From the Ghostbus to Fried Mars Bars!

I returned from Scotland yesterday, and fortunately I brought back a lot of new stories and memories! Unfortunately, my camera still won't transfer everything that I want it to. Oh, well. Anyway, I'm just going to post a brief recap of my trips to Ireland and Scotland.

Dublin, Ireland:

I flew to Dublin early last Thursday...VERY early. As in, I went to Luton Airport late Wednesday night and had to stay the night in the airport. My flight arrived at Dublin Airport around eight in the morning, but the hostel check-in time wasn't until two in the afternoon. You do the math. Needess to say, I got a lot of reading done waiting in a nearby cafe. I didn't get a lot accomplished in the first day, since I was trying to catch up on sleep. Plus, as embarrassing as it is to admit, I had no idea where the hostel was in the city. I was afraid of wandering too far away and not being able to find it again.

Jenn's plane got in on Friday afternoon, and that's when the real vacation started. We checked in at a different hostel and this time, I made sure to find out where it was on the map. We didn't have much time left in the day, so we mostly wandered around O'Connell Street, looking around the souvenir shops and picking up dinner.

On Saturday, we took a free walking tour of Dublin, where the tour guide explained the history of the Vikings, Celts, and Normans. The tour took two hours, and luckily the rain held off long enough for us to get safely inside. We were able to explore Grafton Street for a while, which was fascinating due to the street performers and different shops. My personal favorite was a puppetmaster and his wooden puppet. The guy was so gifted that the puppet seemed to be alive...and he was that funny, too! That was probably one of my favorite parts of the trip; that or the tour I took that night. We bought tickets to Dublin's Ghostbus Tour...Amazing! The guide was hilarious, and the tour took us to a cemetary and the Forty Steps, which is supposed to be one of the most haunted places in Ireland. I can't honestly say that I saw any ghosts or spirits, or even that I believe in them any more than I did before. But the tour was fun regardless.

Our flights left Sunday night, which still left enough time for one last adventure. We ended up--where else?-- at the Dublin's Writer's Museum. I mean, come on! Jonathon Swift, Oscar Wilde...what literary enthusiast could resist? I certainly couldn't.

Looking back on this trip, I can't say that Jenn and I did that much in terms of events or activities. Rather, we just enjoyed being in Dublin, seeing the sights, and relaxing rather than running all over the place trying to do everything at once. I certainly got a lot of pictures anyway!

Edinburgh, Scotland:

I took this trip with four friends from the Kingston Study Abroad program, and it was just as fun, though in a different way. We took a taxi to catch the early flight this time, so at least there was no staying the night in the airport. I don't know if I could've handled that a second time!

We flew out on Tuesday morning and returned Thursday evening. In that time, we took a walking tour of Edinburgh (free, of course), visited the Palace and Edinburgh Castles, and went to the Edinburgh Dungeons. Just like the Ireland trip, this was pretty "chill." We even made a habit of taking a nap--our siesta--in the middle of the day. Although the first day, we definitely went a little overboard in the nap department. The scenery was gorgeous; there was nothing better than walking down the Royal Mile in Edinburgh and hearing the slight sounds of bagpipe music (I'm not kidding about the bagpipes; performers were everywhere!) I even tried haggis, which, if you don't know what it is...well, it's probably better if you remain ignorant. It didn't taste bad, though. The flavor and spice was good, even if the texture was somewhat weird. Another Scottish delicacy I tried was...a deep fried Snickers bar. I know, it sounds like a heart attack waiting to happen, and it looked disgusting. But it was delicious! I could've easily eaten another one, it tasted so good! Speaking of which...in Scotland, they deep-fry everything! Pizza, Mars Bars, Snickers, pickles, even cheeseburgers! And I thought I was adventurous by trying the Snickers bar!

Edinburgh is also a big place for Harry Potter fans, since J.K. Rowling got much of her inspiration from the city. Hogwarts is there, as is the inspiration for names she used, such as Tom Riddle and Minerva McGonagall. Just a couple fun facts, I guess. I was also interested to visit the Elephant House Cafe, which was where the writer first penned Harry Potter and the Sorceror's Stone. J.K. Rowling isn't the only literary figure from the Edinburgh area, nor the most significant. Sarah and I went to the Edinburgh Writer's Museum, where we explored exhibits about Robert Louis Stevenson and Sir Walter Scott. Sir Walter Scott is especially renowned in Scotland, as he helped to bring the kilt back into the culture. Who knew?

We returned late last night after spending a pretty relaxing last day exploring the shops and taking pictures of everything. Needless to say, though, we were pretty exhausted when we got back, especially since we missed out on our siesta yesterday! :(

And I know I've neglected Edinburgh a little when you compare this account with the one I've written about Dublin. But I hope you'll forgive me! My time's running short, figuratively and literally! Not only do I have to meet a friend for dinner, but I only have ten days left to spend in England! So expect to see the return of the countdown!