Enchanting. Picturesque. Friendly.

Dublin was all that and more. I have to say, when I first spoke to our friends about New Years Eve, I was a little confused on what Dublin would be like for the event. Little did I know that the city would be so welcoming and down-right fun as hell to welcome 2012.

We arrived first thing in the morning on Continental from Newark on December 30th to a rainy and DARK morning. Situated further north than most cities in Canada, Dublin sees daylight from around 8:30am to sunset at 4:30pm. While your hours are short for sunshine, the nightlife on Fleet Street more than makes up for it.

While in Dublin, make sure you:

– Stay somewhere in the Temple Bar area. We stayed at The Morgan and it was eclectic, clean and in an amazing location.

– Go to the Guinness Factory. The architecture, lighting and free beer are worth the trip.

– Sing Irish tunes with locals at The Auld Dubliner. Complete with a river dancer… at NOON.

– Visit the BMI lounge at the airport (if you’re not in the snazzy new Aer Lingus terminal). The build your own bloody mary bar is just the key after any amount of time in Dublin.

– Eat Beef and Guinness stew. On basically every menu you lay your eyes on.

– Have an Irish Coffee. Or two, three, floor.

– Visit Jameson’s before Guinness. Jameson’s is the red-headed stepchild of boozy tours compared to Guinness.

– Enjoy the architecture around the city. Everything from Trinity College to the Spire were fun to see.