If you remember my post from January about Resolutions (read it here) then you’ll know that I wanted to travel some more this year. Early February crept around and I ended up planning and booking a trip with three of my blogger pals, Kaylea, Sophie & Katie.
I’d not seen any of them in ages and it was just a spontaneous decision to just book a flight and go to Dublin! The flights were cheap, something like £47 for a return and we even managed to bag a cute AirBnB for £50ish each for a night. So our trip cost us £99 each. BARGAIN.
I’d been looking forward to this trip for ages and all of a sudden, the weekend was here! We met up the night before flying to plan some things we wanted to do and got nowhere! We just drank and ate and chatted each other’s ears off.
Our flight was an EARLY one so we landed in Dublin around 7:45am with the whole entire day to do as we pleased. By the time we caught the bus into Dublin City Centre, it was around 8:30 so we thought it would be a good idea to walk around the Temple Bar area and take photos before the hustle and bustle began later in the day.
After an hour or so exploring, we had found a place to get some breakfast called The Bakehouse which was the CUTEST place, perfect for Instagram photos!
I picked the fruit pancakes and decided to get a side of Nutella because I needed that sugar boost from being awake at 4am. I also decided to go for a Mimosa because why the heck not? We were on holiday!
After breakfast we could drop our bags off at our AirBnB which was literally above this cute little breakfast joint on Bachelor’s Walk.
After a brief sit down, we decided to go and do a tour of the Guinness Storehouse and it was so interesting…
It took us around 25 minutes to walk through the city to get there; it’s a little out of the centre, but we saw all the sites on the walk.
The tour cost 25 Euros for an Adult or 22 Euros if you had a Student Card and luckily I did. There are seven floors to discover and learn about how it’s made, the way it’s advertised, the history and so much more.
The tour also includes a pint of Guinness or a soft drink at the end of the tour which you can claim in around 4 of the factory’s different bars.
My verdict on Guinness? A lot tastier and smoother than I expected and I wouldn’t mind it every now and again but it’s not for me. I’m more of a cider or cocktail girl, really.
After the Guinness Storehouse visit, we walked over to the Kilmainham Gaol but all of the tickets were sold for the day so we walked for about 40 minutes back to the city centre.
We headed back through the side streets and had a nosy around where we could eat and drink later on.
We then made our way back the apartment to have a bit of a break after the 20,000 steps! We had a few hours to chill, get ourselves dolled up, a few drinks and then we headed out on the town.
We collectively decided on a casual Thai Restuarant called Neon on Camden Street which was around a 20 minute walk away from our apartment.
Having never really tried Thai food before, I was super excited to be shown the cuisine by the girls because they were all fans of it.
I chose to try a Pad Thai for my main which was tasty but not the most flavourful of the things we ordered. I’d definitely try it again somewhere else though.
We also went for a drink in a nearby pub too and got a bit merry before going back to the apartment.
Sunday morning came around far too quickly and we had another early morning to get packed and on the move again.
The ticket sales office opens at 9am for the Kilmainham Gaol so we managed to be stood eagerly waiting at the doors for 8:55am.
We nabbed some tickets for 10:15 so we went and had coffee at the inside cafe. One noteable thing about the Gaol was how cheap the tickets were! A Standard Adult ticket cost 8 Euros or 4 with a Student Card so win win for me.
I won’t say too much about the tour because it was quite sad but also very knowledgeable.
The tour lasted for an hour on the dot but there is also a small museum and gift shop afterwards which you could spend your time nosing around.
After a fact filled morning, we decided to walk the 40 minutes back to the town centre to visit Trinity College and learn some more.
After doing some research on Instagram, this was one of the places I wanted to see, just purely for the MAHOOSIVE Library.
Not only does it have one of the biggest Libraries I have ever seen, some of the architecture was stunning. I love old buildings and this place had dozens!
One of my favourites was this Gothic-inspired building.
It hit around 2pm and we realised we needed to get some grub so we stopped off at this cute little Italian Deli called Il Fornaio – BEST FOOD EVER.
The last place we visited just had to be The Temple Bar for a drink and a sing song.
We even managed to bag a table close to the front of the stage where a Irish Trio were playing some traditional tunes.
But at 7.90 Euros for a pint of Cider, I was stumped. I knew it’d be a tad bit pricey but goodness me. One pint was most definitely enough!
For two hours, I completely forgot about the outside world for a little while and just enjoyed the fab company, the catchy music and a nice drink.
Before we knew it, it was time to make our way to the airport and catch our flight home. We took a leisurely stroll back to the bus stop, caught the bus to the airport and tucked into a quick snack before boarding and flying home.
Dublin was so much more colourful and vibrant than I ever expected and I would go back again in a heartbeat. It was rich in culture, history and there are so so SO many places to eat and drink – much more than I could ever get through.
If you’re looking for somewhere fun to go for a weekend trip, I would definitely recommend Dublin. The flights were super cheap, it’s so quick and easy to get to and there’s so much to do whether you’re a group of girls, a couple or even for a mini family getaway.
I hope you enjoyed my little diary of what we got up to!
Comic Books & Yellow Ducks 