I was in the midst of an European holiday with my grandmother around this time, just three years ago. Together we spent three and a half weeks abroad and it will always be one of my most cherished trips. As a way to stretch my memory and immortalize this trip as best I can, I thought I’d spend the next few weeks sharing some photos and memories as well as links to places we stayed and things we did.
First stop, Dublin, Ireland.
inside st. stephen’s green, dublin.
palm trees inside st. stephen’s green.
overlooking dublin from the guinness storehouse gravity bar.
a view of the monastic city of st. kevin in glendalough.
another view from the monastic city of st. kevin overlooking a lake in glendalough.
the medieval city of kilkenny.
the castle of malahide in dublin.
a scenic view of the fishing village of howth outside of dublin.
Where we stayed:
Paddy’s Palace Dublin (hostel) – Very clean, great location and grandma approved.
Aishling House (bed and breakfast) – Adorable b&b attached to the owner’s townhouse. Very clean, cute and just a short bus ride to the city centre. The owners serve breakfast made-to-order. I kind of wanted to move in.
Where we went:
St. Stephen’s Green – Pack a picnic and enjoy the surrounding shops.
Guinness Storehouse Tour – This is a great tour and it includes a pint of Guinness in the skybar. With 360* views of the city, it will be the best pint of Guinness you ever enjoy.
Kilkenny & Wicklow – Paddy’s Palace offers a free day tour if you stay at the hostel for at least 2 nights. We took advantage of the offer and I’m glad we did. It was an easy and convenient way to see more of Ireland outside of the city. Our tour went from the Dublin city centre through Kildare to Kilkenny. From there we toured through Wicklow and stopped at the monastic city of St. Kevin which was truly breathtaking. On the way back made a short stop at a pre-Celtic Bronze Age burial site.
Malahide Castle – We did a second afternoon trip to visit Malahide Castle in Dublin. If you like castles and history this is a nice one to visit. Again, very easy. I recently learned my favorite store in Dublin, Avoca, opened a new location there.
Howth – We just drove through this little fishing village on the way back to the b&b from Malahide Castle. I would have loved to spend more time here. Very scenic.
Where We Ate:
Kyteler’s Inn – This inn/pub in Kilkenny was founded in 1324. That’s just insane. The food was good, the beer great and the history of the original owner even better.
Avoca Cafe – I mentioned that Avoca was my favorite store in Dublin, but it’s worth knowing they also have a cafe at most locations. The food is locally sourced, most of it from their own farms. Absolutely delicious sandwiches and desserts.
I wish I could remember! I had the best hamburger somewhere around St. Stephen’s Green and we also had a fancy steak dinner at a castle-like place recommended by the owners of Aishling House.
I’ve never felt so at-home traveling as I did in Dublin. I would have loved to spend more time outside Dublin and tour more of the countryside, but we did manage to cover quite a bit in the seven days we spent there. Until next time!
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