March 2024
My family and I recently went on a week long trip to Dublin, Ireland, a country full of history, stunning landscapes and of course some of the best pubs in Europe!!! I've travelled to over 31 countries and I have to say that Ireland has some of the nicest people I have ever encountered!! From the time we landed until our plane departed, we experienced nothing but warm hospitality. We stayed in the City Centre at Hampton by Hilton and loved it. A great central location which made the city very walkable. We actually never used any transportation other than our feet...except for the coach bus we rode on for our two excursions I booked. I'm also lucky to have a daughter with a built in GPS:-) We booked day trips to the Cliffs of Moher and Galway City and also to Northern Ireland that included Belfast, Giant's Causeway and Dunluce Castle. Shout out to Wild Rover tours!! The rest of our days were spent exploring Dublin, some highlights were walking around Trinity College, taking the Book of Kells tour, walking around Temple Bar, booking the Guinness Storehouse experience, taking a tour at Jameson Distillery, listening to some live music and walking around Grafton Street and also touring Marsh's Library.
Now for the fun part...
Ireland in photos!!!!
Day One:
We arrived at 8:30am and decided "NO Napping" and we all hung in there until after dinner!
After breakfast at the hotel we headed out to Temple Bar and got our first Guinness of the day from Dame Tavern. Cheers!!
It was a beautiful sunny day so we decided to just keep walking around and taking it all in.
Our hotel always had something new posted at the entrance, which I thought was really cute!
Stopped in to the International Bar for another Guinness! We ended the evening at Trinity Bar for dinner and then back to the hotel for a nightcap
Day Two:
Woke up to a little rain so after breakfast we decided to do some more exploring and then onto the Guinness Storehouse for the Stoutie experience. We did pre-book this the week before we arrived. Highly recommend this tour, it was so much fun and make sure you head up to the Gravity Bar for a few more pints before leaving:) After leaving the Guinness Storehouse, we had lunch at The Brazen Inn, Ireland's oldest pub!
It was still raining so we decided to grab some lunch and then head over to Jameson Distillery for a tour. We actually just bought our tickets same day.
Day Three:
Up early to grab a quick breakfast and walk over to where we had to catch the tour bus by 7:00am for the Cliffs of Moher and Galway City.
Apparently we got a super lucky weather day for visiting the Cliffs, it was clear and sunny! The landscape and scenery was nothing like I've ever experienced and I really want to go back and see more!! It felt like we were driving through a movie scene. We stopped at the Barack Obama Plaza (who knew?!) for a quick break and then onto the Cliffs. After spending time walking along the Cliffs, which by the way were slippery and very muddy we hopped back on the bus and headed to Galway City.
Cliffs of Moher:
Galway City:
Day Four:
Spent the first part of our day at Trinity College, taking the Book of Kells tour and walking through the Long Room at the Old Library. Although we were a little disappointed that most of the books had been removed for cleaning, it was still a great experience and beautiful to see.
Lunch and Irish coffee's at The Landmark on Wexford Street:
Then onto Teeling Distillery, one of the first new distilleries in Dublin. You can take a tour, but we just decided to do our own whiskey tasting upstairs at their bar. It's a beautiful distillery and worth the visit!
Day Five:
Second excursion with Wild Rover tours to Northern Ireland, Giant's Causeway and Dunluce Castle
After we walked around Giant's Causeway we grabbed lunch at The Nook, which was the original schoolhouse dating back to the 1850's. They had a great menu and the inside was so charming and cozy! I mean just look at this place!!!
Day Six:
Our last full day in Dublin :(
We toured Marsh's Library, which is one of the oldest public libraries in Dublin, Founded in 1707. I highly recommend this hidden gem! Did some shopping at Zara (fam favorite store) and walked around Grafton Street. We grabbed lunch and a Guinness...well maybe not just one (haha)! at Slattery's Bar. This was an Anthony Bourdain recommendation per the sign in the window! I would also recommend this place. Later that evening we met our dear friends from back home for a Pub crawl, which was the best ending to an epic vacation!!
I've now come to the the conclusion that Dublin is one of my favorite cities, I would go back in a heartbeat, I really Love Guinness and no matter how old your kids are, take the family trip!!!!
If you've made it this far, Thank you and I hope this inspires you to visit the Emerald Isle!!!!
Debra xo