Week 6: Dublin

 Another stamp in my passport! This time Ireland. Not to be confused with Northern Ireland or associated with the UK or Great Britain. Definitely not!

I left very early Friday morning…very early. The taxis arrived at 4:45 so that myself, along with 11 others could catch our 6am flight. Ryan Air (the airline we flew) is the Walmart of the skies. You get cheap flights but pay the price in other ways. We got to Dublin safely and on time so I have no complaints.

The Temple Bar neighborhood in Dublin

After dropping our bags at our hostel and a grab and go breakfast we met outside city hall for a free 3 hour walking tour of the city. Our guide was a history student at UCD and was incredibly knowledgeable about Ireland’s, and more specifically, Dublin’s history. The tour was in a word – fantastic. It covered almost every note worthy site in the city.

Like father like daughter :) 

The final stop of the day was the Guinness storehouse. The massive building (shaped like a Guinness pint glass) was part factory part museum. Most visitors would agree that the highlight is the free pint of Guinness included with entry. I was able to pour my own, which it turns out is an exact science. Fun fact: it takes 119 seconds for a freshly poured pint of Guinness to settle. Learning to pour was easy, finishing the pint was quite a bit more challenging. Guinness is definitely an acquired taste, but the Irish certainly do love it. One of our cab drivers told us that to this day doctors even recommend that pregnant women have Guinness daily! I’ll have to do a little research before I buy into that.

View from the top...the island in the back is called
the Eye of Ireland

To be honest, I was not a huge fan of Dublin. All the major cities I visited have a unique feel, but Dublin was a little blah. I’m sure the rain didn’t help J It didn’t feel very cohesive, more like a mish mash of awkward modern buildings and historic monuments. My group was in agreement that we were going to spend our second day outside of the city. Our pick was Howth, a very small coastal village 30 minutes from the city. Howth is one of the most beautiful places I have ever visited! 

A find while walking through the park..a culinary
school called Kitchen in the Castle

We started off by walking through a park, which turned into golf course, which turned into a very steep hill. The leisurely walk we had all anticipated quickly became a hike. I can’t complain since two very sweet 70+ women were hiking in front of us. The view from the top of the hill was spectacular and encompassed the lush green rolling hills Ireland is known for along with the rocky beaches and intimidating cliffs.

Don't worry Mom, I'm not as close to the edge as it looks like

We worked up quite an appetite so fresh fish and chips were in order. After lunch, we walked along the cliffs. Those afraid of heights are advised to stay away. I’ll admit that I stayed as far from the edge and looked down as little as possible! We headed back to the bus just in time, as the gorgeous sunny day turned to a torrential downpour as soon as we got to the station.

Saturday finished with a good pub meal and a few card games in the hostel. Then it was up at the crack of dawn again for our flight home. Flying in Europe is so convenient; the flight from East Midlands (basically Nottingham) to Dublin is only 45 minutes. It took longer to get a bus back to campus from the airport!

Happy Halloween everyone!

XXOO-

Elisabeth

Weeks 4 and 5: London!

My friends and I (a group of 7) left early Saturday morning. The train ride into London is about 2 hours, just the perfect amount of time to get some reading done for class…if you choose to do so that is :) My friend Steph was quite the experienced London traveler so for the first day she was our tourguide. The first stop was platform 9 ¾ (not actually between 9 and 10)

After dropping our bags of at our hotel we headed to Oxford Circus, and to Camden Market. Camden market is like Pike Place, just intensified. The vendors were quite varied, some selling neat jewelry and crafts and others selling souvenir magnets. Camden definitely has an indie/alternative feel – and is known for being a haven for tattooed and pierced punks. There were few standout shops that catered to this crowd such as the mega store called CyberDog that sold neon space suits. My favorite part of the market was the food. I finally got some Mexican food. Granted it was the British version of a burrito but there was a tortilla and cheese so I was happy. I also had the best donut of my life. The Brits may not know how to make a stellar quesadilla but they’ve got donuts down to an art form.

We next headed to Trafalgar Square, Piccadilly Circus nearby Westminster Abbey and Big Ben. I had one of those “pinch me I’m in London” moments when I had my picture taken in the well-recognized phone booths with Big Ben in the background. Very touristy yes, but a rite of passage for any visitor to London. It was getting dark by this point so we headed back to our hotel in Russell Square to prepare for our big night out for Steph’s 23^rd b-day! Our night turned out to be quite an adventure. Simply put, cabs in London are everywhere but never available for hire. Even a 3 am they are all pre-booked. Lesson learned: if you want to experience London night life bring a full wallet, do NOT wear heels, and book cabs in advance!

Looking fine for our night on the town

Check-out Sunday morning came way too early since we were all exhausted from the night before. I left the group to meet a friend in nearby Covent Garden for lunch. Covent Garden is probably my favorite area of London. It was filled with markets and cafés. Meg and I ate a crêpe shop. Très bon! After lunch we walked around the National Gallery…I stayed mostly in the Impressionist rooms. One plus about London..most museums and galleries are free. It’s wonderful that anyone can simply walk in and enjoy a Monet or a Turner at no cost. All the girls (including myself) were feeling pretty sluggish we decided to have a leisurely end to our Sunday. We took lots of photos at Buckingham Palace, explored Regence Street (lots of upscale shopping) and SoHo and had a nice break sunning ourselves in Green Park. We finished our day with a delicious dinner of bangers and mash in a pub.

Now for round two. Meg and her husband Calem, very graciously offered their flat to me last weekend. I loved London so much that I was not about to pass up an opportunity to visit again. This time I went alone though…and I’ll admit it was a little daunting at first. I arrived in London early Friday evening and took the tube to Ealing (the borough where they live). It was a pretty long tube ride which wasn’t helped by the mass of evening commuters squeezing into each car. We had dinner in town followed by drinks at a pub for a friend’s b-day. It was nice to get away from the crazy 18 year-old partiers for a weekend and enjoy the more intimate atmosphere of a pub.

Off with her head!

Saturday I was on my own as Meg and Calem had weekend schooling (poor things). My first stop was the Tower of London. After a coffee and muffin in Ealing I took the tube towards the Tower. So far I had not had any problems with the tube, but public transportation was not working in my favor this particular day. The combination of ‘signal delays’, engineering work, and ‘security alerts’ (which I later discovered meant suicides) caused severe delays on many of the tube lines. It took me over an hour to get to the general vicinity of the Tower. I ended up getting off before my stop and walking. I’ll admit that I was a little lost but I found my way eventually and got nice tour of the Southbank in the process.

The Tower was so much fun. The tourguides are the Queen’s royal guards. Mine was knowledgeable, but hilarious. He enjoyed terrifying his group with detailed descriptions of the many torture techniques practiced on Tower prisoners. In addition to the site of Anne Boleyn’s beheading, the Tower also draws crowds to see the Crown Jewels. They were so elaborate and gaudy I had a hard time believing the golf-ball sized object I was looking at was actually a diamond. The main exhibit was the massive display of armor. Suits, swords and shields from many of the royals were displayed. Personally I preferred the jewels :)

The tube back to central London was painfully slow so I was happy to get off early again and walk through Covent Garden before heading to the British Museum. The museum is fantastic but absolutely huge. I saw the big-ticket items (ie. the Rosetta Stone and Egyptian mummies) but my favorite exhibit was the ancient Lachish reliefs. So beautiful. Luckily the tube had picked up steam by the time I headed to Ealing again. I had dinner with my hosts and joined them for a cheese and wine party. I stayed close to the cheese table the whole time. I think I ate my weight in Brie and Cheddar.

Portobello Road

Sunday was a quiet day. After a nice sleep-in Meg and I headed to Notting Hill. I am a HUGE Notting Hill fan so I was beyond excited to see the Travel Bookshop and blue door. To my utter disappointment the shop has (very recently) been replaced by a clothing store and the blue door was replaced with a….STARBUCKS. How dare they! I am now officially boycotting Starbucks. Nevertheless, I enjoyed quirky Portobello road.

22,115 fans in attendance

Nottingham is quite tame compared to the hustle and bustle of London. Although, I went to a Nottingham Forest football match last night, and the crowd was anything but docile. I had a blast and I’m happy to report that Nottingham beat Middlesborough 1-0. I’d love to go to another match and hopefully make kick-off this time. (The stadium turned out to be a lot closer than we anticipated so we ended up missing our stop by a long shot and getting to the match after half-time. I still saw the winning - and only - goal though!)

This weekend is Dublin! Guiness factory here I come.

Lots of love to you all!

Week 3: Sights Around Nottingham

      Hello October! I did a little research and found that October is usually the rainiest month here in Nottingham. So far, that seems to be the case. I asked a local when the rainy season begins and he, looking puzzled replied “it’s always the rainy season here.” How silly of me. I know all about that being from Washington. The English do not let the rain keep them from activities and my friend Casee and I were determined to be the same. On a very dreary Friday we ventured out in search of the oldest pub in England, Ye Olde Trip to Jerusalem. It was quite the hunt but in the end we found it. Even with my heavy duty raincoat I was still soaked. I had a beer and a selection of “pub nibblers” while I attempted to dry myself. The pub was charming! The main part of the structure is built into a cave. There are a variety of little rooms, each shaped by a crevice in the cave. It is estimated that the pub itself is over 800 years old. Crusaders would break their journey at the inn and pub on the way to Jerusalem.

    Among the many rainy days have been a few beautiful sunny ones. Yesterday I took advantage of the clear skies and toured the campus. At Linfield, touring the campus would take 30 minutes max. I spent twice as long just walking around the lake. The University Park Campus (where I live and have class) has its own - quite large - lake. It looks nice from a distance, but up close one can tour the surrounding grounds which are spectacular. I feel so lucky to have such beautiful scenery just steps from my hall. On sunny days students and visitors can rent boats and row around the lake. There is also a putting course and croquet lawn. Those activities are weather dependent of course, but I’m happy to walk/run around the lake regardless of the weather.

The Trent Building - Can you believe I have class here?!

     Has anyone heard of the Goose Fair? I hadn’t either. It’s a big deal here though. The fair is said to be the largest traveling fair in Europe and has ties to Nottingham for the past 700 years! The Goose Fair is similar to a US county fair with rides, game booths and lots and lots of food. I was disappointed though to not see any giant zucchinis or adorable goats like at my county fair. The fair food was your typical greasy grub with some interesting additions. Mushy peas were a fan favorite. I tried them at the uni and was not a fan. I had chips (fries) with gravy and mayo. Delicious! My American friends and I were craving elephant ears, but sadly there were none to be found. However, we found a tiny booth selling funnel cake! The man making the cakes told us he was the only one in the UK! I raved about the cakes to my Aussie friends and I’m happy to report that they were all in agreement about the deliciousness of the fried treat.

Stef, Corey, Me, Casee, Eliza and Ari. 

Off to London this weekend. I’m sure I’ll have lots to report when I return!

Elisabeth