Hello There!

So, this is my first official edition for the travel blog - the introductory blog doesn't really count ha-ha.

I could not think of a better place to start with than the place where it all began. Dublin.

Dublin will forever hold a special place in my heart, in my opinion it is one of the most beautiful cities out there with so much to do and see - and it's full of good looking Irishmen, what is not to like?

Dublin was my and Zoe's very first mini break together (again, as friends, not as a couple). She arranged this as a surprise for my birthday back in April 2011. I think it was after we had binge watched the movies 'Leap Year' and 'Ps I Love You' - we were determined to find ourselves handsome Irish Husbands… yeah that worked out well for us. I then returned the favour in July 2015 as a belated birthday present for her.

I remember how excited we were on the run up to our little trips, talking about what we were going to do, where we would go, who we would meet. We were making plans, setting budgets (if we have a huge breakfast we can skip lunch and have dinner and then there is more money for alcohol). The essentials.

I have never had a bad experience in Dublin, just many fantastic funny memories. I'm just trying to think of the best places to start!

Let's be serious and talk about the many touristy, cultural places to visit in Dublin.

My ultimate favourite being St Stephens Green. This is a huge park in the centre of Dublin, and it is simply breath taking. The current landscape of the park was designed by William Sheppard and is at approximately 22 acres! It played a vital role during the Easter Rising of 1916, wherein approximately 250 members of the Irish Citizen Army set up position inside the park and confiscated motor vehicles to establish road blocks around the park. My favourite little fact about this story is that they periodically ceased fire to allow the park groundsman to come in and feed the local ducks! Love it!

We also have Dublin Zoo and Phoenix Park, which are virtually next to each other. Now I do love a good zoo, and I mean a GOOD zoo. If we are going to take animals out of the wild for their own protection, then they need to be cared for properly. I believe Dublin zoo tries very hard to make sure the quality of the life for the animals is of paramount importance. I would say that you need around 5 hours to properly enjoy the zoo, longer if you want to attend the talks given by the keepers. Zoe and I loved it there, especially seeing the baby elephants. They were just so mesmerising and playful, I believe they were only a few months old when we saw them. There are many habitats in the zoo covering many species of animals: lions, tigers (no bears), elephants, seals, penguins, zebras, monkeys, reptiles etc. And from what I could see, they were all very well taken care of. Phoenix Park is just outside the main entrance to the zoo and holds a magnificent monument commemorating the victories of the Duke of Wellington. The park itself rests at 1750 acres and is home to a herd of wild fallow deer - aww!

You obviously cannot go to Dublin without visiting the Guinness Factory or Jameson's Distillery. Now I will admit right now, I haven't actually been inside the Guinness factory. I have been to the gates but didn't have time for the tour. That's for my next trip. I have done the Jameson's tour though, and that was very impressive. They recently renovated the distillery and I must say it looks very impressive. My only bug bear was that the entrance is not easy to find. I believe it took my friend and I around 15 minutes to walk all way round the building and down some side streets to actually find the entrance. But once you're in there, then it's great. The tour guide was very knowledgeable and took us through the history of the business and the complexities of the distilling process. The rooms on the tour were very interactive which is always a good thing in my book. You then get to sample different whiskies and learn the difference between a good and a bad whisky… and then at the end - you get a free drink! Winner!

Another key location to visit would be Kilmainham Gaol (pronounced 'Jail' - just so you know. I didn't know, I was calling it Ga-ol until Zoe corrected me). This was a former prison and is now a museum. Historically it was first opened in 1796 and originally public hangings took place outside the front of the building. From the 1820's few hangings took place, so they built a hanging cell in 1891. Unlike modern prisons, there was no segregation for the prisoners; men, women and children were mixed together and there were known to be up to 5 inmates per cell. Now these cells were tiny! It was quite an unnerving experience walking through the cells. Whether you believe in the supernatural or not, it did make you get Goosebumps, and the hair stand up on your arms… but that could have been the draughts…. Or it could have been a ghost…. Zoe and I spent one of our final days here and I think a few hours is long enough to see what you need to see. It's not too intense, which is just as well because Zoe and I were both a little delicate during our visit. Too much lemonade the night before.

One other place worth quickly mentioning, purely for giggles. The wax museum. This was an unexpected find. There's not really much else I can say about this place, other than it was so so bad that it was actually good. If you have a free couple of hours, then go. Have no expectations, and just enjoy it for what it is. A huge giggle.

As I mentioned, Zoe and I were working to budgets on our trips and these attractions are very easy on your purse. One thing I discovered AFTER my last trip, is that you can get a Dublin pass which allows you free entry to most of the attractions, free hop on and hop off bus tours and a free transfer from the airport. The pass costs from around 52 euros for one day per person, or 83 euros for 3 days per person… it is well worth the money! I shall be getting one next time!

Another great thing about Dublin is the variety of cuisine available! There are restaurants to suit any palate but if I had to recommend any from personal experience then it would be the Beanhive and Brasserie sixty6. The Beanhive is a great little café and serves an array of fresh smoothies, coffee, sandwiches and cakes. The staff are so unbelievably friendly, and it is no wonder they are so popular! They also offer a gluten free section, which works out great for me! You can either eat in or take away. I just cannot praise this café enough! It is located just around the corner from St Stephens Green, so a perfect stop off if you want to have a picnic in the park! Brasserie Sixty6 is located on South Great Georges St and is a beautiful establishment. I took Zoe here for her birthday, and have been several times before and since then. The menu is just mouth-watering, and the food is pretty good too haha! They have a choice to suit any budget and a great selection of wines. Again, a huge bonus point for me, they have a large gluten free menu. Each time I have been there, the food has been delicious and the service exceptional. Highly recommended!

Now, that's all the serious and sensible information done with. Now onto the section that everybody wants to hear. The nightlife! Even as I write that sentence, a huge grin forms on my face. I have had some of the most hilarious nights out in Dublin. Totally utterly random. The great thing about Dublin is that there is mixture of locals and tourists and everyone just wants to have fun. For those of you who don't know, the place to be in Temple Bar. Like any major city, it has its expensive establishments and its cheaper establishments. There are clubs, cocktails bars, Irish Pubs and Gardens. It is up to you where you want to go, what kind of atmosphere you want and how much you want to spend. Zoe and I, well we are self-proclaimed lightweights. It doesn't take a lot to get us drunk, but we do it anyway! So, it actually works out quite cheap for us, especially when we happen on people who wish to buy us a beverage or two… haha!

We always tried to start our nights pacing ourselves in a classy cocktail, then it just goes downhill, but it's great fun! Each time we have been there we made so many friends from different countries and nationalities. We've met super sweet and endearing Danish people who tell each other "it's all about the confidence" when it comes to talking to girls. We met overly rambunctious French Navy Men, who we had to run away from "Kim! They're trying to divide and conquer!" Suave Italians, Senile Spanish "Zoe, you are not leaving me with the old bald guy". I remember on our first trip we made friends with a group of people from all over the world; New York, Sweden, Ireland, Newcastle and Netherlands… we were all traipsing across Dublin at 2am trying to find an open club… I actually made the Irish guy record a ringtone for me "Terty Tree and a Tird, Top of da morning to ya", I had that on my blackberry for months haha! Memories!

Again, there are a whole variety of hotels and hostels you can stay at. On our first trip, we stayed at the Fleet Hotel in Temple Bar. At the time, it was cheap and ideally located. The rooms weren't really on par, but we only planned to be sleeping in the rooms, so we didn't really mind. I have seen that they have had a refurbishment since and now it looks very nice. On our second trip we stayed at the Belvedere Hotel, which was further out but beautiful. The staff were so friendly and helped me arrange chocolates and wine for a birthday surprise for Zoe (I'm so romantic). They did have a restaurant and a show theatre on the premises, but we already had our own plans.

I have just realised that my blog has turned into an essay, so I will cut it short now. I guess the message behind this blog is GO TO DUBLIN! For a weekend or a week. Just go. It's worth it. I remember being in the airport after our first trip here. We were so hungover and poor, scraping our euros together to buy cheesy jalapeno bites from Burger King and thinking of hair brain schemes to make money so we could come back again.

Zoe and I do plan to make the trip again this year for old times' sake, god help us. We are older... are we wiser? Nope. But is it going to be awesome? HELL YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Love Kim

xxx