Ireland, Scotland, and England

I’ll admit, I knew next to nothing about what to expect from this trip. After having an extremely busy summer doing absolutely nothing fun, I was just excited to get away with my family for the end of summer. Truly, I was just a passenger, not a planner on this trip. This all changed, however, when I arrived in Ireland. Fortunately, my school work was done, my work computer was left behind, and I was fully ready to give my all to the experience. Now, I’ve graduated, and I’m finally able to share these stories on my blog :) So, stick around for some tips, tricks, experiences, and lessons learned along the way!

Ireland - Dublin & Day Adventures

Guinness Storehouse

We hit the ground running when we arrived. And what better way to do that than head to the disney world of beer? This was not at all what I was expecting and maybe I should have prepped by checking the Reels and TikTok’s before hand, but going in blind was DEFINITELY an experience. I loved walking through and learning about the beer making process and how Guinness itself is unique. We even learned how to pour a Guinness and drink a Guinness properly - and yes, you are supposed to chug.

Walking Tours with Karl

Our first full day, to get situated, we decided to book a walking tour of Dublin to learn more about the city than we could do on our own. Up until this point in my life I had NEVER had a more enthusiastic and fun tour guide in my entire life. Karl took us around some popular spots in the city and explained some history and culture and gave us some personal anecdotes to go with. I personally loved this tour - besides the sporadic rain - but that is just Dublin. Would highly recommend a tour with him if you get the chance!

Kilmainham Gaol

After touring Alcatraz with my family last summer - we just decided this was what we do now? In all seriousness, this tour was very educational and interesting. We were taken through the different sections of the jail which were built at different times. While walking through, it was truly like walking through history. The tour told us about what each of the different section of the gaol was used for in its time in history. The gaol was built in multiple phases and as you walk through and learn more you can definitely tell the difference. A great experience to learn more about the Irish War of Independence as well.

Cliffs of Moher & Bunratty Castle

The Cliffs of Moher were truly a sight to behold. In typical Ireland fashion, it was windy and momentarily poured down on us - so make sure you always have a good rain jacket on you lol. We were able to walk about a mile in the safe roped area, but the cliffs go on for forever and there are areas that are slightly unsafe so if you venture out beyond the roped area, please be careful. Bunratty Castle was also on the itinerary for the day tour. Being in the castle made me realize I was pretty okay with my life as it is and had no need to live in a castle. We learned about murder holes and climbed up the tiniest stairs while in the castle. The castle grounds, however, were much more accommodating. We visited a blacksmith hut as well as a small family home and got to see some Irish Wolfhounds (which I LOVED).

Roe & Co Whiskey Distillery

After ending our night in a pub one night (like a lot of nights) we were told by our bartender that this was by far the best distillery to tour and that we would get the most bang for our buck. And while I haven’t been to any other distilleries, I suspect that is true. We walked through the distillery and learned all about the whiskey making process. After that, we were able to taste the whiskey and learned how to make a Manhattan based on our favorite flavor profile. After that we also were given another drink in their in-house bar. Safe to say Roe & Co is a staple on my bar cart and I also now am the proud owner of the gorgeous glasses we made our cocktails in.

Glendalough & Sheep Dog Demonstration

Due to a last minute change of plans, we did another day trip - this time to Glendalough and to watch a sheep dog demonstration. Glendalough was a very peaceful place - we were able to do a quick walking trail which was nice to explore and get some movement in. After exploring Glendalough, a short drive up the hill, we were able to experience a sheep dog presentation. Watching the dog herd and move the sheep was very entertaining and I had never seen anything like it before in my life. My pup could never lol. On top of that, we were also able to hold a baby lamb which was my favorite thing ever.

Notable Eats:

Hellfire - the Chunky Chips were the chunkiest chips I’ve ever had 11/10

Gallaghers Boxty House - Traditional and funky boxty spot!

Murphys Ice Cream - Some of the best ice cream I’ve ever had! I got some chocolate whiskey ice cream which actually packed a punch lol

Palace Bar - Probably the best part of the Temple Bar District. Super cute and quaint stop to relax and have a drink to plan your night

The Brazen Head - Ireland’s oldest pub & the best pour of Guinness you can find

Tapped - A great little break from pub food - I had a grilled cheese loaded with veggies and tomato soup and I was in HEAVEN

Quays - Slightly elevated pub fair - best fish and chips I had in Dublin

Scotland

Glasgow

From the moment we landed in Glasgow I was already googling “how do I move to Scotland?” The architecture reminded me a lot of Detroit but the hills were reminiscent of San Francisco, and I was in heaven. Unfortunately we didn’t have a whole lot of time to explore Glasgow when we got there because it started pouring so we popped into the first pub we could find to wait out the rain and find some place to eat. Don’t forget to look for the cones in Glasgow!

Edinburgh

We hopped on a train from Glasgow to Edinburgh in the morning and immediately were overwhelmed how busy it was even that early in the day! It was August aka Fringe Festival szn which was a very entertaining but very hard to get around. Here we explored some of the artists booths and enjoyed some public performances on the street. As we walked up to the castle, we took a quick little stop and toured the Giles Church which was very beautiful. After we reached the castle we walked down a bit to the Scotch Whisky Experience, which much like the Guinness Storehouse, was like Disney, this time focused on Whisky (do not spell it with an E here). We also got to see the princess gardens and Sir Walter Scott Monument while we were here.

The Highlands

Oh, I will definitely be planning another trip to Scotland to do a hike through the Highlands. Plz apply to be my hiking buddy :) Our trip through the highlands was gorgeous and I never stopped looking out the window and listening to our guide Graham who was a wealth of historical knowledge. We stopped to take pictures at multiple locations, including a location from Skyfall. Obviously our trip up through the highlands included a stop at Loch Ness to find Nessie! On the way home we got to see some Hilly Coos (highland cows) which was everything I've ever wanted.

Notable Eats:

DiMaggio’s - If you can’t decide what to get here, no worries! They offer “Jimmy Style”

Deacon’s House Cafe- Super cute little no fuss cafe LOADED with some fun history. They also give you whisky “roadies” if you ask!

Maki & Ramen - Truly really good ramen, best I have had in a while DEFINITELY can have a kick if you want it spicy ;)

Elephant House - The “birthplace of Harry Potter” - stop in for a quick snack and a butter beer (or if you’re like me and hate butter beer, a chardonnay)

London

F1 Experience

This was my brother’s #1 thing on his list in London and we had it booked way way way in advance. The aesthetics of this place were pretty immaculate. We had food before we came because we weren’t sure what the dinner situation was going to be like here because we had such a strict time slot for racing. I’m here to tell you - COME HUNGRY - whether you eat before or after you race is completely up to you but they have an extensive food and drink list so you won’t go hungry here. As for the racing experience - while everyone else had a great time, my machine glitched and wouldn’t let me do one of my races so I came in last </3 That’s okay, I guess I wasn’t going to win anyways.

London Eye - Champagne Experience

My boyfriend had been to London before, but the one thing he hadn’t done was the London Eye. To skip the line and get the best possible experience we opted for the Champagne Experience. They first took us to a VIP lounge where we could either hydrate or diedrate before the champagne experience. Then our small group was rounded up and skipped the line. We were each given a flute of champagne and our guide pointed out some sights while we sipped. This experience was very useful to get nice group pictures above London we wouldn’t have gotten in the regular experience.

Westminster Abbey

We got the earliest time slot we could - which is highly recommended as this is also a BUSY attraction. We were given a little audio player to listen as we walked through the beautiful church. Many very famous and important historical people are buried there and I especially looked forward to seeing Mary Queen of Scots after being educated on her while we were in Scotland.

Changing of the Guard

We were lucky to have finished up at Westminster right before the changing of the guard. So we RAN over there to get a spot at the fence to be able to watch the whole thing. It was HOT and people were PUSHY and the actual changing of the guard portion of the program takes about a minute. Although I don’t think I would ever do this again, you should definitely try to get this experience in once if you are able to! The formality of the changing of the guard and program is unlike anything I had seen before so it really is an experience.

Notable Eats:

Westminster Grill - Gave us a round of limoncello for our tip! Touristy area but good food and a perfect location to grab a bite before the London Eye

Lovage Indian - Absolutely amazing service & more free shots to end our meal!

Speedys Cafe - Right by the Sherlock door - actually speedy service with yummy food