A Beginners Visit to Ireland
Working in different buildings is an awesome opportunity, so a couple of weeks ago, I headed off on my travels to Gatwick Airport to fly over to Ireland for the first time. I’d never been to Ireland but I was excited to find out what it was like.
Once we’d arrived in Dublin, I headed out and onto the airport bus which was quite the experience. The next challenge was to find New Mill. Walking through Dublin gave me the chance to take a look around, and I found where I could get food and where the best places to go were.
Getting to New Mill, the whole site struck me and was really nicely done. It was a great space with an outdoor courtyard, surrounded by the blocks of rooms. I found my room which was in a shared flat and I was impressed pretty much straight away. It was a flat of five rooms and it felt ultra modern and it was pretty impressive. The room itself had a really sleek grey and white theme around it with fitted cupboards and wardrobes, complete with a large desk for doing work on. I slept so well in the room as well, something which was welcomed after a day of traveling. One of the stand out features of the room was the floor to ceiling window which really helped with natural light.
It was also right opposite a whisky distillery which makes for a unique location, and I love it. I didn’t get to visit this time… hopefully when I go back I can see it properly.
On the subject of places and things, Ireland holds quite a few secrets and differences that I didn’t actually know about until I arrived in Ireland. Firstly, Primark is not called Primark. It’s called Penney’s – something which confused me until I found out that Primark is actually an Irish company. Mind was blown. So, Primark isn’t actually the original name, it’s Pennney’s.
The second thing I noticed is that Ireland LOVES doughnuts. This is something that you’ll see as soon as you arrive. There are doughnut shops on every street and are included inside other shops, and the flavours are unreal. I mean, don’t tell me that they don’t look amazing in the photo. The most exciting thing I found was a Pink Gin flavoured doughnut. You can’t tell me this doesn’t look like everything you’ve ever needed, because it absolutely is! You’ll never be short of a new temptation as every single shop I went too seemed to have something completely different to the rest. You’ll never be short of a sweet treat, I can guarantee that.
The quickest way to get around the city is to use the Luas. This is a bit like the London Underground but it’s… overground. It’s a tram system connecting the city together. You can get yourself a card which works like an Oyster card. I had a go at getting around using this system and it’s a lot of fun. It’s also a great way to see more of the city and is convenient if you need to get somewhere fast.
Ireland is soaked in history and there’s quite a bit to see and learn about. In my short visit I learnt a lot about the Isle – it’s home to Crowe Park, which is the fourth largest stadium in Western Europe. Dublin also has the youngest population in Europe and 10 million pints of Guinness are produced daily.
I have to say, after my visit to Ireland, I cannot wait to get back and explore even more than I did!