Dublin is our last stop of our very memorable European adventure. Looking back upon it now, I am so happy about that, too. Right off the bat we knew it was going to be a good stay. One aspect being that how kind the Irish are. Oh my goodness so kind! Our taxi driver from the airport to our hotel spoke to us like we have known each other our whole lives!!
We arrived in Dublin on a chilly, but sunny day! We stayed right in the Temple Bar area so there are so many restaurants, pubs, cafés, shops…you name it, they have it. We could walk absolutely anywhere and everywhere and that was the best. We explored the areas near our hotel. The second notable experience that made us just know it was going to be a great visit, was “running” into this mural before our first Dublin lunch. Life was good for him – do not think I have seen him smile like that all trip!

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Dublin suited us well as we find ourselves, at least once a week, sitting in a brewery enjoying local beer and talking. Jack calls it our “dialogue” nights sarcastically. That’s what we did, we bopped around town finding local places to simply enjoy a pint of Guinness or two. In all the craziness of days, this is one of my favorite things to do! Now we have lots to talking about with a wedding coming in our near future! One place that we enjoyed, and we were told we must go, is The Brazen Head. This is the oldest pub in Ireland and has quite a cool vibe to it. It is also pretty cool to say that we had a pint in the oldest pub in Ireland I think!

I can speak for both of us that one highlight of our trip was visiting Guinness Storehouse. The vibe, layout, organization and simply the Guinness made it so memorable. There is no guided tour, which I like, as it is all at your own pace. They take you through the steps of all that goes into a single Guinness. From the water to the advertising – pretty special! Also, we learned how to properly taste and pour it, too. Care to learn about the pouring? You’re in luck! I am going to share. When you order a pint of Guinness do not expect them to pour and hand right to you. It takes a couple of minutes to get that perfect head on it. The first pour will be a little over halfway full and then they will let it sit. Once it sits for about 2 minutes so you can see the dark brown color and foam rising to the top, they top it off. I am not sure why this is the way but they have found this makes the best way to pour for how they want to serve. Also, in order to get through the head initially, you must take a nice big sip! They can be heavy at times, but they do not taste like that. I really enjoyed it and being able to experience here gave me a whole new appreciation!

Of course, keeping with the trend, we enjoyed a Flytographer shoot while in Dublin. We worked with Vanessa and had an absolute BLAST. Maybe third time is a charm because, being very awkward people, we felt comfortable and just had a lot of fun. Jack was really making me laugh…like belly, double chin laughs so it made for genuine, natural pictures (even if the double chins came in from time to time). Vanessa was perfect for us, too, and so much fun. We loved her visions and she helped us feel comfortable along the way!

We enjoyed, probably too much, Irish breakfast and then found our favorite bite of our time in Ireland! That was a chocolate scone with clotted cream from Queen of Tarts. Holy smokes! Amazing!! We also went to an Irish Folk show one evening and the band, along with the dancing, was fantastic.

It was bittersweet sending Jack back home and me heading to Scotland. It was not fun saying bye to him but seeing Scotland is amazing for me, too!

xo