Flashback Friday Vol #3: Dublin

Ahh Dublin - the land of Guinness, the largest park in Europe and beautiful Irish men. Oh yes, I have a lot of love for Dublin! In two weeks time I'm off on holiday to New York with my boyfriend, and its had me thinking about past holidays I've been on. So what better topic for a Flashback Friday post, then a holiday I took in 2011.

2011 was the year that I went to America on my summer work trip, it was also the year that I lost my plane virginity. Growing up I'd always been on camping holidays with my family around the UK so I'd never been on a plane. I wouldn't say I was scared of flying, but I was definitely apprehensive about it and nervous for the flight to America. I was worried about taking such a long flight alone, when I'd never experienced a flight before. Here's where Dublin came in! I'm not sure how we decided on the location or who suggested it, but in the Easter before I went to America myself and my sister went on a mini-holiday to Dublin via plane so I could see what it was all about. (It was also just an excuse for a holiday!)

We went for about 4 days (if my memory serves me correctly) and had glorious weather! We got to Dublin super early in the morning, and settled in to a cafe after purchasing a map so we could investigate where to go. We hit the main tourist spots like the Guinness Factory (where I got a certificate for pulling the perfect pint!), Phoenix Park (where we rode a tandem bike around the park - ensuing A LOT of laughter and definitely worked off the calories for our ice cream reward!) and the main shopping streets.

But we also went slightly further afield, getting a train to a lovely town called Howth on the outskirts of Dublin. It was actually so nice to get out and see the non-touristy side of Dublin and it was such a pretty place. We climbed to the top of what I think is called Howth Head, and we ate a seriously tasty pizza off of a street vendor!

One thing I really loved about Dublin was the atmosphere in the pubs. Aside from the astronomical prices (15 Euros for 2 ciders!!), the beautiful Irish singers blasting out from every pub was amazing. They were also all decorated in a sort of 'cluttered' way, with bric a brac and Irish paraphernalia hanging haphazardly everywhere. I love a pub like this, a bit more rustic with all the more charm. It made every evening really enjoyable!

We actually stayed in a hostel while we were there, the Hi Hostel if you're interested, as we wanted to save on costs - good thing with those expensive ciders! It was actually really nice, we shared a room with four other girls, although there was never four girls all in at the same time so it worked out well. Breakfast was also included, and was really substantial for the price we paid. Overall, I'd definitely say its worth looking into a hostel, as with the money you save you can spend it on much more fun things for the holiday!

This was my first time on a plane, and my first holiday without my parents! We both had such a brilliant time and I have so many happy memories from the holiday. I definitely want to go back to Dublin again! It was really lovely to spend my first holiday alone with my sister Katie too, we definitely need to find the money for more in the future! I will leave you with one more picture of my favourite day there, when we cycled round Phoenix Park on a tandem bike! A hella lot of fun, but being the hottest day we were there, perhaps not the wisest idea? ;)

Have you been to Dublin before? What did you get up to? Let me know :)

Flashback Friday Vol #2: Class of 2012.

Flashback Friday Vol #1: An American Adventure...

Aimée
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