I spent this weekend in Dublin, making the Republic of Ireland the 25th country that I’ve visited. Although Ireland is in the EU and not in the UK, it reminded me a lot of England. The plug sockets were the same, the buses looked the same, they drove on the same side of the road as the UK, the only difference was that they used euros. It felt like I never left England, and that was both good and bad.
It was good because I was comfortable and felt familiar to everything there was. I felt like I knew where I was going, and how to get to where I needed to get. It was bad because I had left the UK and I wanted it to feel different. I wanted to explore and get excited about new foods and a different experience. I’m told by my Irish friends that Dublin isn’t “real Ireland” and that I should visit the Irish countryside to get a true feel of Ireland.
One thing that I did enjoy a lot about Dublin is all the Irish history, culture and folklore. As a fan of James Joyce, I was excited to see that they had a Dubliners walking tour. I was also able to visit Kilmainham Goal, and learnt all about the Irish revolutionaries that where imprisoned there.
I don’t think I’ll be visiting Dublin again, but I do plan on seeing some Irish countryside in the near future.
Thank you for reading.