Off to Ireland

        Today was the halfway mark of our time here and the first day of our free days.  Kacey, Laura, and I woke up at 4:30AM so we could catch a bus to Victoria station, then take Easybus to Stansted, and then fly to Dublin.  While it was a bit of a process, it ran smoothly and I slept most of the way.  The flight was only 45 minutes and as usual, Ryanair landed on time.  We then made an ATM stop, grabbed a smoothie for breakfast, and caught a local bus into town.  We jumped off the bus and wandered to our hotel in the POURING rain.  The good news was that it wasn’t cold and we were able to check –in to our hotel early even though it was only 11AM.  We decided to take a little power nap for about an hour and then headed out to explore Dublin.  While walking down O’Connell Street we stopped at the best donut stand.  The donuts were made right in front of you and topped with sugar…so good.  Our first tourist stop was Dublin Castle.  While waiting for our tour to start we went to the Beatty Library near the castle and the Revenue Museum in part of the castle.  We then went on a guided tour of the castle.  Today the castle is used as a government building, but we got to see the State Rooms and also the undergrounds of the castle.  It was funny because there were 4 missionaries on our tour and they were surprised that we knew who they were.  After our tour we headed to Christ’s Church Cathedral to attend Evensong (Yes this was for an assignment, not just for fun).  However, there was no sign of Evensong or even a way of getting into the church.  From there we wandered Temple Bar.  This is a really fun area in Dublin full of pubs and music.  For dinner we ate at Bad Ass Café.  The three of us shared French Onion Soup, a Chicken Caesar Salad, and a Margareta Pizza.  After dinner we stopped for Gelato and walked around the city.  We finished the night by going back to the hotel and watching P.S. I Love You in preparation for tomorrow.  

Dublin Castle

Under Dublin Castle

Best Donuts

Chopping

Christ's Church Cathedral

Temple Bar

Hear No Evil, See No Evil, Speak No Evil

Down House

       First off and most importantly…HappyBirthday Jingle.  I can’t believe my little pooch is 11.  Wish he could be here with me to go for a stroll in the park.

A Competitive Duo at Strut Your Mutt

        Today was a busy day.  This morning for Biology we headed out to Down House, the residence Charles Darwin.  It took about an hour to get to and was freezing cold, but totally worth it.  While the scientific part of it was interesting considering we are studying evolution, it was the actual house I liked most.  As it turns out, Darwin comes from the Wedgewood family (as in Wedgewood China) and he married his first cousin Emma who is also a Wedgewood.  Needless to say, Darwin was not a starving scientist and his house proved it.  A father to 10 children, Darwin’s house and garden was large enough to accommodate the entire clan and was very charming.  After Down House we headed back to central London so we could all get ready for our 4-day break.  Laura, Kacey, and I went and got some food to take to Ireland.  We also picked up some delicious Tomato Basil and Balsamic soup to warm us up.  I then came home and took a much needed nap, did some homework, ate dinner, packed, and finally went to bed around 2AM.  Oh yeah…while I was attempting to fall asleep I was kept up a little nibble and crumble sound.  As I soon discovered, Snyder left her bag open and on the floor with our Marks & Spencer cookies inside and a little mouse decided to snack on them.  Not knowing what to do, I jumped out of bed, kicked the bag, and went back to bed without another sound.  Good one Snyder.  

Outside Down House

For Dad!  Saw this when we were going to Down House and thought of you.  

A Monday Full of Midterms

     Today was a crazy school day and I’m so happy it’s finally over.  I woke up at about 7:30 AM so I could study before eating breakfast at 8 AM and then study more until my Humanities 202 class at 9AM.  My test went pretty well.  I knew all of the art and did felt like I wrote a good essay, but I will have to see how well I did on the fill in the blank questions.  Normally we have religion class immediately after 202, but considering that some girls had 3 midterms today, Schruler was nice and said he would hold a second class in the afternoon so we could use the morning time to study.  Abby, Megan, and I studied together for Humanities 440, but we pretty fried by this point and seemed to find everything and anything funny.  Soper happened to pass us while we were studying and gave us some “possible” essay questions that could appear on the test.  Turns out both of his options were on the test so I was happy to be prepared for them.  My 440 test seemed easier and I was just happy to be all done.  After our test, Abby and I went on a run in Hyde Park so that we could get some fresh air and get out of the center.  We then went to religion, which actually wasn’t too bad.  For dinner we had really weird curry pasta stuff that wasn’t that good.  Curry seems to be the seasoning of choice here in London, but I always alter the taste with my balsamic vinegar.  After dinner we had a guest speaker (the same old guy that took us on out country walk) who came and talked to us about living in London during World War II.  It was really interesting to hear about what he experienced including everything from rationed food to blackouts to climbing into their family shelter while bombs were being dropped.  This event was followed by molasses cookies compliments on Jaelyn.  We then tried to figure out our trip to Holland/Belgium with the Evans, but ran into a few complications.  However, we did book our night bus tickets to Scotland, which I’m stoked about.  As usual, the night ended in the servery having popcorn and DC with Annie, Abby, Kacey, and Laura.  However, best part of the last 24 hours was finding out that the parentals meeting me in Paris for my birthday.  I’m so excited and can’t wait to see them!

Churchill Museum/War Rooms/Studying

            I have three midterms next week before leaving for Ireland.  Therefore, most of the weekend has consisted of studying.  Thursday I was in class all day.  And since we had class, it was of course a gorgeous day.  However, Abby, Kacey, and I did manage to go on a 5-mile run between classes. 

            On Friday we went to the Cabinet War Rooms and Churchill Museum.  My family and I did this when we were here about 7 years ago, but it was even better this time around.  It was really interesting to be learning about more modern day history.  After the museum I decided I could use some alone time (something I don’t get much of here) and so I wandered through Covent Garden, Leicester Square, and then back to the Center.  While I was out I saw so many school kids and they were all in the cutest uniforms.  I then went back to the Center and attempted to find housing for next semester.  Abby and I called some guy named Randy about a house that is for rent, but then realized he wasn’t answering because it was only 6AM at home.  Hopefully he could understand my message even though I was laughing during the whole thing.  Abby and I then went on another long run and then came home and started studying for our tests.  We stayed up until about 1:30AM sitting down in the kitchen and talking with a big group/Jaelyn. 

            This morning I slept in until about 10AM.  I then did a little homework slash made some Ireland plans.  Kacey, Abby, and I decided to go Borough Market again to get some fresh fruit.  It was just as fun as the week before, plus we knew exactly which samples to get.  While we were there we saw the guy that played Marius in Les Miserables from earlier in the week.  We then came home and had a study group, ate some dinner, and did more homework/studying.  I have 60 different paintings to memorize along with the artist, title, and era.  However, it actually hasn’t been as bad as I expected it to be.  But enough blogging and back to the homework.  

Outside the War Rooms

Sir Winston Churchill

This was in the Churchill Museum and I couldn't help but take this picture for my Mom.

Stonehenge, Stourhead, and Bath

     Today was yet another gorgeous fall day (I seriously don’t know how we have been so lucky with the weather) and one of my favorites thus far.  Abby and I woke up at the crack of dawn (5:35AM) and went running before breakfast.  We then pack our lunches and loaded the coach by 7:30AM.  We all took nice naps on the coach and arrived to Stonehenge around 10AM.  It was barely sprinkling when we got there, but by the time we walked up to the stones, the sun was out and it was beautiful.  Stonehenge was so cool, but nothing like I expected it to be.  First off was the location.  I imagined it to be off the road and somewhat remote.  Turns out it is literally on the side of the road.  We were just driving along a regular highway, and then there is was right outside the window.  The second thing that surprised me was the size.  The stones are large, but the formation together is much smaller than I had imagined.  It really is amazing to look at the location of the stones and wonder how and why they were brought there. 

 

Stonehenge

"Rock On"

(no pun intended)

STOURHEAD  

 After Stonehenge we headed to Stourhead.  Stourhead is an English estate known for its gardens and architecture.  The inspirations behind the creation of the gardens were painters Claude Lorrain, Poussin, and Dughet.  Knowing this explains how the gardens came to look so exquisite.  On a hill overlooking the gardens is the Temple of Apollo, which is where Mr. Darcy first proposes to Kiera Knightly in the pouring rain.  We walked around the entire perimeter of the gardens and explored the beautiful grounds.  The temperature was perfect and I couldn’t help but taking loads of pictures.  This is my new favorite place we have visited.  

In the cave

On the Bridge

     BATH

     After spending a few hours at Stourhead, we headed to Bath.  Upon arrival we met outside the Roman Baths and toured through on our own.  We were each given an audio guide, which made the experience much more educational.  It was amazing to think about all of the people who have bathed in the baths and their purposes in doing it.  My favorite bath was probably the “Sacred Bath” which is a natural hot spring or the main bath in the middle of the complex.  After the baths, we walked around bath, walked around Bath Abby, had some homemade fudge, and sketched in the main square.  We then loaded our coach at 5PM, but didn’t get home until about 8:30PM.  Overall, it was a really fun and interesting day.  

Aside the main bath

Middle of the Baths and Bath Abbey

Tuesday Tea

     Today was a beautiful day here in London, blue skies and about 55 degrees.  My day started as a typical Tuesday with Biology, a run with Abby and Kacey, and then a shower.  Since it was such a nice day, Kacey, Abby, Laura, Annie, Nicole, Kristen, and I decided to go for tea at the Orangery in Kensington Gardens.  We all tried something different, but I had cinnamon tea and a lemon cupcake.  Both were delicious.  This little outing was so relaxing and felt very British.  We then walked through the park and headed back to the center.  A big group of us (Abby, Kacey, Laura, Annie, Lauren, Mandi, Courtney, and I) ate our dinner (yummy Greek food) quickly and then headed to the Les Miserables Box office.  We were excited because we got amazing seats and for the student price.  We had to divide into pairs so I sat with Abby and our seats were on the first row of the first balcony.  Prime!  Les Miserables was amazing and I’m so glad we went.   

Afternoon Tea

Outside the Orangery

On the "Keep off the Grass" lawn

Walking in Hyde Park

Les Miserables

Represent!

Front Row Tickets