Our next adventure takes us to Dublin! I can’t wait for a fresh Guinness! Haha
As we’re getting ready to leave the hotel, the elevator doors open, and we see my friend, Josie, getting ready to head up the elevator we were getting out of! We had no idea the other would be in Dublin today, so it was quite the fun shock, and she nearly knocked me off my feet with a running hug, and I can’t think of a better way to start the day, hehe. We made brief plans to meet up later, but first, she needed a nap. Fair enough, hehe. We’ll be in touch! 😁
We begin our day with a tour of St. Patrick’s Cathedral. I have been by here in past travels but have never taken the time to do the tour. Heather had come here many years ago with her Mom, so we decided to pay homage and did the tour. It was beautiful! The stained-glass windows are stunning, and of course, all the history surrounding the church was hard to surpass. It was a great way to start a long day of walking around yet another city!
St. Patrick’s Cathedral 🤩
Next stop was the Dublin Castle, which, if you’ve been, you’ll know that there really isn’t much left. There is one big castle-like tower and an old chapel, but the rest was destroyed long ago, and now there are colonial style municipal buildings in the area where the castle once loomed over the city. We did a walk by and snapped a few photos and continued on our way to something we both were looking forward to very much: The Book of Kells. 😁
Dublin Castle 🤩.
We had plenty of time, so we found the entrance to Trinity College and then decided it may be a great time for some caffeine to boost our sleepy slow morning. Right across the street from the college was Butlers Chocolate Cafe. Ummm..yes please! Heather got a chai latte, and I got a mocha. I think mine had more chocolate to coffee, which was delicious, just a tad sweet, and I really needed the caffeine boost, lol. Our drinks came with a little chocolate truffle, and those were killer! So tasty! I’m so glad we had a pitstop, because for whatever reason, I was feeeling it this morning, lol. 😅🤣
The actual book of Kells was inside a giant glass box and open to one page. I can’t imagine how else it could be displayed, but it honestly wasn’t much to look at. It was amazing to be there and to see such an old book, but anyone is probably better off looking at the images of all the pages online. 😅.
The second half of the Book of Kells tour was the library! This was right up my alley. 😍 Absolutely stunning! It immediately reminded of Harry Potter, with floor to ceiling book shelves lining the narrow hall, completely with ancient looking books, and tall and skinny ladders on wheels to move about and select your book of choice. I loved being in this space and can only imagine what kinds of texts are there, and for how long they have adorned the shelves here at Trinity College.
The Old Library 😍
After our jaunt through the college campus, we headed to a bar called Doyle’s, where our friend, Dana, recommended we go. Dana used to live in Dublin, and this was one of her go-to spots, so we had to swing by and check it out! It’s always time for a Guinness, right? Hehe.
Check out those gorgeous frothy Guinesses! 😍🍻
We each grab a pint and take a nice long swig of the black gold that is Guinness. It tastes so much better here in Ireland than it does back in the States. I even brought some home and did a side by side taste test with my boyfriend, Tony, and it was night a day! I wasn’t convinced, thinking it could be a placebo effect of some kind…once you hear the rumor enough, you begin to believe it, but it’s factual! Guinness bought in the States is more watered down and lacks a certain nutty deliciousness that is very forward in Guinness straight from the source. It’ll be difficult to ever drink Guinness in the States again….😅😂
As we enjoy our Guinness, we plan our next steps. We want to go check out the store that our friend Dana opened. It’s across the river and not a very long walk from Doyles, so we decided to swing by there and then double back across the river on the Ha’ Penny Bridge. This drops us right in the Temple Bar area, so of course, we had to take a few pictures of the infamous and iconic Temple Bar. Little did we know, we’d be ending our night in there as well. Hehe 😅🤣. More on that later 🤣.
The touristy must have photo of Temple Bar 😅🤣.
From here, we snagged an Uber and went straight to the Guinness Brewery. We wanted to make sure we got to do this before they closed. With some trouble securing tickets online, we head inside to buy them the old-fashioned way, but the line was long, and we had other things to do. So we try again on my phone to buy tickets, and success! So we exit the manual line and head back in with our electronic tickets displayed proudly on my phone, haha.
This was a beautiful display of flowers all around the sign. Leave it to a stranger to snap this photo, with none of the flowers. 😅🤣 #travelwoes 🤣
This is now my 3rd time in the Guinness Brewery, and I still think it’s just as cool as the first time. We meander our way through the maze that is the brewery, learning about how Guinness is made, taking an expertly led tasting experience, seeing how the ads have changed over the years, and taking a quick snack break. We shared a giant grilled cheese, but it was a deluxe bougie grilled cheese, hehe. It was so amazing, and so needed at that moment in time. We knew we’d be having dinner soon, so we were trying to wait, but we were slowing down big time 😂. After our snack, we continued onwards and eventually ended up at the 360 view bar at the top. We exchange our drink coupons and get a pint of Guinness.
Cheers! Sainte! 🍻🤗
It was crowded and hot up there, so we quickly drank our Guinness, but we were sure to savor every sip. Once we were done, we climbed back down allllllll the stairs to the first level where the gift shop was. We spent some time there, picked out a few goodies to bring home, and were outta there.
We opt to walk to our next destination, which is to meet up with my friend Josie. Heather and I want to go to another restaurant Dana recommended to us, O’Neil’s, for dinner. But first, Josie wants us to meet for a drink at a bar one of her friend’s owns. Twist my arm! Hehe. So we head over, and eventually Josie’s friend, the owner, comes to find us, as we’re having trouble locating the right spot. Josie had already moved to a second bar, one that had just opened a week ago, owned by the same friend. We got to see a bit of the first place, which looked amazing, the Market Bar, and the next one was Ciss Maddens Public House. 😊
Josie is in the front of the bar in a tiny little out cropping, which is a super cute private little area. I’ve never seen anything like it before. So Heather and I grab some drinks and visit with Josie. It was soooooo good to see her! It’s been wildly busy lately, so we haven’t planned a girls’ trip we try to do every year with another one of our friends. So this impromptu meetup was perfect!
Sooo good to see you, love! 🤗🥰
At one point, mid conversation, Josie dashes out of the bar like a bat out of hell, and Heather and I are laughing hysterically, but what we didn’t see, at least initially, was that Josie spotted an empty table outside! So she ran straight to it and saved it for us, hehe. We had been keeping our eye out the entire time. 😂 Nice work, Josie! Thank you! So we each grab one more drink while enjoying the outdoor setting, and plan to head for dinner afterward.
Dinner at O’Neil’s was yummy, but I’ve had better meals in Dublin. Sorry, Dana! Hehe. I got a traditional Irish Stew, but my favorite is always the Guinness and Beef stew. I shouldn’t have strayed, lol. Lesson learned, though!
Dinner at O’Neil’s 😁.
After dinner, Josie takes on a little mini-pub crawl, and we’re in search of some live music that has more traditional Irish instruments: a violin and a flute/piccolo of some kind, hehe.
One of the bars she took us to used to be an old Bank, and the interior was absolutely stunning! We had a good time in there enjoying our fancy drinks and the gorgeous atmosphere. I would definitely come back here! 😁
Is a trip to Dublin complete without a pub crawl? 😅🤣🥂
Next up was Temple Bar for…….3 shots of whiskey! Lol When in Dublin! 😅😂We stay in there a hot minute…literally…..its packed full of drunk tourists, and we get out as quick as we can, haha. Onto the next! We stop in a few places, and Josie reached out to her friend to ask for recommendations on where we might find some live Irish music, and we must have gone to 3 or 4 places, and nothing. It was kind of a bummer, but it was fun to see all these different places. By the last place, we had nearly completely lost steam and decided we’d better head back to the hotel.
Josie guides us and takes us to the train, and we wait around a bit before the train comes and whisks us off towards the hotel. A short walk from the train station, and we’re back where we started about 12 hours earlier. It’s definitely time for a shower and a bed 😂.
Another successful layover trip for Amelia and Heather! Hooray! No matter how tiring they may be, they’re always worth it, and I can’t wait for the next one! 😁
Happy girl! 🤗🥰
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