I spent the two nights before Coli’s arrival completely sleepless. I couldn’t stand the wait any longer. We’d been planning this trip for more months than I could remember and I think I might have actually been more excited for her first trip to Europe than even she was!
After an incredibly annoying flight delay (6+hours!) she finally arrived in Dublin and we hit the ground running. After dumping her gigantic bag in the room, we hopped on a city sightseeing bus tour. We caught the last hour of the “hop on – hop off” tour – although there was no “hopping” done at all – there wasn’t time, but we enjoyed the tour nonetheless. It was nice to be off our feet and let someone drive us all over town. Even the rain couldn’t get us down, as the exhilaration of finally being in each others company flooded us with positive energy.
After the bus tour, we wandered through Trinity College and then nabbed some sushi before heading back to our hotel just a few doors away. Did I mention yet how much I really enjoyed where we stayed? I loved the distressed detailing of the walls of Kellys Hotel - the boutique feel was a happy welcome to some of the dreary dwellings I’ve exprienced previously on European vaca’s. Oh and that last pic of the series? Our room just mere moments after Coli’s arrival. Messy much?
The next morning we nabbed our complimenatry Irish breakfast from the restuarant below the hotel and then headed towards the St. Stephen’s Green Park area. We caught about an hour of shopping (did I mention the shopping in Dublin is quite fab? I had no idea!!) before we headed out of the city for a day trip. Article located in the BEAUTIFUL Powerscourt building (I laughed aloud when Jemma told me the building was a mall as it looked more like an enchanted castle – I thought she was kidding!) had to be one of my favorite shopping stops along the way. I wanted to take every last home decor item back home with me and was so happy to see you can snag some of their adorable stuff in their online shop here!
The day before, we had grabbed lunch from Fallon & Byrne (another one of my fav stops) which is this stunningly gorgeous “food & wine shop” just a couple blocks from our hotel and right in the heart of the city. I could not get over how immaculate the displays were…each and every last item strategically and beautifully placed on each shelf. It was clear that every product had been hand picked for its packaging prettiness. I left wishing more care and passion was put into more of the markets & shops in my own neighborhood back home.
After a morning of shopping we took a bus for a full day trip to Glendalough – about a 1.5 hour curvy ride outside the City Centre. I had always dreamed of seeing the Ireland I’d seen in all the movies – it in all its green glory and all. Let’s just say our trip outside the city was worth every second. It was jaw-dropping beautiful.
We were dropped right off at the mouth of a hiking path in Glendalough and given 4 hours to explore. We walked and walked and walked, taking in all of the eye-boggling scenery and breathing the fresh, crisp dewy air. We got super close to some super fluffy sheep after climbing down the side of an embankment to the river below the hiking trail – me attempting to find anyway possible to hop over the river to actually pet the poor creatures. Success? Nope. But it was amazing to be in their Irish presence nonetheless!
As we headed back towards the bus pickup, I squeeled at the site of the tiny green clovers lining the the path hoping to find a 4 leaf one with no avail. It all felt VERY VERY Ireland and as we were pelted with bits of hail on our way back down the trail, I took a mental snapshot of the moment, hoping to never forget the precious Irish countryside moment with my little sis.
When we got back to the city we dropped off our things and took a quick cat nap. We woke about an hour later and persuaded each other to head out for a pub visit before leaving Dublin CRAZY early the next morning. We dropped into Grogan’s a few blocks away and Coli had her first EVER bar + Guinness + not carded experience. I felt so honored to be in her presence as she wiped her Guinness mustache from her face. We both laughed aloud as we realized how horrifically we looked like tourists with the flash of my new instax camera in the low-lit pub. After meeting a nice Irish lad named Micheal, we ended our last night in Dublin SUPER late/early (3:00 am with a 6:30 am flight the next morning!!) listening to traditional Irish music in a super secretive Gaelic speaking pub. I know – crazy amazing right?! Let’s just say our time in Dublin ended on one amazingly authentic note.
photo cred : {jenn elliott blake}
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