D is For....

D is For....David                This past Friday my little brother David arrived in Edinburgh for his first trip to Europe.  He arrived mid day, and just a few hours after landing, we spared no time kicking his trip off with a bang. He went for a power nap at my flat while I finished up at work and we then headed back to Edinburgh Airport for a quick weekend trip. David was a trooper pushing through the jet lag and was ready to experience his first Ryan Air flight! 

D is for....Dublin!              

  Yes, that's right, to start David off on his European adventure we headed to the Emerald Isle for a weekend of Irish shenanigan's. After a quick 40 minute flight we touched down in Ireland and were ready to get the weekend started. David was excited to experience all that Ireland has to offer and dressed to impress. It's pretty cheap to get toDublin from the Burgh, can you believe our round trip flight including taxes was just £50! Thanks RyanAir, sometimes I don't know what I would do without you! 

D is for....Deutschland      I don't think I have mentioned this Katie fact on the blog yet, but I have been enrolled in a German class since returning from the USA. Did you know the word for Germany in German is Deutschland? I was so excited because as soon as we walked through the gate at the airport the German was there waiting to greet Dave and me. He decided to come and join us for the weekend in Dublin. Dave and the German hit it off right from the start! 

D is for....Dull               

My first trip to Dublin I heard three German Jokers describe the city as dull. I love Dublin because it is a city you can let loose in, listen to great live music, meet international people, and of course enjoy some Guinness. Dublin is definitely not dull, but I think these jokers were trying to pull my leg into thinking this on my first trip. So the secret is out, Dublin is anything but dull! 

After a quick drop and go with our bags at the hostel we headed straight to Temple Bar. It was a short 15 minute walk from where we were staying which was great! I discovered this area of town during my St. Patrick's day visit in March, and it was awesome to revisit this spot since it's where the German and I met for the first time. Temple bar definitely did not disappoint and the band that was there the night we met in March was playing this past Friday!  

D is for....Drinks  

Brother Dave and Me

  

 D is for....Dancing

A highlight of the night for me was when Dave and the German started to bust a move on the dance floor. It was quite entertaining, but unfortunately it was too dark to video!  It was a great way to end the evening. 

D is for....Day Trip

Saturday we woke up to beautiful weather and decided to enjoy the sunshine with a day trip to Bray Beach.  Bray is located about 40 minutes my train outside of Dublin and is a quaint town with a lot of cute restaurants , shops, and carnival rides. We had fun meandering around the town and strolling on the beach. Even though the sun was out, the water was freezing so no swimming for us this trip.   

There was even a place called Katie's! 

The beach at Bray was not a traditional sandy beach, but full of pebbles. The boys had a rock skipping competition. 

Germany 1- USA 0

Big Sis and Little Bro

It feels like yesterday I use to be taller than my brother. It's hard to believe he turns 24 in less than a week! 

The German and Me

D is for....Delicious 

We enjoyed some fresh seafood for lunch and dinner. I can never get enough of fresh seafood, especially the seafood chowder and mussels in Ireland. 

Yum! 

After lunch we decided to hike up to Bray Head Hill. Bray Head, which rises 241 m (791 ft) above the sea, dominates the scene, providing excellent views of mountains and the sea. It took us around 30 minutes to reach the summit, and the views were definitely worth the journey.  

 The concrete cross at the top of the hill was erected in 1950 for the holy year. 

David at the summit

It was super windy, so trying to get a shot in my dress was a challenge. If I had known we were going to hike I would have been better prepared than this outfit and flip flops, but I made it work. 

We spent some time just enjoying the views and sunshine. It was such a great place to recharge! 

The water looks amazing, too bad it was FREEZING!  

  D is for....Dirty old Town

The song by the Dubliner's, Dirty Old Town, is often played in many pubs in Temple Bar. After our day trip we returned to Dublin for a pub crawl and night out! Even though it was raining, we didn't let that stop us from having another fantastic night! 

 Here are just a few of the Pubs we visited in Temple Bar: 

Shot of me and the German outside Temple Bar Pub in Temple Bar

David made friends with an English guy named Oliver. The boys had fun singing along with the band and enjoying good banter with the Englishman.  

  

D is for....Distillery    Sunday after breakfast we headed to the Jameson Distillery Tour because as you know, I love touring factories. Since my last time in Dublin I visited the Guinness Storehouse we decided to check out the Jameson tour, which I had done in Cork back in 2007 when I toured Ireland with some girlfriends.

Boys with their caps 

Jameson anyone? 

David was selected to take part in a whiskey tasting session. 

He received his official Irish whiskey taster diploma while the German enjoyed his Jameson! 

After the tour we spent the rest of the day wandering around Dublin and checking out some of the sites.  

 

We even stopped in to listen to a traditional Irish band and a last pint before heading to the airport.  

 Overall it was a top weekend in Ireland! David enjoyed seeing a new country and the German and I as always loved our time together. Next stop for my travels...Heidelberg in August! 

Until next time, I will see you on the internet.