Thursday 10 January 2013

DUBLIN ...

For New Year's, my boyfriend surprised me with a trip to Dublin! I literally had no idea and I've always wanted to go there so it was so sweet of him. He booked a really posh hotel and we stayed for 3 nights! I didn't want to come back :( but I thought I would share a few photos with you!
L-R - Top row - Mike enjoying his first pint of guiness, and my yummy lunch
Middle row - The fireworks in the park, and the street lights in Dublin
Bottom row - A group of street performers, and lights on a shop!!
I had such a lovely time in Dublin, it really is one of the best cities I have ever been too. The atmosphere was fantastic and everyone was so friendly. We flew in on New Year's Eve and went straight to our hotel, which took a while because Mike organised everything which was very sweet but he is hopeless at getting anywhere new. He is so relaxed and just like well we will get there eventually i.e. a couple of summers ago we went interrailing around Europe and we wanted to go to the baths in Budapest and he was like don't worry I know the way, which he didn't but he thought if we followed people with swimming towels we would find it (!!!!!). Actually, we ended up following people leaving the baths, for about half an hour! So, you get my drift, he is lovely, just not the best at finding places. But, when we did get to the hotel it was stunning. We stayed at the Dylan hotel which is just outside the city centre but still in walking distance from everything, and it was perfect! It was absolutely beautiful and I would highly recommend it! After we had settled into the hotel we went to a restaurant on the outside of the park where the fireworks were going to be displayed called St. Stephen's Green, and the restaurant was beautiful. It was called Il Posto, and the food was amazing. Mike had a steak and I had fish with asparagus, and we shared a bottle of Prosecco and had the most amazing desserts! After we had finished our meal, we went out onto the road outside the park and watched the fireworks. It felt truly magical! We then wandered through the streets until we found a bar we liked the look of and danced our way into the New Year. It was honestly one of the best New Years I have ever had!

On New Year's Day, we were feeling a little bit worse for wear, so we had a slow start to the morning and then we had a walk around the city centre and soaked in the atmosphere, and went into a few of the little pubs and watched the football and ate some food. After the football and food, we headed back to the hotel where something very special happened, and to cut a long story short ... I'm now engaged!!!, and then we went to the hotel restaurant for a gorgeous meal. I'm sure I will share the details at some point but I don't want to make this post any longer than it already will be :) 

The next day, we got up really early and went on the hop on and off bus, which I would really recommend going on if you are visiting a city that has one available, because it is a cheap and easy way to get around  as well as learning lots of new things about the city! We did the whole tour first which took about an hour and a half, and our bus driver was hilarious and so knowledgeable. After we got off the bus, we had a wander around Saint Stephen's park which was now open as it had been closed for the fireworks, and we wandered through Temple Bar, which is the bar/pub area of Dublin, and we found ourselves in this lovely pastry shop that had been recommended to us. It was amazing, and if you ever go to Dublin definitely go for a pastry in the Queen of Tarts. After that, we went for a wander around Dublin Castle, but it was closed due to the EU Presidency being there, so we headed back on to the bus and went to the Guinness Storehouse which was pretty cool and definitely somewhere else I would recommend going! We then walked back into the city centre and had some good old Pizza Hut before we went to a pub to watch some football and live music! It was such an amazing day, and it's so hard to describe the atmosphere but it was unlike anywhere else I have been. 

On our last day, we went back on the bus because it was a 48 hour ticket and then wandered around the city centre, having some food at the Bad Ass Cafe and looking through some of the little shops, before we had to make our way home :( 

Overall, I had an amazing couple of days and I would highly recommend Dublin to anyone thinking of going there. There was so much to do, and so much we didn't get a chance to fit in so I will definitely be going back soon. 

xxx

2 comments: