To celebrate my 23rd birthday I headed off to the Emerald Isle. I'd never been to Ireland before but Dublin seemed like the perfect city getaway with it only being a 1.5 hour flight. In fact it felt completely bizarre having to get euros, warn my bank and go through passport control for such a short journey!
Plane tickets to Dublin are pretty affordable, we got some bargain flights through SkyScanner and flew with RyanAir. It's a short bus ride from the airport to the city centre and is just a 10 euro return.
We stayed in
this beautiful city centre house right next to Christ Church Cathedral. I would absolutely recommend it, the hosts Andrew and Derek were wonderful people and the house was spotless, modern and most importantly amazingly located! We didn't want to have to bother with getting buses around and with a few nights out planned being able to get home easily was also important. I'd recommend staying on the south side of the river as this is where you'll spend most of your time in Dublin.
When it comes to "thing to do" Dublin feels like one of those cities that's just lovely to walk around and not really
do anything. On our first day we headed to the Trinity College Campus which was utterly beautiful. We were lucky the weather was so good as it made the old buildings look even more impressive. It's here that you'll find the Book of Kells which is often listed as a must do in Dublin but we weren't so impressed. There's a small exhibition about the book the scribes and the history before you go in and some of this was interesting but the book itself was underwhelming. There were only two pages on display which made for lacklustre viewing.
Included in the ticket price though is the Long Hall which I found altogether more impressive. The library has that amazing old book smell (anyone else know the one I mean?) and the alcoves are lined with the busts of famous writers and thinkers - Socrates and Homerus being my favourites featured, obviously. Especially on a sunny day like ours, the room is really stunning and the helpful staff are on hand to answer questions. All in all 11 euros felt a little steep for what was included, but if you're into your history I'd put this on your list of things to do.
For more pretty old building head to Dublin Castle which isn't a castle per se, more a collection of lovely buildings. If the weather's nice it's also pleasant to stroll along the river and cross the Ha'penny bridge. Whilst in Dublin we went on a mythology and folklore
walking tour which I'd definitely recommend!Our tour guide was hilarious and had such a way of telling stories, though to be honest I could listen to the Irish accent whatever they were saying. This tour took us round the city and gave us the chance to see sights like St Patrick's Cathedral and the City Hall whilst learning more about Irish pagan folklore and the vibrant characters that have populated Dublin City.
The streets around Drury Street and William Street South are filled with lovely unique boutiques for those who want to do a bit of shopping. We fell in love with Avoca which is more in the main shopping area, think Anthropologie meets Oliver Bonas. Literally everything here was beautiful.
When it comes to food you're spoilt for choice. On our first night we ate at
777, a trendy Mexican restaurant in the centre. This place doesn't take reservations for under 6 people so we turned up and chanced our luck which worked out perfectly. The food here is delicious, I had the Lamb Larp which was unlike anything I'd ever eaten; a slightly spicy salsa with minced lamb mixed in made for a light but yummy main. I also got to try some of my friends fried chicken and corn on the cob, both of which were delicious. I need the spotify account of whoever made the playlist for this place as it was awesome and made for the perfect atmosphere - think 70s/80s/90s classics but without the cheese.
For my birthday meal I opted for
The Larder which is a more rustic cosy restaurant and brewhouse. Compared to some of the other restaurants I'd looked at this place is very reasonably priced (a tricky thing to find in Dublin) and the food quality wasn't compromised as a result. I opted for the steak which was cooked perfectly and came with a creamy peppercorn sauce. My friend ordered the chicken wings which I had a bite of and let me warn you, if you don't like spicy food do not order these, I could barely handle the one bite! The staff were also warm and welcoming and even gave me a free slice of cheesecake as it was my birthday - what more can you ask for?
If you're looking for a quick lunch then head to
Poulet Bonne Femme located in the basement of Avoca. The sandwiches are out of this world. Literally. I had the roast pork with crackling sandwich and my friends had the rotissery chicken which you can see cooking as you order. Both were incredible and a really generous size. You can choose from a selection of sweet treats for dessert if you have room (go for the doughnut, you won't regret it), or there's a salad bar if sandwiches aren't your thing.
A hungover day calls for one thing and one thing only, brunch, and we grabbed ours at
Taco Taco, another Mexican place. Once again, the staff here were lovely (maybe it's just Irish people in general?) and they have an extensive brunch menu with classics like french toast and their twist on a full english - which included Mexican beans and cubed potatoes. But you can also get something a little different like the crab cakes which came with asparagus and poached eggs.
When it comes to drinking and nights out I feel like you have to at least experience Temple Bar. We went to the Portershouse which was pretty good - be warned, do not order mixers here, it set my friend back 15 euros but avoid at all costs Temple Bar itself, just don't do it. To get our dancing shoes on we headed down to the river and went to the
The Workman's Club which is an old townhouse that still has lots of period features. There's live music downstairs and upstairs they played more housey kind of tracks. All in all a pretty cool place and if I remember rightly free to get in (though I may not remember rightly, I was pretty drunk at the time).
The second night we went to
Whelan's on the recommendation of our tour guide and I
loved this place! If like me you love your indie/rock you have to go here. Upstairs there's live music and a roof terrace smoking area while downstairs you can choose to either sit in the more pubby area or hit the dance floor where they play all the classics and you can have a good ole sing along. It's ten euros to get in but definitely worth it!
Dublin's a really beautiful and fun city and if you haven't been I'd definitely recommend a weekend getaway here. Everyone's extremely friendly, there's a never ending list of bars and restaurants to try and you can wander round and enjoy the sights without spending a fortune.
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