Today is different, this time I am not calling my dad to find the strength to put my signature on the contract. Five years later, me and my man are signing the contract for a cute little apartment here in Dublin. It will be ours in just a couple of days. Our arrival day was full of contrasts. Especially in terms of the architecture, the weather and the women. While the first two are pretty self-explanatory the last one deserves some closer attention. In France I am often the taller one and I often feel less girly than the women around me. I am aware there are many tall french ladies but maybe they are all full time models without any free evenings to spend out. Or more likely, it is just a random fact that the people we happen to know are not as tall. The first Irish lady that we met however, yes the taxidriver-with-an-uncomprehensible-accent was a man, was the woman renting the airbnb flat where we are staying. She was at least 180 cm, and with her big coat and darker voice, I felt more feminine and petite than ever before. I suspect this first impression of the ladies will prove itself wrong pretty soon and I need to get over the initial wow-the-way-I-speak-is-so-different kind of feeling.

Another impression I've had of Ireland so far is that while the Sunday mornings are spent in church, it seems like the next destination for the Dubliners is the pub. It was extremely busy on the Sunday afternoon. This is different from France, where the afternoon is traditionally spent at home to socialise with the family. Since Damien and I are neither frequent church visitors or beer drinkers I have suggested that we start an afternoon tea tradition. I do like the scones, and we do like tea - preferably in huge quantities.