Dear Dirty Dublin

Stained Glass @
St. Patrick’s Church

Well, James Joyce was right. Dublin IS dirty. But the amount of litter begins to make sense once you realize there aren’t enough “bins” to keep up with the amount of garbage, which also makes sense when you learn about the Troubles. Overall, I liked Dublin. It wasn’t what I was expecting, and felt more like a metropolitan town rather than a capital city.

Sweny’s Pharmacy 

There was a lot to literary stuff to do, and I   really enjoyed going to see Sweny’s Pharmacy, where Leopold Bloom purchased Lemon soap for Molly. When we went inside, we were approached by a very eccentric man, who began to hand us each a copy of Ulysses and invited us to sit and read. Before we knew it, we were pulled in to an impromptu reading of Ulysses and a singalong of the Irish song Molly Malone. It was a surprise, but also a great memory that I’ll have for the rest of my life. Taking a picture with the James Joyce statue was one thing I really wanted to do, and the man yelling on the phone behind the statue was truly the epitome of “Dear Dirty Dublin”. His select choice of words were something Joyce could have only dreamed of using without censorship. We also got to take a picture with Oscar Wilde, and saw the Book of Kells, both of which were really cool. Furthermore, seeing the Guiness storehouse was very interesting. I really wanted to like Guiness, and I tried it, but it wasn’t my cup of tea (or rather, my pint of beer). Another highlight was Saint Patrick’s Church. It was beautiful, and the stained glass windows were stunning. I also enjoyed the stories about Jonathan Swift, and his use of the movable pulpit. I wouldn’t expect anything less from someone so well-versed in satire. In the future, I’d like to go back to Dublin and explore a little bit more, possibly into the countryside, and I think checking out Phoenix Park would be amazing, especially if there are deer.

London

The Tube

London

London was so much fun! I got to see parts of the city I’ve never seen before, and went to a bunch of music and literature sites. The guided tour we did was great; I learned a lot about London, and Stuart was a real scream! I was glad we got to see Buckingham Palace and Big Ben/Elizabeth Tower, as I missed them both the first time I was in London. We also went to several bookstores during our free time, and I brought home way too many books (if there is such a thing). I can honestly say a good portion of my photo album is made up of books I could not buy. One store we went into was called Foyles, and it was like Barnes and Noble but better. They had a far more diverse selection of books, four floors, and a cafe that sold pastries,

Keats’ House

coffee, drinks, beer, and wine. Our free day was the most exciting. In one day, the group of us did Abbey Road, the Sherlock Holmes Museum, Keats’ house,  The British Museum, and a David Bowie memorial. It was a busy day, but easily one of the best I’ve ever had. I was so glad to have gotten a picture on Abbey Road, and despite having to walk up what was easily the steepest hill in my entire life, Keats’ House was worth the effort. Learning about his life and walking the gardens at the house was a lovely way to spend the afternoon. It was also fun to taNot to forget was the French cafe we ate at in the neighborhood near Keats’ house. Before I could even mention my food allergies, the hostess who sat us asked if anyone at our table had allergies and marked it down on an iPad.

British Museum 

Then, when our waitress came to take our order she asked who had the allergy, and when my food came out, it was marked with little toothpick flags so the entire kitchen would be aware of the allergy. I was so impressed. Food allergies are not usually taken so seriously, even in the States, and the gesture really went a long way. Even better, the food was amazing, and everyone had a good meal. Dinner was also enjoyable, because Sarah, our tour guide, sat at our table and talked to us about poetry. She introduced us to the poet Wendy Cope, and I liked her poems so much that I ended up buying a book of her

Abbey Road

poems in Dublin. I cannot speak highly enough of my experiences in London, and like Edinburgh, I hope I get the opportunity to go back again. 

Edinburgh

Edinburgh 

Me with Grayfriar’s Bobby

The Kelpies

While I was not sure what I was expecting from Edinburgh, but I absolutely loved it. Despite being a capital city, it felt like a small town, and I was glad to spend our first few days in a city that was not filled with chaotic hustle and bustle.  One of my favorite experiences was seeing Edinburgh castle. The views from the top were spectacular, learning about the history of castle and Scotland was incredibly interesting, and we learned about Bob, a taxidermied dog housed at the castle who was the regimental pet of the 1st Battalion, Scots Fusilier Guards (pictured below). Despite being an unexpected highlight of Edinburgh, Bob wasn’t the only dog I got to see. I also saw Grayfriar’s Bobby, who we learned about in class, and met Princess Rosie, a small, ice cream loving dog at the Kelpies. Another great memory I have of Edinburgh occurred in a souvenir shop. I was wearing my green dog raincoat (are you sensing a dog theme here?), and one of the cashiers said she really liked my coat. So much so, in fact she jokingly offered to give me the stuff I was buying in exchange for my coat, and had me write down the brand of the jacket. My favorite part of our visit to Edinburgh was probably the Kelpies. It was nice to see some of Scotland outside of the city and the 100ft tall Kelpie statues were amazing to see. We also got to walk through the suburbs of Edinburgh, which was a nice detour around the busier parts of the city. I thoroughly enjoyed my time in Scotland, and can only hope that I will have another opportunity to visit there!

Edinburgh Castle 

Princess Rosie

Bob at the Edinburgh Castle