All Summer Long

Had a great first day in Dublin. We’re totally amazed by how many food and drink places there are!! 
Once we arrived at the airport, we got the Airlink bus into the city centre. It was €10 return each and I’d definitely recommend it. Much cheaper than a taxi and it only took about 40mins in total. 

The hotel wasn’t quite ready when we arrived so we went off to find some lunch. Very difficult for 2 indecisive people who love food!!! After a fair bit of walking, we stopped at a place called Beirut (http://beirutexpress.wixsite.com/beirut-express) and had a nice chicken kebab with rice. It did the trick then we were able to get back to the hotel and check in. The hotel is called The Harding Hotel (http://m.hardinghotel.ie/) and is in a perfect location with very friendly staff who have even thrown breakfast in for us! What more can you ask for? 

Once settled, we went off to explore the cathedral district. Paul was in charge of directions and took us to some lovely places – Christ Church Cathedral and St. Patrick’s Cathedral are both stunning! 

After a long walk round getting our bearings, we arrived at The Stag’s Head pub (http://www.louisfitzgerald.com/stagshead) and had our first half of Guinness! It was delicious and I can now totally agree with all the people who tell me Guinness tastes different in Ireland – it does! 

That evening, we planned tea a bit better and went to a place called The Fish Shack (http://www.fishshack.ie/dublin2). It’s only small and they were busy but still managed to fit us in. The menu was a dream for me as I love seafood and the catch of the day was red mullet. We both chose it and at a bargain price of €15 each, it didn’t disappoint. It was so fresh and the meat just fell off the bone. The guy (who I assume is the manager/owner) was very passionate about what he does and was as excited as us about our choice of food. We would definitely go here again in a flash and would highly recommend it to any seafood loving people! 

We decided to walk off our food and go for another little wander. We ended up having a drink in Porterhouse Central (http://www.theporterhouse.ie/index.php). A great selection of craft ales and a really nice vibe to the place. I had the Dublin pale and Paul had the Plain Porter. Both lovely. 

To round the night off, we had a half in the bar downstairs at the hotel called Darkey Kelly’s (http://darkeykellys.ie/). There was live Irish Music on and the place was totally bustling and full of charm. It was everything we expected Ireland to be. 

Day One Verdict: Dublin is brilliant! It’s not the cheapest city, but everybody is super friendly and we will never be short on coffee! A fab first day and can’t wait for the next one. 

Love you all ?

Ps. We’ve put a few photos in an album on the album page if you fancy having a look ?