To celebrate the leaving of my 20s behind me in peace and quiet, I underwent the long and arduous journey to Dublin, flying straight from Exeter.

Having never been to Ireland before, I found their capital to be a peaceful and relaxed place (when compared to say, London or New York), where the locals were friendly and I saw no signs of trouble. The next two days were consumed with salsa, a tour of Dublin's history in the City Hall, shopping, a visit to the art gallery and a literay pub crawl alongside americans, swedish, welsh, danish and a canadian. And reading a book. You should always read something on holiday.

And lots of food. Including three mornings of fried breakfast (although the one at the airport was foul), and a fab Mexican meal. I almost caught myself turning down dessert at one point, but reminded myself it was a celebration and that chocolate fudge cake is definately a integral part of Irish culture.

I loved Dublin, though it's certainly not cheap. I can see myself spending a week exploring more of Ireland at some point in the future.