In Dublin, Ireland, we visited Merrion Square Park. Our English professor, Precious McKenzie, had taken us on an escapade across the inner circle of Dublin to find the statue of Oscar Wilde. We meandered through Trinity College visiting the Book of Kells and viewing pieces of modern art. As we exited the College gates, we could see the top of Oscar’s head peeking over the park’s flowering shrubs.
As we entered the park, it had just finished raining, so everywhere we looked was glowing green. On our way to the statue, we found a “Go Green” park. The park featured environmentally friendly play-sets. All of the play-sets had the theme of a fairytale. There was a giant covered partly in earth and grass, a castle for climbing on, and wooden blocks made to look like elves’ houses. We all enjoyed the playground. It wasn’t until we were leaving that we noticed the sign saying only those under twelve were allowed on the play-sets, oops. The walk through Merrion Square Park continued to be delightful. We eventually came to the statue of Oscar Wilde. The statue featured him smoking a pipe, leaning luxuriously back on an uncomfortable looking boulder. Across from his statue, there were two pillars with many of his famous quotations scribbled on them. Benches were also near the statue and pillars to offer a place for visitors to sit and maybe write some things of their own. “This suspense is terrible, I hope it will last.” “Only dull people are brilliant at breakfast.” “Most people are other people.” “Whenever people agree with me I always feel I must be wrong.” -Shadya Jarecke Transportation itself is drastically different in both London and Dublin than it is in Billings, Montana. Around here we tend to travel mostly by car. Occasionally you will see people traveling by foot or on bike and some even do utilize our limited public transportation system. However, in London and Dublin it is much more common for residents and visitors to utilize public transportation and to spend more time walking to their destination. To get around Dublin we spent a lot of our time walking from place to place. We used the tram system only once and had a private coach for a few days, but most of our travels were done on foot. In doing so we constantly had to be on the look out for the many other pedestrians and cyclists, as well as being sure to mind the vehicles traveling on a side of the road that we are not used to. In London we utilized the underground/tube for much of our transportation as well as traveling on foot. At first the tube was incredibly intimidating. I have never used a subway system before and there were so many people! We relied on one another to figure out where we needed to get on and off. After a few days, and only one incident of leaving anyone behind, we all seemed to have mastered the system quite nicely. The hardest part was navigating the crowds of people at rush hour and to make sure you get to where you need to be. Many stops also warn to be cautious of safety. Getting on and off the tube we were often reminded to "Mind the Gap" between the train and the platform in order to avoid any injury. We all seemed to master the system much more quickly than I expected and were finding our way around London almost effortlessly.
There is something to be said about the people we travel with. When we left Billings for Dublin on May 4th, I had no idea that I would return with new friendships. I was excited for the adventure itself, but had no idea where the journey would truly take me. Spending ten days straight with a group of people you learn a lot. You see each other having a great time and enjoying experiences as well as getting frustrated and hungry, which was often times the case during our travels. Hungry is an emotion like no other. Especially in a group of sixteen women. Poor Xander! It also allows time for everyone to share a lot about themselves and their own experiences. In just ten short days I went from having a few close friends on this trip, to creating new friendships and relationships with fellow classmates. These people put up with me all day everyday for ten days straight. That is pretty impressive. We went from getting to know each other through late night talks in the hostile in Dublin, to exploring the city of London together. We experienced these cities together and now have some great stories to tell our friends and families back at home. Like the time we accidently left Erin and Whitney on a platform in the tube. Sorry guys! Luckily they caught up to us shortly after and no one truly panicked. Or the time that Shadya decided to turn me into Poison Ivy from Batman by decorating my hair with a variety of green leaves she found in Ireland. I am so grateful for the experiences we got to have together and the friends I got to come home with. Thanks for a great trip everyone!
Hailey Fish Our last few nights that my friends and I had in London we spent them at a elegant and very fun restaurant called Efes 2. Efes 2 is a Turkish Restaurant that happened to be located rather close to our Hostel, so it was perfect walking distance. Their food consists of lamb, beef and chicken that are all barbequed on charcoal and comes with veggies and a basket of bread.
We first stumbled upon this restaurant because Nancy had wanted to watch the Germany Football game in which they had given us the whole bottom floor to watch it on the big screen. They were very accommodating and very nice people. We had such an amazing night that consisted of watching the game, belly dancer, listening to live music, flaming fruit, amazing food and people. We had enjoyed that night so much that we decided to go back the next night in which we got a very warm welcome and were once again offered the bottom floor to dine. This night was once again just as fun if not even more so then the night prior. There was the belly dancer and live music as well as Laura Rose and I doing a bit of Karaoke but then all of us joined in for a bit of dancing as well. After our meal and dessert we were given once again a fruit platter but this platter consisted of Nancy's favorite fruit; watermelon, in which they lit a sparkler in the middle and was amazing. It was definitely once again a very fun filled night and one that I will always remember. -Alicia Weitz Having flown to my family in Germany countless times in my life, Heathrow is an airport that has often been on my way. Due to the outrageous layovers I've had there throughout the years, I had been to London before, but never had the opportunity to wander around the beautiful bustling city. London is a crazy, wonderful place. It can be absolute chaos one second, then simply crossing the street brings you to a serene park filled with flowers and people drinking coffee, reading books. Not to mention my favorite little car driving past me at almost every blink, it is the birthplace of MINI. I am so thankful for the time we had in London to simply wander. Many of our expeditions began with Cally telling me, "We're going to find you a coffee, ok?" (Having not known me long, she understood my desperate need for coffee, especially with our jet lag.) After that mission was accomplished, we set out to find things we had read about in books or seen in movies. Our list consisted of The Sherlock Holmes Museum, The Tower of London, Big Ben, and so on. Many of these landmarks I had seen in pictures or in movies, but that no where near does them justice. Standing less than six feet tall, staring up at Big Ben in London, England was unexplainable. An hour long walk through The Tower of London was surreal. Taking a selfie with wax Sherlock and Watson was so much fun. Everything was amazing, unexplainable and never forgotten. Memories were made overseas that will forever stay with me, and my sparking desire to travel this unbelievable world we live in has since turned into an untamable, raging fire.
N.B. The Small Things..The small differences between countries can sometimes be overwhelming. Being immersed in a new culture and a new land is an unexplainable experience. Having been able to experience two different countries and cultures in a short 10 day period taught me more than I could ever read in books, or learn in any classroom. There were many things in Dublin that stood out to me. The small detail of driving on the other side of the road was something that took getting used to. Not only are cars coming at you at higher volumes and speeds, they're coming from an unexpected side of the road. I have driven a MINI with the steering wheel on the right here in America, but that experience in no way prepared me for an entire country doing it. Upon landing in the states and driving home, there was a split second of second guessing I never thought would have hit me. The number of people riding bicycles and walking on the streets was unbelievable. Everyone has somewhere to go, and fast. I learned very quickly not to hesitate. Do. Not. Hesitate. Look quick and walk across the road with conviction, and you'll look less like the tourist that you really are. Also, most streets made crossing idiot proof, see picture below. I was extremely impressed by the lack of head on umbrella collisions that I witnessed. Watching hundreds of people walk the rainy streets of Dublin under their umbrellas without struggle was impressive to me (someone who has now owned an umbrella for about a week.) Come to think of it, the only umbrella collision I remember from the entire trip was me accidentally hitting Xander in Galway. Maybe I shouldn't be allowed to own an umbrella.
N.B. As we were walking around Dublin, we came across an old stonewall that had a pathway that led to a gate. We didn’t know where it led so we followed the wall, which guided us to a staircase that led us to yet another gate. As we tried to look for the entrance, we were caught by surprise from the beauty of the church we happened upon. When we finally found the sign with the name of the church, St. Audoen’s Church, it directed us to the visitor’s center. I had no idea what to expect from the church, but the employees were nice and gave us a detailed description of the church.
Throughout the self-guided tour, there were many different artifacts that were found during the excavation and restored. Some of the items include the guild of tallow chandlers, soap boilers and wax-light makers, instruments of the guild of surgeons, and instruments of the guild of thinners. Each item depicts a different job, for example, the instruments of the guild of surgeons used a tool that essentially does the same work as a scalpel. One of the artifacts that I found interesting was the Lucky Stone. The Stone is said to be lucky because no matter how many times it was removed from its home, it was always returned to its rightful place in the church. If the Stone was touched, then it is said that luck would be granted to the person who touched it. Before we left that room, we all decided to touch the Stone because…well…a little luck wouldn’t hurt! Laura Rose |
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