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My very first red velvet cupcake

UPDATE: Red velvet cupcakes are over-rated.

Reviews from the trip to Ireland

Other bloggers put up reviews, so bandwagon, consider yourself jumped on.

Arrive in Dublin.

I always choose to fly Air France, because of the points & service (they still give you coffee), but Ryan Air actually flies into the Dublin airport, so if you’re looking to save some $$$, maybe that’s not as terrible an option as it is everywhere else.

Stay

I stayed at two hotels in Dublin:

• The Albany House Hotel was “correct”. Not luxurious, but had everything we needed, was clean and the staff were friendly. The pillows sucked though. Good location near St Stephens Green at a good price.
• The Morgan Hotel was too cool for my taste. I love me a boutique hotel, and this one certainly had style, but its location in Temple Bar means it’s crazy loud and there are 20 too many bachelorette parties. For the price, I’ve seen way better places. Also, it totally needed slippers & bathrobes. On another note, they do have interesting packages available through their website, so that might be interesting.

 Eat

Make sure to make a reservation for The Pig’s Ear, which was totally fabulous – modern Irish cuisine in a nice atmosphere.

Do

• Guinness Storehouse – it’s hard to make beer interesting, but the explanation on how Guinness is made is fairly entertaining, you can learn to pour your own pint, and the bar at the top has a good view. Note: you can take the pint you poured upstairs to the bar, so don’t stay in that area to drink it! Entry is a bit expensive, but I’d say it’s worth it.
• Trinity College Tour – there are tour guides that take you through the four outside squares of the College, and tell some cute anecdotes. The tour is only about 30 mins, and costs 10€, so it would be a total rip-off except that it includes admission to the library, which is 9€ in itself. So it’s worth it.
• Dublinia – check out my post earlier on Dublinia. There are mannequins, so I cannot express how much I think this place is AWESOME.

Then you should totally go to Enniskillen in Northern Ireland.

Stay

A really wonderful experiece: The Enniskillen Hotel. Staff were so friendly. Bed was amazing. Breakfast was perfect. We felt like the only people there, although there were quite a few people, judging from the breakfast. The whiskey bar looked great, even though we didn’t go. Again, I stress, one of the best hotel experiences I’ve had in a long time, and for the service a reasonable price.

Drink

Blake’s of the Hollow: opened over 125 years ago, it still has all original décor. Nicest bartenders, great clientele, good Guinness. I’d say it’s worth making the trip to Enniskillen just for this experience.

Do

• The Enniskillen Castle, home of the Maguire Clan. Not a very big museum, but I got a kick out of it for the obvious reasons. Also, they had mannequins.
• Head Hunters Barbershop & Railway Museum (just for the contrast in subjects). A tiny little museum, and I kinda felt like I was intruding, but a cool experience.
• We didn’t go, but I hear Coole Castle is a neat old house with a kind of Downton Abbey experience.

My Guinness ID photo, to prove that I’m an honorary apprentice

Some more random pics from the weekend in Ireland

Enniskillen, home of the Maguire clan

We had some Guinness at Blake’s of the Hollow, a pub opened 125 years ago, and it still has all it’s traditional furnishings. It was super cute

There is an AMAZING attraction in Dublin called Dublinia, where they take you through Viking and Medieval Dublin. It’s like Megan heaven - you can touch everything, you can put on hats, there are mannequins. The only thing missing is a little train.

I cannot stress how wonderful this place was. 

I went to Dublin… here are some pics.

DP’s pics to come (you know… the good ones)

Borrowing a Panama hat! I should get myself one.

We went to Parc de Sceaux this weekend. DP took some pics. Votes on which of the last two is best?

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Lochnagar Crater - from the explosion of a mine on the first day of the battle of the Somme, 1 July 1916. Note how small I am for scale.