Sand & Cities

Molly Malone on Suffolk St.

We recently took a trip to Dublin as our last vacation until the arrival of our sweet baby boy. I thought I'd share some insight in where we stayed at, ate at, what we saw...everything.  We had a week long stay there and I can't wait to go back. There's so much history to learn about Dublin and we only scratched the surface.

First: We decided to book a hotel instead of an AirBnB... It was really hard to find a good. cheap, airbnb in the heart of Dublin. By the time we did, it booked FAST and we missed our chance.  So we found a somewhat good deal at The Temple Bar Inn on Expedia. Honestly, we never did our research on Dublin before booking a hotel anywhere. We saw some pictures and thought, "that looks nice!" and we booked it. We had never heard of The Temple Bar District before or it might have changed our minds just a little when booking.  The District is the nightlife scene of Dublin. The touristy of the tourist spots. Bars galore, street music, lights, drunken laughter, everything.  Some of the reviews of the Inn were that it was too loud and too hot. True. Our room was on the third floor, closer to the streets of the city center, right above a casino but for days we didn't know why we kept hearing sounds that mimicked a slot machine outside our window... until we walked past the casino one day and did the math lol. When we first got to Dublin we had two beautiful sunny days in the 60's... this made the hotel room pretty hot as the sun beamed down on the windows and the room had no AC.  The hotel was nice enough to have the windows open for us for some air and they left a fan in the room for us to help cool everything down, but it never quite got cool until the third day when it became rainy and was 40-50 degrees out. Still wasn't a problem for us as we were hardly ever in the room.

The hotel lobby was pretty cool. They had a complimentary coffee machine with complimentary biscuits and scones/croissants during the day. They also had their own orange-flavored hard candies throughout the lobby and entrance of the inn, which makes for nice souvenirs for your family back home. The breakfast was not included and you had the option to pay 10 euros for the basic breakfast (cereal, croissants, drinks, etc.) or 15 euros for the full Irish breakfast. We decided to skip out on their breakfast since we were exploring Dublin anyway and had found some really nice cafes that offered the same for slightly less... more on those in a little bit.





Another plus was that it was right next door to a grocery store (Tesco), so instead of paying 2 euros for a water bottle in the hotel lobby vending machine, you could go next door and pick up bigger bottles for just a euro. Which is something you'll need a lot of if you plan on walking everywhere like we did! If you really wanted to be frugal on your trip, you could even grab muffins and other snacks for your hotel room as well. Everything looked pretty fresh daily at the grocery store!

One setback was that they advertised a pool and gym. Now, I never saw anywhere on their site that it was NOT in their hotel, because it most certainly was NOT IN the hotel. It was down the street, which made for the weirdest experience of our hotel lives and we'll probably never do it again. The pool and gym were actually located in a spa facility down an alley passed the Hard Rock Cafe. Just a minute walk, but a very cold and dreary walk when you're just trying to go soak your poor pregnant  legs and feet in some water. The rules were also a bit strict. They required you to have shower caps on (which you could purchase at the hotel lobby for 2 euros each.). The pool itself was not a relaxing pool, but a lap pool...to exercise in... which made for an awkward experience when you solely went there to relax but you find yourself in the way of people there to exercise... So we stayed by the staircase for a few minutes, awkward and uncomfortable... but also giggling and finding the humor in our humility.

To be honest, the spa/gym place was super nice, pretty, and very clean. I'd definitely get a membership there if I were a Dubliner looking for something like that, but for a hotel to offer that service as a part of their hotel experience? No... with the whole walking around outside in your bathing suit, dodging tourists and taxis, and having to wear shower caps... It was just not an experience we want to relive. The hotel staff also never mentioned shower shoes, but once we got to the spa, there were signs everywhere stating that you MUST wear shower shoes... because the entire pool room was tiled. So... just keep that in mind if you find yourself wanting a swim. A lot of hotels there use this spa as their pool and gym amenity.


The shopping in Dublin was fantastic!! To be honest, I wish I had spent a little more time doing some shopping there.  They had a fun three story Disney store, a jewelry store where you could be really nice Claddagh Rings, chocolate shops, fashion stores like  Penney's (Primark's orignal named fashion retail!) and Topshop!

Since I was about 33 weeks pregnant while there, we decided to JUST stay in Dublin instead of going out and exploring all of Ireland... So we explored as much as we could of this Irish city! From the Whiskey Museum to Stephen's Green. From Donut shops to pubs! We did it all.


Things to do & see:

The Irish Whiskey Museum



The Guinness Storehouse



Really spectacular! Each ticket got you a drink voucher as well that you could redeem on 3 floors.  One floor taught you how to pour your own, the other was just a simple bar, and the floor we chose was the Gravity Bar. With a 360 degree view of Dublin's sights, you can plan out your next exploration of the city! For those who weren't drinking, your voucher got you a delicious sparkling lemonade!



American College, 1 Merrion Square W, Dublin, D02 NH98, Ireland

30 Kildare Street, Dublin, 2








-Berry Scone with jam, butter, and cream
-Yogurt and granola with a berry compote
-Oatmeal with a homemade apple sauce, cream, and toasted almonds

This was our meal our last day in Dublin. They serve a traditional Irish breakfast meal and an American one too, I believe, but after my hospital visit, I wanted something lighter and on the healthier side.

KC Peaches:

Baked goods sitting in the window will entice you to walk in to this cafe.  It's a grab-and-go style cafe with the option to sit-in and enjoy their fresh made-to-order food!  We decided to sit upstairs where they had plenty of seating, and even a private room if you had a large get-together planned. We had some difficulties finding a waiter for our check though. We had to go back downstairs and ask for our bill. Still, a very pretty overlook of the city while you ate!





Two things Germany does differently that my taste buds miss are donuts and ice cream. In Germany their donuts (Berliner) are jelly filled and their ice cream (Eis) is gelato. You can understand how devastating it is to a pregnant American that her two favorite snacks are very different in the new country she now has to call 'home'.  So when I saw the plethora of donut shops in Dublin, and I MEAN PLETHORA, I couldn't control myself.