To be sure!

More than Guinness and shamrocks...

The other half and I recently visited Dublin as a stopover en route to Donegal for a lovely wedding. I visited Dublin a few years ago and was left wanting so I wasn't all too excited to go again... To be fair we didn't really do that much so perhaps I didn't get a true taste of Dublin at the time. i.e. there is more to Dublin than Temple Bar.

Things to do:

• Guinness Storehouse - Yes, I know... it sounds so cliche and such a tourist trap but it truly is a fun and interesting experience. Plus it's true... Guinness here tastes SO MUCH better than anywhere else in the world. It's flavoursome and fresh as opposed to tasting like cold, fizzy soy sauce.

Photo courtesy of the other half

• Giants Causeway day tour - I've always wanted to see the Giants Causeway and the prospect of having to get up early AND drive was not appealing to either of us so we opted for the tour bus. It's an early start (6:30am meet up!) But at least once you're on you can snooze till the first stop! This was quite an extensive tour and lasted the whole day arriving back in Dublin at around 8:30pm. A lot of sites visited but you also get a decent chunk of time at the Causeway itself.

Places to eat (& drink):

• Fade Street Social - We opted for the tapas bar as it was a little cheaper and had more interesting options. This was our 'splurge' of the trip and it was a winner! Tasty food but as tapas always go, there's never quite enough. At least the pricing wasn't insane!

• Pitt Bros BBQ - amazingly tasty bbq with generous portions and one of the best mac and cheese I've ever had. (that's a lot!) They also give you a free soft serve ice cream at the end! (they also have a clever marketing person - checkout their window sticker)

• Queen of Tarts - sweetly decorate cafe with lovely staff and food. You can't really ignore all the cakes, muffins, tarts and pastries at the counter so don't fight it and just get one. They are generous servings so maybe share rather than get one each... ahem... (we'll never learn!)

• The Secret Bar/ The Bar With No Name - It's a cool secret-not-so-secret bar that feels like going to someone's loft in central Dublin. There's different rooms done up like dining and lounge rooms and the staff seem quite lovely too. (is it an Irish thing?) The music was cool the evening we were there and there was a nice chilled out vibe.

Once again we stayed at a lovely airbnb right in the centre of town and proved to be in quite a convenient location for everything we wanted. Not too expensive and had everything we needed so no complaints there. Close enough to Temple Bar without hearing the noise from it...

A much better trip than the last time and it's certainly changed my mind on Dublin!