Cheers to Dublin!
Wow, we had an absolute blast this weekend! Here is exactly what we did:
Thursday:
We arrived very late after a delayed flight. Our friends Kenley and Maggie arrived earlier in the day and had already checked in to our AirBnB. So as soon as we landed we texted them and were on our way to our room. After 30 minutes of no response, we knew something was up! Upon our arrival to our apartment, we found a locked gate and no security guard present. Two boys walked up and tried calling the help number but received no answer. We decided to go inside, warm up, and figure out what to do. So we walked across the street to The Dean Dublin to try and grab an Irish Coffee, but by this hour, they were only serving hotel guests. We gathered ourselves for a bit, tried calling the Apartment owner, no answer, tried calling Kenley and Maggie 1000 times, no answer, and eventually walked back to the gate hoping for a miracle. By this point we considered buying a room at the Dean, and many other options. So we get back to the gate, wait for another 10 minutes, and finally the security man came out! He is supposed to be there 24 hours, so who knows where he was! Then we buzzed the apartment and Kenley let us in. Crisis averted.
Friday:
We got a later start than we had hoped because we had such a late night! We grabbed a delicious traditional Irish Breakfast at a pub right off of Grafton Street, then met up with Mom and Shazz at their gorgeous hotel, the Shelbourne. While we waited for them to arrive, we drank an irish coffee at the bar surrounded by VERY fancy people. Definitely out of place. When Mom and Shazza walked in, we went up to the room to chill and plan our day.
We first stopped to get a quick drink and bite to eat, before we ventured to Trinity College. At the beautiful Trinity College, we visited the Book of Kells and Kinsella Hall, their famous library! Incredible to see. After our educational hour, we walked to the famous bank bar, The Bank on College Green. A once bank, now turned into a beautiful bar and restaurant, we immediately fell in love. After a Guiness, and a few Mai Tai's we found a secret spot called Foley's! Upstairs was a dark, cute bar/lounge...it was very trendy and we hung there until our reservations were ready at the Rustic Stone. This restaurant was the top recommendation for dinner from Maggie's family friend, a travel agent and Dublin resident for 10 years. This restaurant did not disappoint! We had a delicious raw board to start with unbelievable polenta fries! Everyone loved their entree's from pesto pasta, to cook it yourself filet mignon. And of course irish coffee's to end the evening!
Mom and Shazza went home after a long travel day, and all of the girls (7) went to Bad Bob's, a great spot in the Temple Bar District. There was great live music and lots of people and drinks to go around.
Saturday:
We woke up early to grab a snack and be the first ones in line at the Kilmainham Jail. This is a must see in Dublin, however most of our group would tell you NOT TO GO! We were freezing, and the tour was lengthy and rather boring. The history is fascinating, and we probably would've had a better time in nicer weather! I don't know how those prisoners survived in that cold dungeon. To warm up, we ran (literally) across the street to the Hilton to grab yet another Irish Coffee and to plan the rest of our day. After the prison, we taxied over to the Guinness Storehouse and Brewery to see what all of the hype was about. Very well put together museum and experience, but a Saturday at noon was a very crowded time to go! After fighting the crowds, we eventually reached our free pint of Guinness at the very top. We sat and enjoyed the 360 degree views of the entire city of Dublin. Very cool! And back to the Bank Bar we went, we had THE BEST lunch! Everyone fell in love with their eggs benedict, and Mai Tai's were once again flowing. Who drinks Mai Tai's in Dublin in the middle of winter? It was my mom's idea of course. After lunch we went to take a much needed nap. We awoke and all met at the Brazenhead, the oldest pub in Dublin, for a light dinner! We LOVED the fried Brie appetizer. After dinner we went downstairs to the bar and enjoyed a very local, old, Irish band! We decided it was time to go to THE Temple Bar, and maybe made it 30 steps before stopping in another local pub. O'Shea's Merchant, more drinks, irish dancing, local music, and more fun! SO NOW it was time for Temple Bar, however on our way two boys picked us up, and told us Temple Bar would be a huge mistake and just makes you pay 3 times more for drinks. Which was probably true. So Rory and his brother led us to Porterhouse Bar, and we had the best time! We went to one more place to meet up with Sarah just for a short visit. We met a lot of friends and stayed out a little too late. We grabbed burgers and hot dogs from a food truck before we went to sleep!
Sunday:
We slept through our tour to the Cliffs of Moher. So after researching and finding a later bus, we quickly ate porridge at Insomnia and we were on our way! A three hour bus ride to the coast with one rest stop in between! Thank goodness for the stop, we needed to tink and a snack! Crazy stop however, The Barack Obama Plaza, filled with pictures of Michelle and Barack, a life size statue, their political history all over the walls. CRAZY to see this in the middle of the Irish country side. After a beautiful drive, we finally made it to the cliffs. ABSOLUTELY worth the wait, considered "an eighth wonder of the world" this was one of the prettiest scenes I've seen. No matter where you looked there were absolutely breathtaking views! Really really great, a must see! On our way out we stopped in a small town Doolin, Ireland and stopped at O'Connor's pub for their "famous" irish coffee and a bite to eat. The only reason we could thing that these irish coffee's were famous, is that they were SO STRONG. After fish and chips and a burger, we had full tummies ready to sleep on the ride home. And after one more stop at the Barack Obama Plaza, we were home! The only food open was Starbucks, so we ate porridge, packed up, and went to sleep! We had to wake up at 4am to catch our flight!
What a weekend! We love Dublin, and cannot wait to go back!
Thursday:
We arrived very late after a delayed flight. Our friends Kenley and Maggie arrived earlier in the day and had already checked in to our AirBnB. So as soon as we landed we texted them and were on our way to our room. After 30 minutes of no response, we knew something was up! Upon our arrival to our apartment, we found a locked gate and no security guard present. Two boys walked up and tried calling the help number but received no answer. We decided to go inside, warm up, and figure out what to do. So we walked across the street to The Dean Dublin to try and grab an Irish Coffee, but by this hour, they were only serving hotel guests. We gathered ourselves for a bit, tried calling the Apartment owner, no answer, tried calling Kenley and Maggie 1000 times, no answer, and eventually walked back to the gate hoping for a miracle. By this point we considered buying a room at the Dean, and many other options. So we get back to the gate, wait for another 10 minutes, and finally the security man came out! He is supposed to be there 24 hours, so who knows where he was! Then we buzzed the apartment and Kenley let us in. Crisis averted.
Friday:
We got a later start than we had hoped because we had such a late night! We grabbed a delicious traditional Irish Breakfast at a pub right off of Grafton Street, then met up with Mom and Shazz at their gorgeous hotel, the Shelbourne. While we waited for them to arrive, we drank an irish coffee at the bar surrounded by VERY fancy people. Definitely out of place. When Mom and Shazza walked in, we went up to the room to chill and plan our day.
We first stopped to get a quick drink and bite to eat, before we ventured to Trinity College. At the beautiful Trinity College, we visited the Book of Kells and Kinsella Hall, their famous library! Incredible to see. After our educational hour, we walked to the famous bank bar, The Bank on College Green. A once bank, now turned into a beautiful bar and restaurant, we immediately fell in love. After a Guiness, and a few Mai Tai's we found a secret spot called Foley's! Upstairs was a dark, cute bar/lounge...it was very trendy and we hung there until our reservations were ready at the Rustic Stone. This restaurant was the top recommendation for dinner from Maggie's family friend, a travel agent and Dublin resident for 10 years. This restaurant did not disappoint! We had a delicious raw board to start with unbelievable polenta fries! Everyone loved their entree's from pesto pasta, to cook it yourself filet mignon. And of course irish coffee's to end the evening!
Mom and Shazza went home after a long travel day, and all of the girls (7) went to Bad Bob's, a great spot in the Temple Bar District. There was great live music and lots of people and drinks to go around.
Saturday:
We woke up early to grab a snack and be the first ones in line at the Kilmainham Jail. This is a must see in Dublin, however most of our group would tell you NOT TO GO! We were freezing, and the tour was lengthy and rather boring. The history is fascinating, and we probably would've had a better time in nicer weather! I don't know how those prisoners survived in that cold dungeon. To warm up, we ran (literally) across the street to the Hilton to grab yet another Irish Coffee and to plan the rest of our day. After the prison, we taxied over to the Guinness Storehouse and Brewery to see what all of the hype was about. Very well put together museum and experience, but a Saturday at noon was a very crowded time to go! After fighting the crowds, we eventually reached our free pint of Guinness at the very top. We sat and enjoyed the 360 degree views of the entire city of Dublin. Very cool! And back to the Bank Bar we went, we had THE BEST lunch! Everyone fell in love with their eggs benedict, and Mai Tai's were once again flowing. Who drinks Mai Tai's in Dublin in the middle of winter? It was my mom's idea of course. After lunch we went to take a much needed nap. We awoke and all met at the Brazenhead, the oldest pub in Dublin, for a light dinner! We LOVED the fried Brie appetizer. After dinner we went downstairs to the bar and enjoyed a very local, old, Irish band! We decided it was time to go to THE Temple Bar, and maybe made it 30 steps before stopping in another local pub. O'Shea's Merchant, more drinks, irish dancing, local music, and more fun! SO NOW it was time for Temple Bar, however on our way two boys picked us up, and told us Temple Bar would be a huge mistake and just makes you pay 3 times more for drinks. Which was probably true. So Rory and his brother led us to Porterhouse Bar, and we had the best time! We went to one more place to meet up with Sarah just for a short visit. We met a lot of friends and stayed out a little too late. We grabbed burgers and hot dogs from a food truck before we went to sleep!
Sunday:
We slept through our tour to the Cliffs of Moher. So after researching and finding a later bus, we quickly ate porridge at Insomnia and we were on our way! A three hour bus ride to the coast with one rest stop in between! Thank goodness for the stop, we needed to tink and a snack! Crazy stop however, The Barack Obama Plaza, filled with pictures of Michelle and Barack, a life size statue, their political history all over the walls. CRAZY to see this in the middle of the Irish country side. After a beautiful drive, we finally made it to the cliffs. ABSOLUTELY worth the wait, considered "an eighth wonder of the world" this was one of the prettiest scenes I've seen. No matter where you looked there were absolutely breathtaking views! Really really great, a must see! On our way out we stopped in a small town Doolin, Ireland and stopped at O'Connor's pub for their "famous" irish coffee and a bite to eat. The only reason we could thing that these irish coffee's were famous, is that they were SO STRONG. After fish and chips and a burger, we had full tummies ready to sleep on the ride home. And after one more stop at the Barack Obama Plaza, we were home! The only food open was Starbucks, so we ate porridge, packed up, and went to sleep! We had to wake up at 4am to catch our flight!
What a weekend! We love Dublin, and cannot wait to go back!
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