Our trip to Dublin was amazing. I think I have a new favorite country. The people in Ireland were so friendly and laid back, making it a really enjoyable experience navigating the tiny city of Dublin. I just wish we could have stayed longer and had a chance to go out into the countryside. While we were there we toured the Guinness Factory, Christ Church Cathedral, and did an open air bus tour, which allowed us to see all the major city landmarks. We also did an organized pub crawl through Temple bar, which allowed us to meet a lot of fun people from all over the world.
Our Hotel!
Elizabeth, Corey, Myself, Liz, Carolyn and Kristen at the Guinness Factory
Christ Church Cathedral
Dublin Castle
Christ Church Again
Myself and Corey on the pub crawl
On Monday we yet again didn’t have a play, because our play was on Tuesday instead. We got to see Andrew Lloyd Webber’s new production of The Wizard of Oz. I really enjoyed it. It was definitely a feel good play, there were tons of kids and more colorful costumes and sets than I could even count. I presented a report on the play on Wednesday to our class, which was uneventful as I was the sixth person in my class that day to talk about the play. I had very little to talk about when it was my turn as everyone had already covered most of the material.
On Thursday we went to Crystal Palace, the site of the Crystal Palace, which burned down in the 20s. It is now just a large field but was once a huge museum type exhibition. It was cool to imagine what it was like when the Palace was still there.
Friday morning we got up at the crack of dawn in order to pack and make our way to Kings Cross to catch a train to Durham. After a three hour train ride up north we arrived in Durham (well most of us, a few kids didn’t get off the train at the right stop and had to switch trains to come back when they got to Newcastle). We checked into our hotel, grabbed lunch and went on a tour of Durham Cathedral. The Cathedral is incredibly impressive. The sheer size of the building is overwhelming. The Cathedral holds the remains of St. Cuthburt, The Venerable Bede and King Oswald. The coolest thing for me was seeing the tomb of the Venerable Bede. The Venerable Bede wrote the first history of Britain, The Ecclesiastical History of Britain.
Gates to Durham
Durham Castle
Durham Castle
Doors inside the Castle
Durham Cathedral
The Dining Hall in the Castle
On Friday we ate breakfast in Durham castle before getting on a bus and heading to Hadrian’s Wall. We had 2 hours to explore one of the old Roman forts along the wall and to hike around the wall. The views were incredible and there were sheep everywhere. We had a lot of fun wandering around and hiking up some hills and ruins. There were a lot of sheep to chase, so we got a good work out. Our tour guide’s 3 year old son was with us, wearing a Roman helmet and carrying a wooden sword. I purchased my own sword at the gift shop and spent the day having some battles with him. He successfully won our battles 22 times, but I’m planning a come back. We all were exhausted after running around for a few hours so we all slept for the two hour bus ride and the following three hour train ride. When we got back we all basically headed straight to bed.
My corner on the bus made me look like a 5 year old
Emily and I conquering some ruins
My arch rival, Roman Warrior Sean
Hadrian's Wall and fort
My parents arrived in London yesterday morning! I met them at Heathrow at 10 am when they landed and then headed back to their hotel with them where we dropped off their bags and had lunch. I headed home so they could nap then John and I met them for dinner. We had a delicious steak dinner. It was great to have real delicious food after months of my own mediocre cooking.
Today I won’t really get to see my parents, as we have class, a walking tour and then a play. I won’t be done until around 10 tonight. Tomorrow I will be going to tea with them and on Wednesday we are going to drive out of the city to see Hampton Court Palace, Henry VIII’s home. I’m very excited that they are here, even though it is making me realize how close I am to going home!