My Irish Weekend

This past weekend has been the absolute craziest of my life, and mostly in a good way! 
I went to Dublin and then saw the Breaking Dawn Part 2 movie premiere. 

My friend Tonya and I left for Dublin late on Friday night and arrived there about midnight in the Dublin Airport. I had the unfortunate experience in which my eardrum popped while the plane was descending. Let me tell you, that is NOT pleasant. 

We arrived at our hostel, Abraham House, fairly easily. It's just a short walk from O'Connell Street. Even though it was late, Tonya and I decided we wanted to go out and see the city. We found a late night rock bar and each had a beer while listening to the 80s hair metal blare from the overhead speakers. It was such a nice little pub actually, I wish I could remember the name of it.

Our stay in the hostel was pleasant. It was my first experience in a hostel, but it was tidy and the staff was friendly. The next morning we went down for breakfast which was cereal and toast, my typical breakfast. Then we decided to spend the day shopping. The first mall we went to, The Irish life Shopping Mall, had only one store. Everything else seemed to have gone out of business. This might possibly be because of the number of Penney's and Carrolls around town. This is where Tonya and I bought all of our souveniers. Carrolls is an irish souvenier shop, and Penny's is Dublin's Primark. We did pretty well shopping-wise.

Trinity College Campus

The next day we we visited St. Patrick's Cathedral. We had to wait about 30 minutes to get into the cathedral, and then it was quite small. After seeing Westminster Abbey and St. Paul's Cathedral, St. Patrick's seemed a bit dull. Next we went to tour Dublin castle, only to discover it wasn't much of a castle, and the only tour was for the state apartments, which we chose not to tour. Next, we made our way to Trinity College, which was very pretty. The best part of Trinity College though was seeing the Book of Kells. Unfortunately, we couldn't take pictures of this amazing exhibit.

On Monday, we toured the Guinness Storehouse and the Old Jameson Distillery. This was the best day by far. We had our first taste of Guiness and I had a Jameson and Ginger, which I'd been craving for some time. It was really cool to see how each beer and whiskey is made for its special flavor. The tours were really well put together and entertaining as well.

Each night, Tonya and I went out for drinks as well. We both love ciders so we discovered Bulmers, a delicious Irish cider. We had to make our way to the Temple Bar, a famed tourist location. The bar was SO packed. We could hardly move through the crowd and the drinks were quite pricey. At least I can say I've been there! The best pub was Madigans, where Tonya and I tried traditional lamb stew. It was SO good. Possibly the best meal of life. seriously. I had it with a pint of Smithwick's as well. Amazing.

My free Guinness Sample!

I really enjoyed Dublin, but at the same time I missed Kingston a lot while I was there. The flight home was much smoother, but as soon as I arrived home I had to unpack and repack my bag for an overnight stay in Leicester Square. The final Twilight film, Breaking Dawn part 2, premiered there, so my friend Kelly and I camped out on the concrete with about 1,000 Twilight fans to watch the celebraties walk the red carpet. I will post about that soon!!

Bittersweet

Sorry to post another blog post immediately after my previous one, but I am SO far behind on my blogging. I hope you will still read both and not get too bored.

Beautiful moustache

After our shenanigans at the Hippodrome in Kingston, Kristi and I had to rush to meet our parents at the London Zoo the next morning. It wasn't peak season for the animals and it was quite cold at the zoo. Therefore, it wasn't the best zoo experience I've had BUT it did have the best seahorses I have ever seen. They were moving about and nicely visible. Often, the seahorses are hidden behind bright lights, jets of bubbles, or tall grasses. I was fascinated by the amazing sea creatures! The next greatest thing at the zoo was a monkey with the best grown mustache I think I've ever seen. It was seriously impressive.

After the zoo, my family and I browsed Camden Market. The booths were small and a lot carried the same items, but it was cool to be at a market and experience the bartering they do there. Camden Town was unbelievably crowded that day. We actually had to queue about twenty minutes just to get back on the tube!!

Kristi getting a tour of my house. And not wanting to leave again.

The last day my family was visiting I decided to take them all to Kingston to see where I've been living the past few months. We had to wait nearly an hour for a bus to my house which was a major disappointment when I wanted to show my parents the best time in my current home. We finally made it to Cosy Cottage, where I am staying and I gave them a quick tour before we headed back into town for a bit of shopping at the Bentall Centre. I showed my sister my favorite shops, but mostly my family was all shopped out. We went for dinner at the Kings Tun because I just had to show my family my favorite pub. The Kings Tun has good-priced food and drinks and I always have a good time there. We all had drinks, and sat in the pub for a good hour before ordering food. My friends Cat and Matt showed up at the 'Tun' to join us for a late dinner and dessert. 

My parents went back to the hotel to sleep before their early flight, but Kristi stayed back with me for a short bit so we could hang out with Cat and Matt as a little 'going away' event. We watched a movie at my place and had a chill night before Kristi took an eight hour flight back to Michigan.

It was so great to spend my Enrichment Week with my family! I was sad to see them go, but I knew in six short weeks I would be home for Christmas and I would get to see them all again. 

Castles to Cruises to Cheese

For the fifth and sixth days of my half-term break. My family and I visited Windsor Castle, took a River City Cruise on the Thames River, and toured Tower Bridge.

Ready to explore the castle!

On November first, we visited Windsor Castle. Finding our way to Windsor was a mighty

challenge. Ironically, it was quite close. The castle was actually so much larger than I expected it to be. I know it was a castle, but they really are so much bigger outside fairytale books. Besides being a bit chilly, we had beautiful weather that day and  were able to capture some really awesome pictures. The Castle was the most unique experience. We walked on the cobblestone paths and into the state apartments which are the intricately designed yet incredibly grand rooms such as the King and Queens reception rooms, and the dinning room. They were so ornate and beautiful. We even saw the dolls house, an enormous dolls house complete with a jewels room (made with real miniature jewels). We arrived home early after the castle, but the family and I really needed it. It was already a long week!

On the next day of half term, we went on a River City Cruise and toured Tower Bridge. My friend Matt met up with my family and I in Central London that day. The river cruise was nice. We went early and had the afternoon sun on us during the thirty-minute ride. We were able to get unobstructed views of a lot of the major architectures of London, and we even had a speaker guide us through the history and significance of many of the landmarks. The boat dropped us very near to the tower bridge entrance, so we went up and toured the beautiful bridge that day as well. Kristi, Matt, and I decided to take the stairs instead of the lift and it was a great workout getting to the top of the bridge. The bridge exhibition showed a lot of photographs of famous bridges. This was cool for a few photographs, but it got boring pretty quickly actually. The best part of this was the view. It was slightly obstructed by the beams of the bridge structure, but, if angled correctly, we could get some nice panoramic pictures of Central London. My favorite part of the tower bridge exhibition was seeing the steam engine at the end of the tour. I can't recall ever seeing a steam engine as large as that (to lift the drawbridge).

Matt, Kristi, My dad, and I happy to go on a cruise! A river cruise anyway.

The view of Tower Bridge from the Thames

After we did our bit of touristing in Central London, Kristi, Matt and I went back to Kingston so I could take me sister out and show her a bit of how I spend my weekends in Kingston. We went to the club Hippodrome. It was Big Cheese night, which means the DJ plays a lot of classic favorites and he even takes requests. My sister and I jammed to Barbie Girl, The Spice Girls, McFly, and a lot more great music.  

Busy, Busy, Busy

Half-term Day 4:

On top of St. Paul's Cathedral

On the fourth day of Half term (October 31st) my family and I had tickets to tour Leavesden Studios, where pieces of the Harry Potter films were shot. Our tour wasn't until late, so we decided to tour St. Pauls Cathedral first. 

St. Pauls was stunning! The cathedral was very open and bright (due to crystal windows rather than stained glass ones). We had a tour guide show us around the cathedral and he did a very good job with his audience. Our guide showed us the different chapels and memorial statues. I liked best the choir chamber with the organ. A stained glass window was opposite the large organ and it was quite beautiful. Next our guide took us to the crypts and showed us the graves of famous architects, writers, painters, etc. The crypts were cool, but it was so hot down there I got sleepy. I almost didn't want to climb the stairs to the whispering gallery, but my parents convinced me to do so. I climbed over 200 steps to the whispering gallery, the first balcony on the huge cathedral dome. It was so cool to see the dome's paintings up close and to look down at the people in the chapel. I wanted to go even higher!! My sister and I climbed to the next balcony outside and got some good views, but the railing was so high, it was really poor for photos. We then climbed up the narrow stairs and had to duck and squeeze ourselves into small passageways going up to the topmost balcony of the dome. It was really windy, but the view was spectacular and we were able to get some really great shots. After walking back down all those stairs, I thought I would be sore and tired, but I really felt great! I would certainly do that again. 

A Magnificent view!

After St. Paul's Cathedral, we made our way to Leavesden Studios It took us over an hour to get to the studios and it was dark by the time we arrived. We started out in the gift shop awaiting our tour, but I was itching to get started, so we snuck in with an earlier group. The Harry Potter Studios was amazing! We toured the great hall first and made our way out to view the different sets. We saw the wigs and costumes of the characters along with different sets such as Hagrid's Hut, the potions room, Umbridge's office (VERY pink), and my favorite - the burrow, where we could even control things around the house electronically. Next we made our way outdoors and saw the Knight bus, Weasley's flying car, and the Dursley's house. We even got to try some butterbeer, which I LOVED! Too bad its not widely sold. Next we went into the creature room, and this was my favorite room of all. This room displayed all the heads and animatronics used for the different creatures used in the films. The giant Aragog was hanging from the ceiling and I saw the basilisk skeleton as well. I especially liked seeing Buckbeak, the hippogriff. The animatronics were going as well, so I got to see him move! Another fascinating thing was the werewolf which Lupin turned into. It was originally designed as a pack strapped on to the actors back and the wolf head hovering overhead. The boots designed as the wolves feet were extremely angled and looked uncomfortable. I find this behind-the-scenes stuff fascinating!!

The Burrow

Kristi and I in Weasley's flying car

And  now, since were going on about how busy I've been. This past Tuesday night (November 6th) I went to see the musical Wicked. I had only an inkling what the musical was about, so I made sure I had no expectations going in to see  it. I'm SO glad I did see it though. It was the most amazing performance I've ever witnessed. The singing and acting was great. And the musical itself was brilliant. I hope everyone gets a chance to see this at some point. Its funny and heart-breaking at the same time. Such a great musical! 

Shop 'Til You Drop

Half Term: Day 3

On the third day of half term I decided to take my family shopping. I knew my dad wouldn't be terribly interested in shopping, but I just had to show my mom and especially my sister some of the really great shops in London. We shopped up and down Oxford streeet, a bit on Regent street, and then we made our way to Harrods. First, Kristi and I spend two full hours shopping in Primark. The recently opened location on Oxford street is much larger and much more organized than the Primark in Kingston. On Regent street we visited Hamley's, the large toy store. By large I mean it had five levels, actually make that six, there was a lower ground floor too! The crowds in Hamley's were so thick all I could do to get from one place to the next was shuffle my feet. I think I stepped on a lot of heels, but that's the nature of Christmas shopping in London!! After Hamley's, my family and I hopped the tube over to Knightsbridge to shop at Harrods. Harrods is a 7 level store. I don't really know how to describe it well other than the word 'fancy'. Harrods sells incredibly nice things. It's a great place to find gifts for people too. My mom and I spent a large quantity of time looking at the crystal and china. It was a long day and all of our feet were hurting and our arms were full of shopping bags on the tube ride home. The small hotel room actually seemed very welcoming that night. Kristi and I had the chance to relax at the bar before heading to bed. A friend came to visit us at the hotel, so I enjoyed a Strongbow cider - my favorite, and Kristi had a Smirnoff Ice. 

Abbey's and Dungeons

Day 2 of Half Term:

The family and I ready for another day in Central London

My family and I woke up a bit later than anticipated. Well, it was around 8:00, but we had a lot planned for the day, so it was a late start for us. It was good for my family to get some real sleep though after their long flight. We went down for a continental breakfast, and there were so many options of food. It had been a while since I'd had a proper breakfast, so I especially appreciated the break from cereal and toast. Sausages and eggs were available every morning, and I enjoyed the cooked food as much as I could.

After breakfast, we took the long trek to Central London to tour Westminster Abbey and the Tower of London. First we went to Westminster Abbey. We waited about a half hour to get inside, but it was breath-taking upon first entering. We were given audio guides and I was elated when I heard Jeremy Irons as our tour guide. I thought that was really great! The audio guides were incredibly helpful as well. Each area of the Abbey had a numbered marker that related to our audio guides and would play the correct track. There was so much information in the audio guide. It was nice to have a history to all the beautiful architecture we were seeing. The abbey was so beautiful and so full of history, I recommend a tour to anyone who is visiting London. I wasn't allowed to take pictures, so this really is something you ought to do if you can. There is nothing like it!

Looking on the lawn at Westminster Abbey

overlooking the Tower of London

After touring Westminster Abbey, we decided to tour the Tower of London. We spent nearly three hours touring the tower, and we didn't even see it all! It is huge! The place is a wonderful maze of old stone, staircases, towers, dungeons, and even jewels. I had so much fun on this tour. It started to get dark, so we had to call it a night, but not before we visited the crown jewels. The room is kept dark and the jewels on display are under lights which really help them sparkle! It was really stunning to see the crowns and scepters on display like they were. Again, no pictures allowed, so this is something every person has to go see for himself. My family and I visited the crown jewels shop before leaving where anyone could buy minuscule replicas of the crown jewels, but even the tiny ones are quite pricey. I ended up buying myself  a decorative teapot with a cup and saucer! By the time we left the tower, it was quite dark, so we picked a place nearby to eat before heading home. 

The Tower of London

We were all still tired, but Kristi (my twin sister) and I chose to meet up with some friends to watch the latest Bond movie, Skyfall. The film was amazing! It was the first James Bond film I've seen, but it seemed fitting to watch it in England, especially after I just recently visited many of the recognizable sites in the film. It was a good night out with good people, and the end of a really fantastic day. 

Half Term

In my last post I mentioned that this week would be half term, and all the students are granted a reading week to study, which is mostly just used to travel. So, for the past eight days I was in Central London with my mom, dad, and twin sister. I still can't believe my family came to London! It seems so unreal that I got to see them during my semester abroad. I find myself incredibly lucky. 

Unfortunately, the hotel we stayed in did not have free wifi, so I haven't been able to share all of the things we've been up to. I'll do so in a series of posts this week because there is just so much to say about this past week in one post today.

Day 1: Sunday, October 28

Taking the 'tube' into London

I woke up early from a near sleepless night. I was so excited to greet my family at the airport! I hopped on the X26 bus to Heathrow with my backpack packed for staying at the hotel with my family. The bus ride was longer than I expected, so I was getting nervous. Well, more nervous than I already was. finally, when I arrived at Heathrow airport, I jumped off the bus and headed to... wait... I didn't know where to go. I asked a worker where to find my family's Delta flight and he directed me to terminal 5, but I was in terminal 1. After much confusion, and a lot of backtracking, I got to the correct terminal about thirty minutes before my family arrived. I stood there waiting with a giant grin! I was prepared to see them by wearing my bright red sweater so I would be the first person they see after walking into the terminal. Except, just as I settled myself outside the arrivals door, a large group of teenage girls walked through... all in bright red hoodies. Uh oh! Now my family had nearly 40 red sweaters to look at! I watched intently for them to come through, but never saw them walk out after their plane had landed. Finally, I see my sister running towards me past the group of red-sweatered girls. At least they found me! I rushed to hug my sister and walked back to my parents. We hugged and said hello, but we all really wanted to get to the hotel. 

Unfortunately, we couldn't check into the hotel for a few hours, so we decided to leave our luggage and head into the big city - Central London. It took us about 45 minutes to an hour to get to Westminster tube station, and I think my dad may have fallen asleep on the tube at one point. I tried to stay upbeat while my sleepy family got to look at all the things they've only seen in pictures and postcards. I took them to see Big Ben and the houses of Parliament, then we walked through Leicester Square to Covent Garden where we saw a large number of brilliant street-performers. After Covent Garden we went to Kings Cross, so they could get their pictures with Platform 9 and 3/4. It was dark by this time so we searched for a place to eat, but the best we could find was a Subway. After arriving at the hotel late that night, my family and I crashed. It was a much needed sleep. 

Street performer in Covent Garden

Also, today is Guy Fawkes or Bonfire night. I'm hoping to see some fireworks or a bonfire tonight!! I'm not used to seeing fireworks in November, but I've seen a few private displays this week already and I've been just loving it! And really good fireworks are sold here.