Tuesday 5 January 2016

Starting the New Year in Dublin



My New Years Eve was a very quiet, chilled one this year. Just curling up on the sofa with my boyfriend, a DVD and a single glass of prosecco.
After all that happened last year, as many of you would have read in my previous post, I didn't feel like celebrating. In fact, the thought of 2016 scared me and still does a little.
However whilst most people were waking up hungover, we headed for the airport on Friday morning.

My last weekend, the first of the year, was spent in Dublin. It was a fantastic distraction and a fun trip that I definitely needed. So I wanted to share with you all some of my highlights:

The Morgan Hotel

We stayed in The Morgan, which is located in Temple Bar, on our first night in Dublin. It has a great location and is beautifully decorated inside. Our room was huge, and the bed was one of the biggest I've seen. It had gorgeous pale wood panelled walls and felt so plush and cosy.
The bar was also super modern and served a delicious mojito. It is a lovely quiet escape from the bustling streets.


Glasnevin Cemetery

This may seem an odd place for tourists to visit, but honestly I would highly recommend a trip if you are in Dublin. This huge, and I mean huge, cemetery is home to the most intricate and stunning gravestones and monuments. It was so peaceful to walk around there and interesting to notice the fashions, if you can call them that, throughout the years.
It's wonderful to see how the people who are buried there are so respected and the beautiful memorials created for them.





Butler's Chocolate Cafe

I am a chocolate addict and I am happy to admit it. One obsession of mine over Winter has been hot chocolate, and in Dublin I think I may have found one of my favourites ever.
Yes, if you ever find yourself in this city, I highly recommend that you visit one of the Butler's Chocolate Cafe's. It is heaven in a cup.
I actually visited twice over the weekend because it was that good! The first time I got the traditional Butler's hot chocolate and the second I got the praline flavoured one. Both were amazing and have actual pieces of chocolate in. The touch that got me very excited though, was that you get given a free chocolate each with your drink. What more could you want?!



The Fresh Air

My boyfriend's dad has a house about 2 hours away from Dublin, up in the mountains. We stayed with him for one night and I have honestly never been somewhere so remote and quiet before.
Once it gets dark, that is it. There are no street lights in sight!
I really noticed how crisp and fresh the air was up there though. I felt like I was inhaling pure oxygen and even though it was cold, it was lovely to walk around in.
The other thing that my boyfriend pointed out to me was how pure the water was. Fresh from the mountain it was so refreshing and clear.
Let's be honest I probably needed it after all the chocolate from the day before!


All in all we had a lovely trip, and over the weekend we also saw Dublin Castle, drank in the famous Temple Bar listening to a traditional Irish band, learnt about Irish folklore at the National Leprechaun Museum and I even tried the famous potato pancakes 'Boxty' for breakfast.....Dublin, it was fun.







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