I’ve only been to Dublin on the Emerald Isle and considering how close Ireland is to England, it’s surprising that it took me so long to get there. Had a great long weekend there, just me and A (T. stayed with her grandparents) and we had a great time.

When: December 2011

Where: Dublin

How: We flew in and out from Bristol airport, we got around mostly by walking and by the hop-on-hop-off tourist bus

Weather: COLD!  We had to wrap up, but it was mostly clear and dry which made it OK to walk around (less OK waiting for buses)

Sights: Dublin is packed with historical, cultural and popular activities. Some things were closed such as the Book of Knells, but there was plenty of other things to keep us occupied. My highlights were: The Guinness Storehouse (a superb museum experience and great shop), the Chester Beatty Library (extensive collection of beautiful books and illustrations from around the world and excellent ‘Silk Road’ cafe, the Literary Pub Crawl we did, that included excerpts from famous Irish writers performed along the way.

Surprises: how much I had missed being in a proper warm, dark, lively pub

Tips: