stardust☾

Rather than rehash 14 days worth of vacation, I’ve decided to put together mini guides to each of the places we visit!

1.         Do – the Guinness Factory 

I am not huge on *tourist attractions*, however the Guinness Factory is a must do while in Dublin. The visit is set up perfectly. You go floor by floor learning about the history of Guinness, beer, and Ireland in general, until you end up at a 360 view rooftop bar, where you get to, of course, drink as much Guinness as your stomach can handle. In my case that was one. Stout turns to lead in my stomach :P . Definitely one of the highlights of the tour was getting to pour our own glasses of Guinness from a tap, like real bartenders!

2.         Eat – Two Pups Coffee

We went to Two Pups Coffee twice during our visit. With a diverse and fresh menu, quaint digs, and friendly service, it’s the perfect place to chill for a few hours in Dublin. The above picture is from a lunch we had there (bacon + cheese toastie, lentil daal of the day).

Bonus: upstairs they have a vintage lingerie store.

3.         Explore – Powerscourt Estate

Powerscourt is a sprawling estate with at least three gardens, a bunch of well-curated shops, and, if you’re really into crying on vacation, it has one of the largest pet cemeteries in Ireland

While we were at the estate, tons of gardeners were toiling away making sure the thousands of varieties of plants were thriving. Also, the grounds are so large that you can end up as far away from other people as you want, and then you can pretend the estate is yours/you're lost in an enchanted wood. Big plus for me.

To get there you can either rent a car, or do as we did and buy tickets for a day excursion out of Dublin.

Along with the estate we visited the Wicklow Mountains, a little village, and some peat bogs! Tour info here.