Going to Dublin on St. Patrick's Day!

When I found out we were going to be in the UK for St. Patrick's day, we bought tickets on RyanAir to fly into Dublin just for the day! (p.s. If you ever book with Ryan Air, read the fine print before you click through because there are a load of hidden fees you can avoid if you pay attention!) It was one of the sickest things I have done in my life!

There are a few things we did to make sure we were prepared for this experience so that we can be safe and get the most out our trip...

Plan to get mugged--I know this sounds unsettling, but we will be in a crowded area and need to assume that petty theft will be an issue so we can be prepared:

Check bags at a luggage storage area at the airport for a small fee (€4.75 for a medium bag).

Wear a money belt under our clothes that has our passports, credit cards, and cash. Don't carry your important items in a purse! I carried a virtually empty purse so that we could put souvenirs in it as we shopped.

Do the research--I want to see the parade and Ashley would like to go to Trinity College. On a special holiday like St. Patrick's Day, sights might have special hours or not be open at all. But we did the research and found that the parade route goes by Trinity College, but the hours for viewing the Book of Kells at Trinity college are during the parade, so we will slip out of the parade early! Turns out, you can view the Book of Kells for free on St. Paddy's Day! (Otherwise, it's €8/person)

Check out our pictures & videos!

The St. Patrick's Day Parade

Here are some photos of us at the St. Patrick's Day Parade! It was crazy awesome! Lots of people, lots of families, and everyone young and old had their St. Paddy's Day green on!

The parade was awesome! We got there an hour before it started and were able to find a great spot easily, but it filled up fast!

After the parade, we headed to Trinity College, founded in 1592, to see the Book of Kells, and then made a trip over to St. Patrick's Cathedral.

Then, we decided to hit the Temple Bar district for some good traditional music, but got sidetracked when we saw a huge line outside of a hole-in-the-wall fish and chips joint! So we had to stop. Turns out, it was a local favorite and folks, such as, U2, Liam Neeson, and the cast of P.S. I Love You are rumored to have eaten there.

Behind us in line was lifelong Dubliner, who told us this was the best fish and chips joint. The secret here is to travel with your eyes open and looking around (and not with your nose so deep in a travel book that you can't see new adventures around you).