This was my first time leaving North America, and it was quite possibly the best experience of my life. My girlfriend came for the first week of my two week trip, and we drove around the west and southwest areas of the Republic of Ireland.

I live in Seattle, so I am used to everything being green and the weather being wet and cold. This was an order of magnitude higher in each dimension.

The second week I visit parks and people, and fell in love with the place even more. I got seriously lost three different times in Dublin, but by day 4 I began to get the hang of it.

Ireland is a place that I would love to spend my retirement, if I don’t move there earlier.

If you have the chance: go. Go and never look back. Well, unless you hear ominous footsteps. Then you can look back.