Do you know what one of the best mixes between fun and stress is? I can answer that. It is a 10 day trip around the British Isles with five other college students. You read that right, my housemates and I just got back from a whirlwind adventure. We were on a break between courses and decided to travel around Scotland, Northern Ireland, and Ireland. It is by far one of the best adventures I have had, and as a result of this I am not quite sure that I know how to write this post. If I detailed every part of our travels this post would be excessively long, so I decided that I'll describe my favorite parts of each city and highlight a few pictures that I think sum up the trip the best.
Our journey began with a 6:30 am bus ride to London, rush hour Tube traffic, and a train to Edinburgh. After three days in Edinburgh we went to Glasgow for two days. From there it was two days in Belfast, finishing with two days in Dublin. I am exhausted and so grateful for the opportunity offered by this program. I never could have imagined that this is how I would spend the second part of my Junior year of college.
Edinburgh: Let me begin by saying that Edinburgh is amazing! Our hostel was directly on Royal Mile so we were able to access all of the activities we planned incredibly easily. The first full day we were in Edinburgh we toured Mary King's Close, a tour of a 17th century neighborhood that is now underground. The close is virtually untouched and is unique in the fact that it was named after a woman. We continued our historical exploration with a tour of Edinburgh Castle. The castle offers an amazing view of Edinburgh and highlights some of my favorite parts of British history (for my long time readers you'll be happy to know we'll be getting to Mary, Queen of Scots soon). We saw St. Margaret's Chapel, the oldest building still standing in Edinburgh, and the royal jewels of Scotland. That's right, I saw the scepter and crown used at Mary, Queen of Scots's coronation! We also went on a Harry Potter walking tour that traced the sights in Edinburgh that inspired JK Rowling. We ended our first day with another ghost tour. It was pretty historical, but there were some jump scares I did not appreciate.
Our second day started with a visit to the Palace of Holyroodhouse, the Queen's official residence in Scotland. It is absolutely gorgeous, and the best part is that it displays Mary, Queen of Scots, chambers. For someone that has read all about her, this was incredible. The palace shares its grounds with the ruins of Holyrood Abbey. The juxtaposition of a fully functional palace with the ruins was quite striking. The next stop was Scottish Parliament-that's right I am still forcing my housemates to experience government with me. You'll see that we visited quite a few governmental institutions. After a quick lunch we went to the National Museum of Scotland. It was a great museum, one of the highlights was seeing Dolly the sheep. We returned to the hostel early so we could get a good night's sleep before Glasgow.
Glasgow: Our first mission in Glasgow was reuniting with housemates that had done a different start to the trip that most of us. After catching up on three days of adventures we went over to the Gallery of Modern Art (I'm not a huge fan of modern art, but it was pretty cool). Our second stop in Glasgow was The Lighthouse, famous for its views of the city. The most exciting part was that I got to see my friend Aubrey! We work at summer camp together and have spent the last two summers together. Getting to see her was honestly one of the best parts of the trip. She showed us around Glasgow, the guidance of someone who lives in the city is amazing. We saw Glasgow Cathedral which is absolutely beautiful, they were rehearsing the organ while we were there so we were able to sit and enjoy the atmosphere. Our hostel in Glasgow was very plaid, and that really is the only descriptor it needs. We went out to a pub called Waxy O'Connor's which looks exactly like a Harry Potter set, it was really cool.
Our second day in Glasgow was spent outside of the city. We went out to Loch Lomond, about a 45 minute train ride from the city. It was so beautiful out there, I felt like I was inhabiting books I had read as a child. We decided to take a river cruise around the loch (I know it's a misnomer), and because it was a Tuesday in January there was no one else on the boat. It was such a great way to see the area around the loch, the views were unbelievable. Upon our return to Glasgow we wandered around City Center before going to dinner where we met up with Aubrey again. In a crazy twist of fate someone else that works at Four Winds was also at dinner there so we had a second Camp reunion. I love that I can find people around the world that I have something in common with.
Belfast: Getting to Belfast was an adventure. We had to leave the hostel in Glasgow at 4:30 am to make our flight. Needless to say, we were not in the best of moods upon our arrival in the city. We were all a little testy with each other which made navigation around the city less than fun. Belfast is a really interesting place, our first day I didn't really like it and I can't put my finger on why. It was exactly what I expected it to be like, and I still can't figure out if that is good or not. Our only activity the first day was the Ulster Museum. It is one of the better museums we went to on this trip. In addition to many other things, it details the history of Northern Island and has a really amazing art exhibit. After the museum we checked into the hostel. It was by far the worst hostel we stayed in. In the bathrooms, either the toilet flushed or the water worked, but not both. It was an interesting experience, but I would not recommend it as a place to stay.
Our second day in Belfast was much better than the first. First off, it snowed which is guaranteed to make me feel better. We started off the day at the Palm House in the Botanic Gardens (basically a huge greenhouse in the middle of the city). We also went on a free walking tour of the city. It was about two hours and our tour guide was incredible, I really enjoyed his delivery of information. Our last activity in Belfast focused on (you guessed it!) government. We went on a free tour of the City Hall. We were able to tour the city council chambers and several of the ceremonial rooms. Currently the Lord Mayor, Deputy Mayor, and High Sheriff are all women. I really appreciated that fact. We ended our evening at a restaurant called the Thai-tanic (I'm only including this because the pun is too good not to share).
Dublin: Dublin is probably my second favorite of all the place we visited. The bus ride there was beautiful, and the city really met all my expectations. We got a little lost trying to find our hostel, but it all worked out in the end. The hostel was in a converted convent school which was really cool. The breakfast room used to be the chapel and it retains all of the stained glass. Our activity of the day was a tour of Dublin Castle. Don't worry it's about government, its the seat of government for Dublin. The tour was fantastic! We saw the Viking embankment from 930 AD, and the chapel. We also got to see the state apartments and learned that the official color of Ireland is blue, not green. We ended our night at the Castle Gardens, a really beautiful spot.
Our last day in Dublin was lovely! We went on a walking tour of South Dublin that ended up being about 3 1/2 hours. It was really long, but the tour guide was amazing. He wove a story that included both the history of the city and contemporary attitudes towards events and movements. We also went to St. Patrick's Cathedral. This was an important stop for me, my great-grandmother works at St. Patrick's Parish back home and I knew that this stop would mean a lot to her. The Cathedral was absolutely beautiful, and it had the added bonus of Jonathon Swift's tomb and memorabilia. I've studied Swift before so it was pretty great to be able to see things I have read about. Our last stop in Dublin was the Guinness Factory Tour. I didn't particularly want to go, but after all the government I figured I could give my housemates a break. The best part was that my friend Genevieve (who is studying in Austria) was also in Dublin and just happened to be on the same tour as us. It was amazing to see her!
The journey back to Oxford felt like it would never end, but it did and I am now back in classes. This whole experience was absolutely unbelievable and I am so incredibly grateful for the opportunities that have allowed me to be here.
Madeline
Our journey began with a 6:30 am bus ride to London, rush hour Tube traffic, and a train to Edinburgh. After three days in Edinburgh we went to Glasgow for two days. From there it was two days in Belfast, finishing with two days in Dublin. I am exhausted and so grateful for the opportunity offered by this program. I never could have imagined that this is how I would spend the second part of my Junior year of college.
Edinburgh: Let me begin by saying that Edinburgh is amazing! Our hostel was directly on Royal Mile so we were able to access all of the activities we planned incredibly easily. The first full day we were in Edinburgh we toured Mary King's Close, a tour of a 17th century neighborhood that is now underground. The close is virtually untouched and is unique in the fact that it was named after a woman. We continued our historical exploration with a tour of Edinburgh Castle. The castle offers an amazing view of Edinburgh and highlights some of my favorite parts of British history (for my long time readers you'll be happy to know we'll be getting to Mary, Queen of Scots soon). We saw St. Margaret's Chapel, the oldest building still standing in Edinburgh, and the royal jewels of Scotland. That's right, I saw the scepter and crown used at Mary, Queen of Scots's coronation! We also went on a Harry Potter walking tour that traced the sights in Edinburgh that inspired JK Rowling. We ended our first day with another ghost tour. It was pretty historical, but there were some jump scares I did not appreciate.
The group outside Edinburgh Castle (Krista, Rachel, me, and Kaitlyn)
St. Margaret's Chapel
Our second day started with a visit to the Palace of Holyroodhouse, the Queen's official residence in Scotland. It is absolutely gorgeous, and the best part is that it displays Mary, Queen of Scots, chambers. For someone that has read all about her, this was incredible. The palace shares its grounds with the ruins of Holyrood Abbey. The juxtaposition of a fully functional palace with the ruins was quite striking. The next stop was Scottish Parliament-that's right I am still forcing my housemates to experience government with me. You'll see that we visited quite a few governmental institutions. After a quick lunch we went to the National Museum of Scotland. It was a great museum, one of the highlights was seeing Dolly the sheep. We returned to the hostel early so we could get a good night's sleep before Glasgow.
The Palace of Holyroodhouse
Holyrood Abbey
Scottish Parliament
Glasgow Cathedral
Aubrey and I were trying to hide our sadness about being parted.
Our second day in Glasgow was spent outside of the city. We went out to Loch Lomond, about a 45 minute train ride from the city. It was so beautiful out there, I felt like I was inhabiting books I had read as a child. We decided to take a river cruise around the loch (I know it's a misnomer), and because it was a Tuesday in January there was no one else on the boat. It was such a great way to see the area around the loch, the views were unbelievable. Upon our return to Glasgow we wandered around City Center before going to dinner where we met up with Aubrey again. In a crazy twist of fate someone else that works at Four Winds was also at dinner there so we had a second Camp reunion. I love that I can find people around the world that I have something in common with.
My housemate took this picture of me on the river cruise
Loch Lomond
I just really enjoy this photo
Belfast: Getting to Belfast was an adventure. We had to leave the hostel in Glasgow at 4:30 am to make our flight. Needless to say, we were not in the best of moods upon our arrival in the city. We were all a little testy with each other which made navigation around the city less than fun. Belfast is a really interesting place, our first day I didn't really like it and I can't put my finger on why. It was exactly what I expected it to be like, and I still can't figure out if that is good or not. Our only activity the first day was the Ulster Museum. It is one of the better museums we went to on this trip. In addition to many other things, it details the history of Northern Island and has a really amazing art exhibit. After the museum we checked into the hostel. It was by far the worst hostel we stayed in. In the bathrooms, either the toilet flushed or the water worked, but not both. It was an interesting experience, but I would not recommend it as a place to stay.
Our second day in Belfast was much better than the first. First off, it snowed which is guaranteed to make me feel better. We started off the day at the Palm House in the Botanic Gardens (basically a huge greenhouse in the middle of the city). We also went on a free walking tour of the city. It was about two hours and our tour guide was incredible, I really enjoyed his delivery of information. Our last activity in Belfast focused on (you guessed it!) government. We went on a free tour of the City Hall. We were able to tour the city council chambers and several of the ceremonial rooms. Currently the Lord Mayor, Deputy Mayor, and High Sheriff are all women. I really appreciated that fact. We ended our evening at a restaurant called the Thai-tanic (I'm only including this because the pun is too good not to share).
Belfast City Hall
Belfast City Council Chambers
Dublin: Dublin is probably my second favorite of all the place we visited. The bus ride there was beautiful, and the city really met all my expectations. We got a little lost trying to find our hostel, but it all worked out in the end. The hostel was in a converted convent school which was really cool. The breakfast room used to be the chapel and it retains all of the stained glass. Our activity of the day was a tour of Dublin Castle. Don't worry it's about government, its the seat of government for Dublin. The tour was fantastic! We saw the Viking embankment from 930 AD, and the chapel. We also got to see the state apartments and learned that the official color of Ireland is blue, not green. We ended our night at the Castle Gardens, a really beautiful spot.
The chapel at Dublin Castle
Dublin Castle Gardens
Here I am in Dublin Castle Gardens. Can you tell how heavy my backpack is?
Our last day in Dublin was lovely! We went on a walking tour of South Dublin that ended up being about 3 1/2 hours. It was really long, but the tour guide was amazing. He wove a story that included both the history of the city and contemporary attitudes towards events and movements. We also went to St. Patrick's Cathedral. This was an important stop for me, my great-grandmother works at St. Patrick's Parish back home and I knew that this stop would mean a lot to her. The Cathedral was absolutely beautiful, and it had the added bonus of Jonathon Swift's tomb and memorabilia. I've studied Swift before so it was pretty great to be able to see things I have read about. Our last stop in Dublin was the Guinness Factory Tour. I didn't particularly want to go, but after all the government I figured I could give my housemates a break. The best part was that my friend Genevieve (who is studying in Austria) was also in Dublin and just happened to be on the same tour as us. It was amazing to see her!
St. Patrick's Cathedral
The interior of St. Patrick's Cathedral
The group at the end of the Guinness Tour (Kaitlyn, Lisa, Rachel, me, and Krista)
Genevieve and I posing next to my constant companion (my backpack that I named Gerald)
The journey back to Oxford felt like it would never end, but it did and I am now back in classes. This whole experience was absolutely unbelievable and I am so incredibly grateful for the opportunities that have allowed me to be here.
Madeline
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