I had different reasons for going to Dublin on the different dates. Once I was going to say goodbye to one of my brothers who has just left his job and apartment and is currently travelling around the world. He started in South America, will travel to North America and then, well I'm not sure if he even has it figured out after that. He's kind of playing it by ear so to speak.
Another time I went to Dublin was to have a look at some books in the National Library for some essays I'm writing for my course. More on that later!
Ireland is having some economic problems at the moment - I can't explain it any better because I don't really understand it. Basically we are pumping loads of money (billions of euros €€€) into our banks who gave out some really bad loans in recent years. The government has made loads of cuts in spending to pay for this bank bailout (as it's called).
Anyway, it hit home recently when I saw loads of Irish citizens in queues outside the passport office in Dublin to collect passports. The problem was that the staff at the office were on strike to protest at the government spending cuts that have affected their pay.
Last Saturday 27 March 2010 I went to the National Library to view a book I needed to see for some references, but I couldn't get in because the place was shut due to striking staff. It's not until it affects you personally that you begin to question these things and see what's really going on.
I just want to include some photos of my one of my trips to Dublin. The first is a mountain that I passed on the train, with a dusting of snow on top of it. The second is a picture of the river Liffey. In it you can see a ferry on the river, the Liffey Boardwalk and the Spire on O'Connell Street.
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