When Ryan and I opened up the curtains in our hotel room on our final day in Dublin, we were greeted with quite a snowy sight!
It snowed for the duration of the day, but luckily we came prepared and wore layers, hats and scarves.
We planned to do a lot of walking to and from various destinations in Dublin and a little snow wasn’t going to hold us back.
First up on our agenda was a tour of Kilmainham Gaol, a prison-turned-museum that was built in 1796.
The prison once held many many prominent Irish leaders and Ryan and I were anxious to learn more about its place in Irish history. When we arrived, we purchased our tickets and had a little less than an hour to spend browsing around the museum before our guided tour began.
The museum was extremely interesting and I found myself feeling more and more invested in the history surrounding those who were once imprisoned at Kilmainham. It was easy to spend 50 minutes reading about Kilmainham and before we knew it, our tour began.
While it was obviously interesting to learn about the stories surrounding the prisoners, I was also interested in the design of the prison and the thought process that went into building it. For example, the staircase you see in the above picture was only used by the guards, so they could quickly run up and down the stairs while the prisoners had to use a spiral staircase that obviously made it a lot harder to move quickly up or down the stairs.
Once the tour was over, Ryan and I had to get moving. The prison was not heated and standing around listening to our tour guide made us feel significantly colder than we felt outside when were walking. My toes felt like ice and my teeth were chattering. The next stop on our agenda was the Guinness Storehouse and knowing that it was heated inside was all the motivation we needed to speed walk to the brewery.
Truth be told, I really dislike Guinness, but I loved touring the Guinness Storehouse. I didn’t think I’d like it half as much as I did, but the facility was beautiful inside and the various exhibits were really interesting. The tour was self-guided and I liked that Ryan and I were able to explore the numerous floors of the storehouse at our own pace.
My favorite floor was the one dedicated to the Guinness Book of World Records!
Very cool!
Perhaps the most memorable part of the Guinness Storehouse experience was the Gravity Bar, a bar located on the top of the storehouse with an incredible view of the city of Dublin.
We were also able to grab a free Guinness, but I gave my drink ticket away since I’m just not a Guinness-loving girl.
After our time at Guinness, it was time for lunch and lots more walking!
How gorgeous is St. Patrick’s Cathedral?
We explored the city for a few hours and eventually found ourselves in the Powerscourt Centre, a beautiful indoor shopping center.
By then it was late in the afternoon and I started to feel a little hungry again. I suggested sitting down for an hour or so at a small cafe in Powerscourt Centre for coffee and a snack and Ryan was more than game.
We sat outside of Lost Society and enjoyed people watching while we waited for our drinks and snacks.
I ordered a scone that came with the most delicious clotted cream and jam. After I let Ryan try a bite, he raved about it and ended up ordering one to accompany his bowl of soup because it was so yummy!
I also had a hot cappuccino that warmed me right up! The cold weather made me crave hot drinks like crazy during our entire vacation.
After our time at the cafe, we strolled around Grafton Street for a while before making the walk back to our hotel. On our previous walks to and from the city center from our hotel, Ryan and I passed Farm Restaurant and agreed that it looked like a winner. We decided to grab dinner at the small restaurant on our walk back.
The restaurant is all about local, organic, preservative-free fare and we both loved everything we ordered. I went with a soup and salad combination that came with fresh bread and creamy butter.
It was wonderful! A great way to conclude a fun day!
***
Giveaway Winners
Here are the winners of last week’s giveaways!
PRO Compression Giveaway
- Amanda Maggio: “In love with the pink argyle socks!!!!”
- Ann @ The Paleo Network: “I would pick the shamrock or baby blue marathon socks. Love compression socks. I wear them after races and actually wore them during the marathon of my first Ironman.”
Reebok Sublite Train 1.0 Sneakers Giveaway
- Rupa: “I absolutely love the hot pink shoes! What better way to feel like a fierce female in the gym than with some sexy kicks! Hope you are enjoying Ireland – it’s one of my favorite places.I recently discovered your blog and I have to say, it’s amazing! Thank you for it! I’ve passed it on to many friends.”
A Cut Above Boutique Giveaway
- Vanessa: “I need a dress for a wedding!! What they offer would be perfect!”
Best Body Bootcamp Giveaway
- Ashley: "I look for efficiency in my workout…being a new mom I don’t always have a ton of time to workout so if I can get a highly intense workout in in 30-45 minutes, I am a happy camper! I love challenging my body with a variety of moves as well. Crossing my fingers that I win!”
Congratulations everyone! Please email me at pbfingers@gmail.com with your mailing addresses and I’ll get your goodies to you right away!
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That all looks so beautiful! It looks like you two are having a great time! Im really impressed with how good the food looks! =)
That prison was in the movie The Escapist, if you haven’t seen it, it’s a good one!
Love the pics of your trip! I need to get some traveling in asap!
The farm is a great little restaurant! Love Powerscourt in town, such a nice atmosphere! Glad you got to try a traditional Irish scone 🙂
Wow, that scone and clotted cream look phenomenal.
Haha I don’t like Guinness either! I think the only time I’ve drank it was doing Irish Car Bombs in college… Hmm.
Irish Car Bombs…. I have nightmares about those things! haha
maybe that’s where my dislike for guinness stems from… 🙂
It looks like you had a wonderful time in Ireland. I would love to visit there someday and I will definitely be looking back at these posts for places to visit if I do!
I cannot do Guinness beer either. It is just WAAAAAY too dark for my liking :(.
I’m not really a guinness girl either — It’s way too heavy!
I can’t believe there are flowers completely bloomed while it’s snowing outside there! We haven’t seen a peep of green from the ground here in NYC yet!
Awww you should’ve tried the Guinness.. it tastes SO much better in Ireland than it does in America!
i tried it at the storehouse and i agree, it was better than i remembered, but it still wasn’t for me. 🙂
Oooh the thought of guinness makes my stomach hurt! I would have been right there with ya!
I am living vicariously through your photos and am reminded of my time in all those places last February – thank you! I wish you would have tried Guinness at the gravity bar. I swear to you I HATE Guinness in America, but there’s just something about it there that makes it so much smoother and yummier! Hopefully you snagged a sip of Ryan’s. Safe travels!
How cool is the Gaol? I had some family members in the 1916 uprising who were executed there so it’s always an eerie experience for me when I go there!
oh my gosh, did you really? wow. the whole experience at kilmainham was so interesting and sad. i’m so glad they were able to transform the prison into a museum so future generations can learn and remember.
You guys are in the exact same spots I have been for the last few days! We left Ireland today for the UK, but have been in Killarney and Dublin on the same days. Small world!
What amazing places you’ve been able to visit! I am living vicariously through you guys. Thanks!! 🙂
Oh, I love Guinnes! You have so many interesting things in a day, that you could write a post about each of them individually. 🙂
P.S. I observe one scarf/hat/thick jacket more every day on your posts! Hang in there 🙂
I went to Ireland 2 years ago- and have been loving seeing your adventures. Especially Dublin- the Jail was one of my favorite things!
I was there in June and it was really cold too!
Okay, now I’m really jealous! The brewery tour would be so much fun! My husband and I love to visit breweries anywhere we travel but Guiness would be so amazing!
How fun!!! We did Kilmainham and Guinness too. Those were my 2 favorite tours 🙂
Your trip sounds like so much fun! And it’s really cool to see your posts about some of the places I visited when I was studying abroad. I did try Guinness, but wasn’t a fan either.
so pretty!
check out my month 3 recap on running 100- miles this year
http://www.runningathousandmiles.com/2013/04/month-3-recap.html
Hi! Been following your blog for a few months, and was reading some old posts and saw you are from Lake County, IL! So am I! 🙂 Is the cold and snow of Ireland reminding you of your time back in IL? Yesterday we had a “warm” day around here – surely you remember the first “warm” day of the year when everyone starts wearing shorts and flip flops in March/April, but it’s really only 55 degrees out! 🙂 Safe travels!
yes! i told ryan that the overcast weather “reminded me of childhood.” 🙂 i miss illinois!
I just realized that it is the “Guinness” book of world records! Never put those two things together before. 😉
On another note, I could eat the clotted cream alone, don’t even need a scone! LOVE that stuff!
Looks like you guys are having an amazing trip!! All of your days have been so jam packed! Glad you’re feeling better 🙂
My mom used to always talk about cotted cream and scones that she would eat in England. I’ve never gotten to try it before, though! Looks amazing!
I loved touring the Guinness Factory when I was in Ireland. I didn’t think I liked Guinness either, but it tasted pretty good at the Gravity Bar, or maybe it just tastes better in Ireland in general. Hope you are enjoying your trip!
Loving seeing your trip through your photos! That prison looks really neat!
Looks cold there, but those flowers look like they are doing well. Are those yellow ones what they call snap dragons?
I have to comment and say the picture of you and Ryan in your hats/cold weather gear is SO cute! You look perfect and very happy. Love it!
Also I never made the connection between Guinness beer and the world records, thanks for that revelation! 🙂
Something fun to watch when you are home. U2 at Kilmainham!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EZ4n13FkEBk
so cool! thanks for sharing!
That scone with clotted cream and jam sounds delicious, as does the coffee. I’m sure you will be glad to get back to warmer temperatures, and of course Sadie too!
I bet whoever got your free Guinness was very thankful! 🙂 Ireland looks amazing!
My stepdad loves Guinness beer, I could never get used to it. Irish scones on the other hand I could eat all day! As nice as your vacation has been I’m sure the warm Florida sun will feel great when you get back!
You and Ryan need to frame that picture of the two of you! It’s so adorable. That scone looks amazing! I’m now craving carbs.
AHHHHHHHH clotted cream! That looks amazing!
The picture of you and Ryan looks professional! It’s probably one of the favorites you’ve posted! So pretty!
I can’t believe that place was a prison! It’s incredible!
Julie!!! I haven’t been commenting lately but I have been reading 🙂 I love hearing about your Ireland trip!! Thank you for the detailed stories and pics; they are very entertaining to read!
thank you, makenzie ann!
A real Irish scone. I am so JEALOUS! Wishing I was traveling to Europe sometime soon, the funny thing is I have an Irish passport if you can believe that! Have a great time 🙂 Love + Shine CourtStar
Reading your post makes me feel like I’ve been there. Oh I love to experience it for real too 🙂
My favorite was when you go to Powerscourt Centre and grab some snack also the all organic restaurant that you’ve visited. Those pictures are just awesome!
I love the Ireland recaps. It brings back so many memories from my travels there. I’m glad you guys had such a good time.
So jealous! Ireland is one of my favorite trips ever.
Love that you are sharing your trip with the readers! Makes me feel like I’ve also done a tour of Ireland. That scone looks AMAZING and is making my sad english muffin look pretty pathetic right now.
I know what you mean about craving hot drinks. I just got back from London & Paris and the frigid temps made tea time easily one of the most anticipated moments of each day 🙂
I had lunch in Farm on Sunday! What a coincidence! Glad you enjoyed your trip to Dublin, I’ve travelled a lot and it’s still my favourite city in the world! 🙂
What an interesting museum/prison! Also, that close-up of you and Ryan in your snow gear is just adorable!
Another great day- makes me so excited for my Europe trip 🙂
Ahhh I’m loving all your recaps! I studied abroad in the UK (London, Dublin, and Scotland) and Northern Ireland and this is bringing back so many memories. I loved Kilmainham and the Guinness factory…definitely highlights of my time in Dublin!
Does your site have a contact page? I’m having a tough time locating it but, I’d like
to shoot you an email. I’ve got some creative ideas for your blog you might be interested in hearing. Either way, great blog and I look forward to seeing it grow over time.