Winnie’s Sandals / John’s Tee / My Maxi Dress / Sweater / Crossbody
Linked our Luggage HERE!
Our Summer Adventure 2023 has BEGUN!!!
Good Morning from LONDON! Haha yep, we have moved along quite a bit now to our third country but I wanted to get ahead and actually document our travels sooner than later since I still haven’t even blogged all of our stops from our 2019 Summer adventure! LOL. For this Summer’s adventures, we are all over the place from Ireland and the UK down to France. And I’ll be honest, I am usually a warm and sunny, small quaint village town kind of girl when it comes to Europe so I wasn’t sure what to expect with these first three countries… Ireland, Scotland and England but so far I am in LOVEEEE!!! I will say though that we got super lucky with all sunshine for two full weeks so I know that helps a ton. I always say that weather can make or break a trip! So much so that we actually thought about diverting a bit after London since southern Europe was looking rainy but thankfully that has since changed and we are back on track to be heading to Switzerland next. Cannot WAIT to show John around the absolute most beautiful country in my opinion. As always follow along over on IG stories and I will definitely be sharing it all!
Ireland… we flew from Atlanta into Dublin two Thursdays ago now for our first six nights away. I actually booked the night prior (Thursday night) in our Airbnb as well so that once we arrived Friday morning we’d be able to check in and nap for a bit.
My Jet Lag Tip… I’ve shared this on stories lots and lots over the years but wanted to put it into writing here as well. What I have found over the years to be the best flight/time change adjustment schedule for us is to schedule our flight departure to Europe between 6pm-9pm Atlanta time. That puts us in Europe the following morning their time. So for example we left Atlanta at 8pm EST Thursday evening and our flight landed in Dublin at 8:45am Friday morning Ireland time which felt like about 3-4am for us. We slept maybe a tad here and there on the plane but overall were pretty tired. We made it to our Airbnb around 10:30am which like I said, I booked for an additional night so we could check-in and rest. We then napped from about 10:30am-1pm (I always set an alarm so we don’t sleep too long). We got up at 1pm, pushed through that day until maybe 8-9pm and then went to sleep for the evening. By the next morning which was our first full day, we were all rested and fully on Ireland time! Plus, we technically didn’t lose a full day since we flew overnight and were able to explore the city a good bit our fly-in day.
DUBLIN!
As always, everything I share is of course my opinion and our experience and I know that can vary greatly depending on what you like to do, what areas you discover and love, the weather… and everything in between! Overall I would say that we really liked Dublin, especially since it was our first city, and it was absolutely worth visiting. But I would say after traveling to several other northern Europe cities, it probably ended up being our least favorite overall. Don’t get me wrong, definitely worth visiting, but just a couple days was perfect for us.
John’s Shirt / Jeans / Sneakers / My Tee / Leggings / Sweater / Sandals / Crossbody
For our accommodations, I chose THIS AIRBNB based on location. That’s usually my #1 consideration when I’m choosing our hotel or Airbnb. That and air conditioning! I’d say, maybe half of all accommodations will have air conditioning, and even if it’s not super hot outside, I’ve found the ones without to be super stuffy, so just a quick FYI! For Dublin, I looked at all of the reviews and like I said, chose this one based on location BUT I guess I totally overlooked where the reviews also said that it was super noisy at night. Our apartment was literally right above Temple Bar which is a hotspot until 3am at least every night so it was crazy loud! John and I usually fall asleep with the TV on so we set up my laptop plus had a fan going so it was okay but just wanted to give everyone a heads up! Otherwise, it really was a great location!
My Maxi Dress / Cardigan / Sneakers / John’s Tee / Cardigan / Pants
Two areas that we found ourselves continuously walking to were the areas around Trinity College and Cafe en Seine. Cafe en Seine is pictured below and it’s also the gorgeous video I shared on stories last week. So if you are looking for an area to stay, or a place to hang out, I would hit up both of those for sure! Cafe en Seine is the cutest place ever to grab a cocktail. They have this beautiful outdoor area plus the inside bar/restaurant is absolutely incredible! They even had a bunch of fun mocktail options for the girlies.
As far as Trinity College, it’s a MUST SEE!!!! The campus is stunning and there is one of the most beautiful and historic libraries in the world on campus that you can tour. There is a fee to tour, but it is worth it! Addie of course absolutely loved it…
Another area that’s worth walking, shopping and eating is of course along the river. Addie loved visiting this bookstore and we found the best brunch place EVER called Murphy’s. Let’s just say that John is still talking about it. Lol!
Two super duper touristy things that we all loved… and super touristy usually isn’t my thing… was the Viking Splash Tour and the Celtic Nights Dinner Show. The Viking Tour is a GREAT way to see more of the city and along the river. And Winnie LOVED watching the Celtic dancers at the dinner show. The whole vibe was so very IRELAND! lol!
John’s Tee
The next Dublin tip actually came from y’all!!!! Yep, I ALWAYS love hearing your recommendations on FB and IG and try to do as many as we can! And that tip was to take the drive to Johnnie Fox’s for lunch or dinner. We grabbed an Uber and made the 20-30 minute ride up into the rural hills outside of Dublin. I will say that it was a tad bit challenging to get Uber on the way back (we had to keep trying the app) so there may be a better way to navigate that BUT it was worth it!!!!!!! It’s one of the oldest pubs in Ireland and it’s also the highest pub in the country. The views are amazing and it’s ADORABLE!!!!!! It opened in 1798!!!!
Cardigan / Jeans / Shoes
My Jeans / Top / Sandals / John’s Jeans / Shoes
Lahinch, Cliffs of Moher and Doolin!
Once we checked out of our Airbnb in Dublin, we took an Uber to the airport and picked up a rental car. Of course, Ireland drives on the opposite side of the road which is a bit challenging but once we got to the more rural roads just outside the airport, John said it was much easier to navigate. And as our Uber driver taught us, to remember to drive on the left just keep telling yourself… “Bitch to the Ditch” LOLOL. As in, the front passenger is on the left side and you want that side of the car to be all the way to the left side of the road. Sure won’t forget that one!
I know the left side driving part is super intimidating but if you can swing it, it is absolutely worth it! We enjoyed our time in Ireland after Dublin way more than Dublin. The countryside is STUNNING and it allowed us to stop at random cute little villages and viewpoints.
Once we hit the road from Dublin, we drove to the coastal town of Lahinch which is on the western side of the country. We stayed at THIS HOTEL and it was PERFECT! I chose this hotel based on the proximity to the Cliffs of Moher which was a must see for us! Once we parked at our hotel, we walked around the cute little town and walked down to the shore. We ate lunch at an adorable place called Randaddy’s and then the girls splashed a tiny bit in the ocean. Which was FREEZING!!!!
My Tank / Pants / John’s Tee / Jeans
Winnie’s Shorts / John’s Tee / Jeans
After just one night in Lahinch, we jumped back in the car and made the very short drive to the Cliffs of Moher. I made our park reservations ahead of time, but it didn’t seem like that was necessarily necessary. I would double check though because they may have busier seasons and you sure you don’t want to miss seeing this!
My Tank / Skirt / Crossbody
John’s Shirt / Shorts
After spending a couple of hours at the Cliffs, we drove a little north to the cutest little village ever called Doolin. Which also just so happens to be a suggestion from one of you! We grabbed lunch and I grabbed the most beautiful Ireland sheepskin we had shipped back home. Most definitely worth a stop!
GALWAY!
After lunch in Doolin, we drove about an hour or so north to the adorable city of Galway which we much much preferred over Dublin. More quaint, a little more cutesy and just such a fun vibe!!!
In Galway, we stayed at THIS AIRBNB and it was a great location! Super cute and perfect for the four of us. I can’t say that I have too too much in particular to say about Galway other than it was adorable, and definitely worth a visit! We ended up walking up and down Quay Street what felt like at least 100 times. Lol! That is definitely the heart of Galway so the closer you can stay to that street the better! We also walked along the waterway a little bit which was really pretty and the girls loved watching all of the Galway street performers! Oh and Murphy’s for ice cream is a MUST!
My Tank / Skirt / Crossbody
XOXO, Brittany Palazzo
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