Welcome to Shantalla!

It has happened! On 24 October MY BIG MOVE took place, from Estoria House in Lower Salthill to Shantalla in Galway City. My good friend Walter with his Camper plus Sebastian and Agnes with their big van transported all my stuff from A to B. Getting my grey sofa bed up the staircase in the house was a special feat, a narrow door had to be unhinged. But by 6 pm the deed was done. I was installed amidst decorative chaos in my new home! The only room liveable from the start was the living room. However, the four of us celebrated a few days later over a delicious dinner in the Park House Hotel.

Sebastian and Agnes are the ingenious couple who renovate my house. They had fixed the living room and most of the kitchen before I moved in so that I could reside temporarily on the ground floor before my return to Basel, sleeping on the brand new blue sofa in front ot the fireplace. The upstairs, bathroom and three bedrooms, will be done over in my absence.

It was a wholly new experience living in a house heated only by means of a fireplace. The oil heating existed but was not working. Getting solid fuel from the garden shed and lighting a fire on a chilly morning before breakfast was a special challenge! I did live up to it though, at least for a few days. Later it turned out that there was just no oil left in the tank... When I return to Galway in January, hopefully the central heating will be fully functional.

The street where I live now is a quiet, friendly place with the atmosphere of a small village. Some of the neighbours came to bid me welcome as soon as they spotted me coming or going. A small park with a childrens‘ playground, a bus stop and shops are close by, walking into the the city centre takes 15 minutes.

The fairies meant well by me. I already feel very much at home in my new Irish home!