When in Dublin!

Hi folks!

This previous weekend I was in Dublin, Ireland for the first time! I travelled with my boyfriend and his family and we celebrated his mother’s 50th birthday. It was lot of fun and I thought I could share some of the fun things we did with you guys in case any one of you are looking for a new, fun trip to do! The Irish people are super friendly even though they can be hard to understand sometimes, they keep swallowing their words.

We lived at a hotel called Clontarf Castle Hotel and let me tell you; if you are looking for a nice place to stay with lovely service and lovely surroundings then this is the place for you! I felt like I lived in a castle since parts of the hotel is actually a historical castle. When you enter the lobby there is a wonderful fireplace and there is actually two stag heads up on the wall. You feel like you have entered a place where the modern and historical world match each other perfectly. The restaurant called Fahrenheit, located at the second floor of the hotel, has some truly amazing food. We had the birthday-dinner there and it’s a long time since I’ve had food that good. Everyone was really pleased with food, wine, service and everything! Highly recommended for a meal!

On Saturday we visited Trinity University of Dublin. We had a guided tour by one of the student and he was very good at what he did. He knew a lot about the history of the university and he made us laugh a lot. At the end of the tour we could enter the schools library and what a library! As a book lover, I was quite amazed. It’s not only old, but it contains 6,2 million books. Imagine having that much space for books! Just across the street from the university is a shop called Aran Sweater Market. You should really check out the store if you are in the area. They have the most amazing wool sweaters made from true Irish Murino wool.

Later on Saturday we did some shopping before we went to the Guinness Store House to try some real Guinness. I was surprised that I liked it! It was a little too noisy and touristy for me, but it was fun to have been there and seen where this famous beer actually comes from. The gift shop was great and I found some fun Christmas-presents there. After visiting Guinness we went to Teeling Whiskey Distillery for whiskey tasting. This was definitely a new experience since I’m not a big whiskey fan, but hey you have to try new stuff! Your guide was very good and she also explained the whiskey’s very well at the tasting. I actually tasted some of the things she was talking about and I got a more improved understanding of why whiskey actually can taste good.

On Sunday before we headed for the airport we got a driver who drove us around outside of Dublin. He showed us two castles where one was still inhabited but its owners who had owned it for around 800 years. The other castle was owned by the government, but the grounds were used for picnics, festivals and open to the public. We got to see some local villages, one among then had once been the home of one of the Westlife members. Our driver was very knowledgeable and could tell us a lot of history as he drove us through different areas. Sadly I don’t remember his name. This was a very nice way to spend our last hours in Ireland!

I’m already looking forward to returning! Next time I think I will try to go on a riding vacation. The Irish are known for their horses! So long Ireland, we will meet again!

– The Book Reader