The word’s impromptu and trip are two words that I just love putting together. Then putting a plan into motion and making the impromptu trip happen is even better!!
I have a small amount of regret of not travelling before I bought a house, got a mortgage, found a husband and added a dog into our lives. It was something that at that point in my life I never wanted to do. Fast forward to now and I wish that I had taken the plunge and travelled seeing as much as I could. That’s not to say it’s too late of course, except now my idea of travelling is a 2 week vacation staying in a 5 star hotel all inclusive (that’s fully acceptable right?!)
I love being spontaneous, I love finding something to do, whether it being an activity or location and just doing it! So putting the wheels in motion for an impromptu trip, I found an amazing price for flights to Dublin the return flight on Ryanair was £38.90! I mean the price was that ridiculous I just had to book it, it was almost criminal not too!
We flew direct from Stansted airport to Dublin airport which took around 55 minutes, so a very short haul flight. Our flight time out was 6am with a return flight time of 10.30pm!! Which gave us around 12 hours to explore Dublin!
This was Luke’s first trip to Ireland where as I had previously visited Cork back in 2013 just before I met Luke. But as for Dublin, this was a new destination for me, and another to tick off of the list.
As soon as we landed and walked out of the airport it started to rain, and it didn’t stop all day (which is literally so typical!) Still a little rain (and at times a pretty heavy downpour) isn’t going to stop this adventurous couple. Being the absolute tourists that we are we had all the gear – back pack and rain mac, what more could you possibly need!
Rain macs on – (who said we’re not fashion icons!? ) We were absolutely ready to go and explore beautiful Dublin.
First stop – A hot drink! Seriously our flight was so early that by the time we got out of the airport it was just gone 8am and so nothing was open! Oh well as long as there is somewhere that serves hot drinks I’m happy!! We found a cute little coffee shop which was open and had nice comfy chairs and also served chai lattes (winner all round to be honest!) Oh and it was definitely one of the best chai lattes that I have had in a while!
The only downside was whilst sipping away my steaming hot chai sprinkled with cinnamon I could see the rain getting heavier and heavier almost torrential downpour really!
Still time in Dublin was pressure, so rain macs on we headed on over to the Guinness storehouse. – In brief Guinness Storehouse is a tourist attraction at St. James’s Gate Brewery in Dublin, Ireland. The building in which the Storehouse is located was constructed in 1902, and since opening in 2000, it has received over twenty million visitors .
Luke & I did the self tour and spent around 90 minutes walking around and taking in the history of Guinness. And no tour would be complete without a good old pint of Guinness at the end! now I can’t say I loved the pint, but equally I can’t say I hated it either. It was okay, and non offensive but very filling, almost like a meal replacement! But when in Ireland…….
Okay seriously – rain, rain and more rain! I think we chose the wettest day to explore the emerald isles!! Still we really had to make the most of our short time in this beautiful city.
Heading over to a cute family run Bakery (Mannings Bakery) it was time for a cake before we set off walking around, and exploring the city. As we were pretty much winging it, we had only booked in the storehouse and a walking guided tour for later in the day. The hours in between we left, so that we could do whatever we wanted.
We had a late lunch at Gallagher’s Boxty House and I can personally recommend it too! We had previously seen it on someone’s vlog on YouTube and they gave it a great review so of course on our list it had to go. The welcoming, they layout, the food all was amazing. Luke went for the Irish stew and I opened for a plate of Boxty fries and some Irish bread and butter! This is a must try! You will not leave disappointed or hungry!
With a short time to fill, before we started our walking guided tour, so we headed over to the food market situated near Temple street. I do love a little market and it really reminded me of Covent Garden indoor market.
The last stop of the day was of course the guided walking tour covering many of the essentials and popular areas. As Ireland is steeped in History which is connected to England, it was so interesting to hear all about it. The tour we booked through Viatour and it lasted around 2 hours 30 minutes and took place even in the at times heavy downpour.
I have to say I find Dublin the most charming city, where the people that I encountered were friendly and welcoming. I enjoyed drinking in little coffee shops and busy pubs which played Irish music. It was a busy but at the same time lazy day, when sat in a pub with a Guinness sheltered from the rain.
I love Dublin, it’s quickly become one of my favourite cities. The day was long as we were on our feet all day! So it’s no surprise that I was ready to get back on the plane and return back to Essex, fall into bed and sleep for a really long time!
I love taking trips, I love being impromptu and I love seeing where the journey will take me. The day was long, the weather was bad but I had the best time exploring somewhere new with the best travel buddy in the world – my husband Luke
