The Emerald Isle

Dublin, Ireland

After living in the desert for nearly 3 years, the cold weather and green fields were like a welcome and very delicious treat. No, I didn't come here for vacation-- I came here to work; and stay, perhaps, until retirement.

But, enough about that: welcome to Ireland, folks!

Powerscourt

The Basics:

• Republic of Ireland, and Northern Ireland are two different and separate entities: Republic of Ireland is a country, whilst Northern Ireland is part of Great Britain, AKA the United Kingdom.
• The capital of the Republic of Ireland is Dublin City, located on the East side, if you're looking at a map-- it's kind of hard to miss.
• Temperatures are seldom lower than -5 degrees C in winter; or, higher than 26 degrees C in summer, due to the temperate Oceanic climate. That basically means, no extremes in temperature-- although it is still common to hear the local Irish people complain about it anyway.
• And, speaking of no extremes, the last heavy snow fall (in Dublin, at least, because there was snow fall in most of the other counties this year-- 2017) experienced was in 2010. The entire country was at a standstill-- the whole country, literally, froze (pun intended). They didn't know what to do because it was something rare, indeed.
• Their official language? Irish Gaelic. But, don't expect everyone to know how to speak it. I've been told by an Irishman that 70% of native Irish folks don't even speak the language; but, I've come across several people who do-- more often than not, older Irish people. However, I do believe that the government has begun requiring schools to include the Irish Gaelic Language again in their curriculums to preserve such valuable national heritage. Which is a very good thing.
• Ireland is ancient-- like, 8,000 BCE ancient in confirmed records; but it wasn't until the Iron Age (600 BC) did the Gaelic culture began to emerge. I'm not going to go through it because it'll go on forever.
• Currency: Euro.
• Yes, it is part of the European Union; and, no, you cannot come here using the Schengen visa because they aren't part of the Schengen agreement (kinda like the UK, before Brexit). That saying, you have to secure a separate tourist visa for the Republic of Ireland, if you plan to include Ireland in your European tour-- and, also, a separate one for Northern Ireland (Belfast-- Game of Thrones? Duh?) because, again, Northern Ireland is part of the United Kingdom. :P

So, yeah... welcome to Éireann!

Phoenix Park

Royal Canal Bank Park

Blessington Street Basin