Boy, do I have a lot to share! Because I have so many photos I’d like to share, I have links for a photo gallery for each city in the text where I talk about the city, but I also have the links listed at the bottom of the post too!
It all began late Friday night when Amali and I arrived in Dublin and were reunited with Brittany, my friend from Notre Dame who is studying there and graciously let us stay with her! After catching up, we went to bed since Amali and I had plenty of sights to see and Brittany had a school trip the next day.
On Saturday, Amali and I started the day by touring Dublin Castle. We got to see the foundation of the original castle, the chapel, and the fancy State Apartments, like St. Patrick’s Hall which is still used for important occasions like presidential inaugurations. We then took a relaxing stop in adjacent Dubh Linn Gardens, created on the site of the original “Dubh Linn,” meaning black pool, which gave the city its name. Afterward we grabbed a quick lunch to go, as we explored the Temple Bar area, walked across the Ha’penny Bridge, and strolled through Trinity College. Then we walked farther outside of town to visit Kilmainham Gaol (Jail) where we meet up with more of my friends from Notre Dame, Jess and Aidan, who also were visiting for Fall Break. It is an historic jail most known for housing (and executing) political prisoners during various rebellions. We also learned about how it has origins in the prison reform movement, how it housed “typical” criminals of all ages and genders, and how it acted as a type of holding prison for those being sent to Australia. After the tour we returned to town and found a pub to have a traditional Irish dinner; I had Shepard’s pie and a local Irish beer! Here are my Dublin pictures.
On Sunday, the four of us took a day trip to Belfast! The first thing we did was visit the Titanic Museum, which was extensive and interactive! It had all kinds of quizzes, games, 3D models, recreations, and artifacts! We even got to tour the SS Nomadic, the only remaining White Star Line ship. During the afternoon we walked around the city, stopping at some notable locations. First we shopped at St. George’s Market, a Victorian era covered market, and then proceeded to City Hall, which is a beautiful building that has some small exhibits inside. Next we went to the Europa Hotel, the most bombed hotel in the world since it was frequently targeted during The Troubles between the Protestant Unionists and the Catholic Nationalists in the late 20th century. We then crossed the street to pop into the Crown Liquor Saloon, a beautifully ornate Victorian Pub which has famous “snugs,” little screened-off booths where respectable women, could drink privately. We had another awesome dinner that night, and once we got back to Dublin and met up with more Notre Dame friends, we took a short stop in a pub that had some live music! Here are pictures from my day in Belfast!
Monday was an interesting day in a way none of us expected. While we were supposed to do a Guinness Storehouse tour, visit Trinity’s library to see the Book of Kells, and explore St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Mother Nature had a different plan for us. Hurricane Ophelia hit the Irish coast. Ireland, not accustomed to hurricanes, pretty much shut down. All schools, public transportation, civic buildings, and most private businesses were closed for the day, including all the places we planned on visiting. So after realizing the day was a wash, we made a huge brunch, played games, and hung out all day in Brittany’s apartment. At least I got to spend a lot of quality time with my school friends whom I didn’t expect to see this year!
On Tuesday Amali and I left Dublin to meet up with our Architecture friends, MG and Diana, in Edinburgh. After we all arrived and dropped our bags off we walked along the Royal Mile, Edinburgh’s “main street,” stopping in some stores, exploring a market that was in an old church, and visiting the entry to Dublin Castle. We then got a nice Scottish dinner where we ate haggis (basically sheep innards) and devoured cranachan (a yummy dessert).
We started Wednesday nice and early with breakfast at The Elephant House, a cafe where JK Rowling wrote the second and third books of the Harry Potter series. The experience was akin to a religious pilgrimage for me. The bathroom is covered in HP related graffiti of fellow Potterheads who have trekked there to pay their respects. We also had a spectacular view of Edinburgh Castle from the window by our table. Next we visited the National Museum of Scotland which was equally fantastic. It had a large range of exhibits from dinosaur bones, to Dolly the Sheep, to artifacts all about Scottish heritage! We then fueled up for our hike up Arthur’s Seat, a large hill that overlooks the city. Some myths even claim it to be the location of Camelot. The hike up wasn’t too difficult and the views were breathtaking! Even though it was a little chilly, it was easy to spend a lot of time up there! After descending, we went to Greyfriar’s Kirkyard. In this cemetery we searched for three particular graves. The first was Greyfriars Bobby, a little dog who, when his owner passed away, loyally stayed by his grave till his own passing. The second was a man named Thomas Riddell, and his son, Thomas Riddell Jr., who might have provided Rowling with inspiration for her villain and his father’s names. And not too far from the Riddell’s graves was a plaque for a Scottish poet name William McGonagall. The last was that of Sir George MacKenzie because it’s supposedly very haunted! We then went to Victoria Street, which is a curving road with tons of interesting shops that is rumored to be the inspiration for Diagon Alley! Afterward, we got a filling dinner and found a pub that had trivia, which was a blast! We had a pretty good score and won the team spirit round. Our prize was “Revels” chocolates! To view my pictures from Edinburgh, click here!
Thursday morning we went to brunch at a place called Spoon, where JK Rowling apparently wrote some of The Sorcerer’s Stone. Though it was less of an HP destination, it was still pretty tasty! The rest of the day was devoted to travelling to Bruges, Belgium.
On Friday we woke up early and started the day at a chocolate museum where we learned about the history of chocolate, discovered the process of making it, figured out what our ideal chocolate is (mine is 71%, with rich cacao beans from Ecuador that has flowery nuances, a touch of earth and mushroom flavor), and had tons of free samples! We then walked around town a little, spending a decent bit of time in the main square, called the Markt, which has a humongous bell tower. We stopped inside the Basilica of the Holy Blood and got to see what is believed to be Jesus’ blood. We then walked along the canals followed by a delicious and super sweet lunch at The Old Chocolate House. We each ordered Belgian hot chocolate and Belgian waffles. Specifically, I got dark hot chocolate with beans grown in Sao Thome and a banana, chocolate, whipped cream waffle. We then went to the Church of Our Lady which has the world’s second tallest brick tower and houses a Michelangelo sculpture. Then we divided and conquered more museums: MG took the beer museum while the three of us took Historium, a history museum where the information was present throughout a dramatic story that progressed through each decorated room. Once we regrouped we visited Jan van Eyckplein, a square on one of the harbors where many of the embassies were located during Bruges Golden Age and where the stock exchanged was invented. Then we took a boat tour on the canals followed by a delicious classic Belgian dinner of mussels, fries, and beer. After dark we did a free walking tour where we saw less touristy destinations like the remains of the old city walls, learned about the origins of the phrase “stinkin’ rich,” heard a ghost story, visited the Golden Hand canal, and saw the outside of the Jerusalem Church which is supposed to be a replica of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and passed the old wind mills. You can see pictures that prove just how beautiful Bruges is by clicking here!
Saturday was basically a travel day, though we managed to squeeze two hours in Brussels where we saw the main square, called the Grand Place, the famous statue of a little boy peeing which has numerous myths surrounding it, and the Cathedral of St. Michael and St. Gudula. We also managed to eat another waffle and some fries. To view pictures from our brief Brussels excursion, click here! Late Saturday night we made it back to Rome and promptly fell asleep for a solid night’s rest to end an exciting, but exhausting fall break!
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