This weekend I made a short trip to Ireland. First stop, Dublin.

Although we were running on less that 2 hours of sleep. We got to Dublin and found our hostel. We were staying at the Ashfield House, near Temple Bar (the place to be for us uni students visiting Dublin).

After dropping off our backpacks, we started on our adventure. What did we do first? A hop on/hop off tour of course!

MUST do all the cliché touristy things. We went to all sorts of wonderful places in Dublin.

First stop: Trinity College. 

Trinity college was gorgeous. Would have been better if we were not there during an “open day”, with lots of youth walking around.

We saw the Book of Kells in the library. Man! Can I just say, that library is AMAZING! All I could think while walking through it was “this is the kind of library Belle would have loved in Beauty and the Beast”.

It was beautiful. Just seeing the library itself was enough for me at the college. Other than that…there was not much more to be seen.

Stop 2: Dublin Castle.

It may be a castle. However, it does not look very castle-like on the outside. Don’t be depressed by the lack of Ireland fairytaleness you would want the castle to have. The inside is very pretty.

There were some of the prettiest chandeliers in the Dublin castle. Lots of pretty paintings as well. It is interesting to see how this castle compares to castles I have seen in London.

London wins. Sorry Dublin Castle. Good try though, you are still extremely pretty on the inside.

Stop 3: St. Patrick’s Cathedral.

Can I say, this is a MUST if you ever go to Dublin. BEAUtiful indeed. The architecture was typical old school church.

It had a pretty organ and old, vintage pews. You could almost feel the echo of the choir singing songs from old hymnals. It was glorious.

The view when you walked in the door was breath-taking. It was beautiful all around.

Stop 4: The Guinness Brewery.

What can I say. You can’t go to Ireland and NOT go to the Guinness Brew House. Let’s be real. Especially when you think of Ireland, you mainly think of beer and whiskey.

Let me tell you, I never knew what really went into making a beer before this tour.

It was very interesting. I would suggest it, maybe not for families with children though…unless you want to take them to use their ticket to get an extra free Guinness? That could be smart. (hint)

You also must make it all the way to the top-level. That is where the free beer is…and a KILLER view of Dublin. It is in a place called, the Gravity Bar.

Even if you don’t like Guinness…go to the brewery. Pure fun, enjoyment, educational, and free beer.

Last, but not least… Dublin night life: Temple Bar.

We got the recommendation to go to the best night life bar in Dublin, Temple Bar. (Not to far from Trinity college or the hostel we were staying).

There were live bands, and it was great music.

Jut be warned. It was extremely busy and EXTREMELY pricey when it comes to drink purchases.

Totally worth it though. We had a blast.

Do I recommend Dublin? Yes I do. However, maybe not for more than a few days. Can’t imagine you can go to the brew houses and museums over and over again. You would constantly be drunk and learning Irish history.

REMEMBER: Just because it is Ireland…does not mean people walk around in green outfits and carry pots of gold. Just for those of you who stereotype. 😉