[October 1] Dublin, Ireland: The First Day!

Due to really really super annoying computer problems and this new blogger format... I am only JUST NOW getting around to properly blogging about DUBLIN!

On Friday morning (October 1st) a group of us very sleepily made our way to the tube station for the long ride to the airport. I had no idea what to expect in Dublin because I hadn't really looked it up or anything. IES arranged this trip and I just signed up for it—why wouldn't I want to go to Dublin? Besides, they make all of the travel arrangements and hand you an itinerary and there is definitely some beauty in that!

Here's the group of us enjoying some hot drinks in the morning at the airport:

A pretty Irish plane!

Our flight:

And then we magically arrived in Dublin, Ireland! This is the first picture I took from the bus on the way to the hostel. In case you can't read it, it says "Greed is the knife & the scars run deep". Beautiful, right?

Here's the hostel we stayed in called Jacob's Inn. It was 'nice'—I mean, it's a hostel so I feel like they will never be really nice or whatever but it's fine for what you pay!

This is random but it's a snack dispenser that was in the hostel lobby and all of the snacks are in cans... like jelly beans. I don't know if this is a normal Irish thing? But anyway, I thought it was neat.

Right next to our hostel was a pub called Molloy's that some of us had lunch at:

Our group at the pub:

The pub and Jenna flinging her amazing hair around:

My strange lunch called 'Molloy's Special Wrap'. Very suspicious name! Delicious though...

Of course, it rained:

Listening to and 'singing' Beach House with Becky:

Then we went on a walking tour! I was so excited to SEE Dublin and walk around and get a better idea of what Dublin IS... but I and everyone else was rather disappointed... Our guide talked about Irish history to an in-depth degree and none of us were that interested in it.

We started out at Trinity College which I learned is the top college in Ireland:

This room was quite pretty inside but honestly I don't remember what it was!

A glimpse of Dublin:

Dublin Castle, whatever that means:

And here we are sitting, being patient and polite, as the guide yammers on in a cute accent about history. I enjoy history, I really do! But this was just too much...

This was my favorite part of the walking tour, seeing Christ Church Cathedral:

I might have this wrong but if I have this correctly, Handel's 'Messiah' was first performed in the building on the left:

Some lovely seahorses (ha, ha?) adorning the bridge across the River Liffey... Similar style to some of the statues I admired so much in Denmark, no? See, I told you I am more and more attracted to the same types of art! I need to start painting again I think...

Some more of the River Liffey and a few shots of Dublin streets:

Before heading to dinner, me and some friends went out searching for drinks. I found a Balmer's Pear Cider I thought I'd try and it was delicious but huge!

We got one meal already paid for at an Italian restaurant. I was really disappointed that we went to Dublin on an organized trip then they organized for us to get Italian food...??? What's up with that IES? Well, it was yummy anyway...

The two lovely ladies on the end here were our 'guides':

Then it came time for the evenings 'festivities'. A lot of us pre-gamed on the rooftop of the hostel which was quite fun! You can't go to Dublin and not GO OUT right?!?!

Shiny...

A band I really enjoyed was playing here... Seemed very 'Irish' or whatever.

And of course after going OUT you NEED gelato, RIGHT? 

I went to a few places but I ended up at this particular club and danced for awhile but then found a nice spot on the second floor to watch. It's really interesting watching people at clubs which I know I've noticed before. I think I'm a pretty free person when I dance... I mean, I do what I want! But so many people I've realized seem so insecure when they dance. And that's fine, not everyone has to be comfortable with dancing in public! But I need to find 'MY PEOPLE' who do, ya know?

Anyway, I met a very nice German guy and we danced and talked a lot and people-watched.

Me and Emily:

Well Dublin, first day wasn't TOO BAD eh???

*Also, some of these photos I stole from my friends who posted them on Facebook. Just FYI!*

[October 6] London: Of Montreal: Kevin Barnes is Beautiful.

Wednesday evening was fantastic. I went to see the band Of Montreal at Koko in Camden Town (an area of London) with a guy who is also in the IES program. I'm glad I finally found someone to go with! I honestly wouldn't mind going alone but it's just nicer to have someone to go with. Unfortunately I have tickets to some upcoming concerts with no one to go with yet. But there's still time to convince people. ;)

After 2 long classes and a 50 minute bus ride back to the dorm, I got dressed up in appropriate Of Montreal concert-going wear. I LOVE dressing up and I LOVE wearing costumes! So this was kind of in between...

The opening band was Cats in Paris and they were alright and fun but I was saving my dance moves for Of Montreal.

We were there pretty early so honestly if we wanted to have stood on the ground floor near the front we could have... The view the whole time from where we were was PERFECT but when Kevin Barnes went into the audience and sang to the people in the front row I sorely regretted not being there...

Isn't he beautiful? You'll think me strange....

  

He wore purple tights and had an outfit change halfway through but he wore a skirt the entire time. He does drag so well.

This was towards the end when the band was flopping around on stage like fishies out of water.

Needless to say, I left a pretty happy camper. They played Heimdalsgate Like A Promethean Curse which is one of my favorite songs by them as well as a few of my other favorites. I had a blast but honestly I thought people there were going to be a bit more crazy and they weren't! Of course I wanted to watch and appreciate the show and the musicians, but I also wanted to DANCE and be silly. But they put on a GREAT show and I cannot complain!

I'm still looking for my nightlife 'scene' here in London. The clubs and pubs have been fun but sometimes I want something a little more crazy and 'far out' so if anyone has any recommendations...

[September 29] London: Walking Tour of American Influence in London

Last Wednesday, I went on a walking tour lead by an American professor from California and my History of London professor. It was just 'for fun', as in not for class, and even though I knew I would be exhausted by the end of class, I figured it would be a really good chance to see and hear about some new things! The tour was designed to show American influence in London.


[I'm disappointed because a lot of the pictures I took on this walk have disappeared. They didn't load properly so although I can see them, I can't load them onto here.]


We began the tour outside of the Supreme Court where there is a statue of Abraham Lincoln! Picture disappeared unfortunately.


This tower is near Buckingham Palace and one of the professors said that during WWII Winston Churchill stood at the top of it watching bombs fall and it would drive his security guys crazy:

Right by this tower is a road that goes up to the Palace and it also doubled as an airstrip that the Royal family could be whisked away on if necessary.

The little window in the center of this picture under the green roof is apparently the window of the room the Secret Service used to be located in:

Around this area, which is Whitehall, the Prime Minister lives. There are tunnels underground and the Prime Minister apparently walks to Parliament all the way underground. Amazing, right?!? We saw gates to the PM's home and they're of course guarded, but one of the professors said that the suffragettes back in the day managed to break through them. Impressive. Picture missing, of course.

I'm honestly not sure what was happening here but there were some fancy military men yelling and clicking their feet around very ceremoniously, ha ha, so we watched:

A monument dedicated to the women of WWII:

Just a nice view:

And here is a lovely park where there are a few memorials and statues. There's a statue of FDR and Eisenhower (pics gone unfortunately). I thought it was interesting that FDR was standing whereas in his memorial in Washington D.C., the statue of him is of him in his wheelchair.

This is a memorial dedicated to those lost on September 11, 2001:

The tour involved a lot of walking in the RAIN. It rained the entire time and thank goodness everyone brought their umbrellas! My feet squished with water by the end of the walk, which ended with IES treating us all to Starbucks. 

Julian, my History of London professor, said that for someone to have a mailbox around the immediate downtown London area we were in (or was it in Chelsea? Regardless—) is.... drumroll... £10,000 PER YEAR. That's $15,000 to have your mail delivered. I cannot wrap my mind around it. 

I was also excited because I saw a Chanel, Tiffany's, and Louis Vuitton on this walk as well. Maybe it's not such a big deal, but we just don't have these stores in Washington State (said with hillbilly accent)! We also walked through a small mall that Princess Diana would do her shopping in sometimes. Sparkles and shiny pretties everywhere. It seems like Princess Diana's death is still a big deal here. I've seen postcards with her on them and then in a previous entry, you can see the memorial that was made for her in Hyde Park. 

To sum it up, I returned back to my dorm drenched and exhausted but with a few morsels of interesting pieces of information I wouldn't have known otherwise. I also felt very American and maybe a little bit proud of it... :]

[September 27] Classes, Primark, & My Old Dutch.

This looks super delicious, right? It had a lot of potential, but the berries were too sour! I don't even know what kind of berries they were—I think some of them were cranberries and some were juniper berries...suspicious! I like my Northwest berries from home, I have to say.

This crepe is from a restaurant right across the street from my dorm called My Old Dutch. I went there on a Monday with a couple of friends because on Monday's, every single one of their crepes is only £5 which is not a bad deal!

In my Bloomsbury Era class last Monday, we discussed 'Mrs. Dalloway' and I gave a short presentation on Virginia Woolf's manic-depressive disorder. I really love Mrs. Dalloway because when I read it, I feel understood.

After class I made another trip to Primark, a super cheap (mostly) clothing store. I bought a shirt, pj pants, underwear, and tights. Nothing exciting, just some essentials so I don't have to do laundry as much, which is $4.50 for every load! Ew. Home at college, I can do a complete load for $1.25.