Why Dublin? Living in the USA for the past decade, I’ve travelled to many cities and states within the country and it seems a common theme is that every city around has an Irish pub! Always with a warm atmosphere, with comfort food and hearty drinks. More often than not the pubs are actually Irish owned, with many owners always encouraging you to visit their home country. One time in Bellevue, WA the Irish pub we frequented on a work trip hosted weekly pub quizzes and actually we won one evening. Winning over $60 at least paid for the drinks and a great laugh and time!

Travel

There are many major cities that fly directly from the USA to Dublin, but when we visited the city I was already in London. It is a short flight from London to Dublin just about an hour, flying with British Airways. On this trip I traveled with other family in total there was about 10 of us. After we passed security in the airport, we found one of the restaurants to eat breakfast at 7am. Always nice in the morning times to get the full English breakfast, proper sausage and bacon! We flew in economy class and it was a quick flight with a small drinks service

Hotel

Upon landing in Dublin, we took a taxi to our hotel in city center, the Hilton Garden Inn. This was a hotel close to the main attractions of the city and right on the River Liffey. Ireland is a big beautiful country with lots of green hills, beautiful landscapes and outdoor activities but this was more a city break. Spending 3 days to explore the city, and being centrally located the hotel was a prime location. This trip was in early January so it was bitterly cold especially by the river, with the wind but its always enjoyable to explore somewhere new on foot and you will stumble across hidden gems you didn’t expect to see

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The hotel was nice with a large restaurant where we had breakfast included each day. It was very comprehensive with everything you would expect from a hot buffet. They also had a bar in the hotel which normally we would go to before heading out for the night, and we had our daily Irish coffee! Coffee, Sugar, Cream and Irish Whiskey, very simple and delicious to warm up insides. The rooms in the hotel were spacious with double beds, and pretty clean facilities.

Guinness Storehouse

Of course one of the major highlights everyone was lookin forward to was visiting the Guinness Storehouse. On this trip I was with a few family members around 10 of us, so a thirsty and adventurous group to explore with. The storehouse was really interesting as we booked the full tour in advance, and picked up the tickets as we entered. We explored different rooms, learning the history and making process, further moving up the building to each new floor and culminating at the bar on the rooftop level. The top level has panoramic views of the whole of city and to make it even more special sipping on a freshly poured Guinness, which is included with the tour. Fun fact that the color of Guinness is actually Ruby Red!

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EPIC – The Irish emigration museum

The hotel was right next to the EPIC, the Irish emigration museum. This is a really must see to learn about the history of the country and where the people left to explore. There are many interactive rooms here and you can learn about the culture, the more famous expats, and there is even a room where you can learn the Irish jig dance!

Jameson Distillery Bow St

Another popular spot we visited was the Jameson Distillery Bow St. We didn’t partake in the tour but we were able to sit around a large table and enjoy cocktails from the bar. It was a very lively atmosphere and engaging staff providing recommendations on the cocktails. Since it was really cold outside, the whiskey really helps to warm us all up

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Brazen Head

Established since 1198, we went to have lunch at the Brazen Head the oldest pub in all of Ireland. We sat upstairs with a long table, with warm fireplace off in the corner. It was a very cozy pub, with delicious food and local favorites. Olden wooden chairs and pub seats set the scene nicely. Of course you can have a delicious Guinness, paired with either fish and chips or a meat stew or even seafood chowder

Temple Bar

From our hotel, you can take a couple different bridges including the famous ha’penny bridge over to the temple bar area. This is an area with various bars and nightlife, but within it there is the famous Temple Bar pub. In the evening it gets extremely busy where you can hardly walk inside. It is best to try and come early to grab a table and space. Its really lively and very famous for the live music, with many bands coming to play here – A must see vendue when you come to Dublin

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Book of Kells

We also walked the grounds of the Dublin castle which was also close by to the Book of Kells. This is definitely another must see location especially for history and book lovers. Taking the tour will grant you access to the long room which is very impressive with a high volume of books stacked up high to the sky! Books piled up over 20 feet and beyond. Within the middle of the long room are various books and artifacts within glass cases, and of course the book of Kells. It is a gospel book about Jesus Christ, written back in the 9^th century

Other Highlights

Between visiting a majority of the highlights listed, we also went to different pubs and restaurants throughout the days. As mentioned before, its good to have a plan of the major attractions, but once you are in the city exploring, new things always will pop up. I would definitely like to visit this country again but this time to stay outside the city. It would be nice to explore the countryside and see the beautiful cliffs amid a quieter pace of life

Have you been to Dublin or Ireland? Where did you go? What recommendations to do have for the next visit, I would love to hear from you!

Bon Voyage, JetLad