Dublin for Saint Patrick's Day

I meant to have this blog post up last week when I got home, but I've been swamped with midterm projects ever since I got back on campus.  Luckily, the frenzy had seemed to die down a bit, so I can get back to writing.

Dublin for St. Paddy's day...definitely my favorite trip to date!  I'm not sure if it was atmosphere of millions of people swarming the city for the festivities, the wonderful group of people I was with, or just the experience in general.  Whatever it was, it was amazing.

We drove all night to get to Dublin Saturday morning.  When we got there, I did something very unlike me, I was completely without a plan.  The week leading up to my trip was just as crazy as when I got back, so I had very little time to come up with a sightseeing plan.  There were a few things I wanted to see, but I wasn't set on anything in particular.

When we arrived at our hostel, I got together with a some friends from South Carolina and Tennessee, and we all went on a free walking tour.  The idea of a "free" tour initially left me a bit skeptical.  How good could something truly "free" be?  I was completely blown away.  Our guide was fantastic.  A local college kid who knew the city like the back of his hand.  For three hours, we trekked all over the city, getting interesting little tidbits about the city.  I learned that Dublin was originally named "Duiblinn" pronounced (doob-lynn) which translates into "Black Pool" but the English couldn't pronounce the name correctly and eventually it became the Dublin we know today.

I did my first pub crawl that night.  Everywhere was playing loud Irish music and decked out for the holiday.  I found myself wondering whether or not these places play Irish music all year or if they were just playing up the authenticity for the sake of the tourists.

On Sunday we spent the day at the Guinness Storehouse.  Rather than your typical factory tour, they have built an enormous interactive museum around their product.  The entire building was lit up with green lights on the inside, and they placed dozens of bars handing out free Guinness strategically through the tour.  I don't think I'm a big fan of Guinness, but it was quite the experience to be there and see how it's made.

Monday the festivities really took off.  We all got up early and got ready in our St. Paddy's day garb.  I wore an enormous green bow on my head and got my face painted.  I was definitely channeling my Irish family heritage.  The parade was quite an experience.  I guess marching bands aren't a thing here in Europe, because all of the marching bands in the parade were American.  We saw Louisiana State University's band and several high schools from all over our country.  The parade floats were all themed past, present, and future.  It was obvious the huge amount of work that went in to all of the costumes and makeup; quite the production!

After the parade, I caught up with another friend that I met while I've been at Swansea University.  We walked over to Temple Bar, which is the oldest neighborhood in Dublin, and found it completely packed with wall to wall people.  It was like standing at the front of the stage at a rock concert, but the crowd covered a mile radius in this neighborhood.  Someone in my hostel said they saw Bono, from U2, in the mess with all of his security guards escorting him out.  It was just too crazy.  I bought a t-shirt, and we headed to Trinity College as fast as we could.

I was pleasantly surprised to find that admission to the famous Long Room and Book of Kells at Trinity College was free on St. Patrick's day.  The Book of Kells, a two volume illustrated set of the Gospels, wasn't nearly as impressive as I had read about, but it was still neat to say I've seen it.  The Long Room was just as wonderful as its picture.  I could have spent hours in there.  It's too bad it's not a working library; everything was roped off.  I would have loved to spend a couple hours reading in the beautiful old room.

I finished out St. Patrick's day listening to live Irish music played in a pub near my hostel.  My friends and I grabbed dinner and a pint, and rested our very tired feet.  It was the perfect ending to a wonderful day.

Tuesday was pretty uneventful.  I met back up with some of the friends I travelled with and visited St. Patrick's Cathedral and Christ Church Cathedral.  The churches were beautiful, but it's gotten to the point that a church is a church is a church.  They are everywhere, each prettier than the one before it.  However, it still amazes me the amount of time and dedication people put into their places of worship.

I got in early Wednesday morning, worn out from a great trip.  I spent St. Patrick's day in Dublin, Ireland.  I don't know many people who can say that!  Many more adventures to come.

A Step Back Into Time: Day Trip to Bath

Bath Street, Bath, Somerset, UK

Yesterday, a my exchange group took a day trip over to Bath.  Being a Jane Austen fan and a Georgian architecture enthusiast, Bath was one of the top places on my list to visit.  Wandering around the ancient streets was like a step back into time.

We arrived around ten in the morning.  It was one of the most beautiful days I've experienced since arriving in this rainy country.  About fifteen of us jumped off the bus, and headed for the main attraction, the Roman Baths.  

Over 2,000 years of history, once buried under the rocks, was excavated and restored into a wonderful monument.  The baths themselves look like they do in the pictures, but I was surprised to find out that the geothermal spring that once heated the water for the Romans continues to do so for today.  The museum did a wonderful job of weaving the restorations in with the original works.  

At the end of the tour there was a filtered Bath Spring Water stand, so we too, could take the healing waters.  We all drank the warm, newly filtered water, then immediately regretted it, because, despite being filtered, it still tasted as if it had been boiled with dirty gym socks.  Gross!  It took me two bottles of water and a couple breath mints just to get the taste out of my mouth.  Jury's still out on whether or not it will "heal all of my ailments".  I guess time will tell!

Next stop was Queen Square and the Royal Crescent.  The park held an obelisk type monument erected in the honor of HRH Queen Elizabeth II.  The Royal Crescent appears to have once been a palace or some sort of extravagant stately home.  Now, it has been broken up into apartments.  We were told that one would have to pay £400,000 just for the right to rent one of the homes, then monthly rent and co-op fees on top of that.  The dozens of luxury cars parked in resident parking only went to further our realization that this was where Bath's elite lived.

My group spent most of the afternoon wandering the streets and just taking in the city.  We stopped for lunch at a pub.  

I tried Cottage Pie for the first time.  It was delicious!  I'm going to have to find a recipe and see if I can recreate the dish.

During our journey, we happened upon the famous Pulteney Bridge.  Beneath the bridge was a terraced water feature much like the one from Javert's death scene in Les Miserables.  Beside the bridge was a lovely park named Parade Park.  Despite it only being the first of March, daffodils were blooming everywhere and the grass was luscious and green.  Springtime is coming, I could feel it in the air!

The last stop for the day was Bath Abbey.  I've mentioned before how much I love cathedrals, and this one jumped to the top of my list to tie with Notre Dame.
Unlike many cathedrals I have visited, Bath Abbey was light and airy, rather than having the dark, omnipresent air that many seem to have.  The building was made of a light colored stone, and the windows positioned to take full advantage of the natural sunlight.  The stained glass and flowers added color to a sand colored backdrop.  The way the sunlight and colors mingled brought a feeling of joy to the place, instead of the somber reverence inspired by many churches of England.  It was a beautiful place!

All of the Georgian architecture, well kept streets, ancient alleyways, and beautiful gardens was like stepping back in time into a Jane Austen novel.  Some places you can feel the light whisper of history in the air, in Bath that it is not a whisper but a song floating through the streets.  This beautiful town has become one of my favorite places in England.