Dublin

(note: start with London, then Edinburgh, finish with Dublin to keep the posting a bit more coherent) :)

A somewhat stressful flight later (semi-evil RyanAir employees and their strict carry-on policy) we disembarked on the emerald isles in Dublin. We didn't stay long in the capital and were off to explore southern Ireland around the city of Cork. We hopped on a bus, after a leisurely walk through Dublin, for a somewhat draining 4.5 hour journey. We immediately hopped another bus (yes we were getting a little sick of buses at this point) to check out the Blarney castle, home to the Blarney stone, a rock that gives the gift of fine flattery to all who kiss it (Winston Churchill did it, so you know it works), only catch is you have to lean over backwards off the high wall to reach it...luckily kindly Irish gentleman hold on to you in order to prevent any serious falls.


Blarney Castle (stone located on the top level)

After dinner with a fellow hostel dweller (and native of France, which made for another amusing evening of franglais) we made a tiny trip further south to the last port of call for the Titanic (along with an informative exhibit on Irish immigration and the famine) we finally boarded the bus for another 4.5 hour journey through the lovely countryside to arrive back in Dublin where we enjoyed an evening catching up with a few of Kitsy's Irish friends from back home.

The next day dawned bright and clear making for beautiful tourist-y weather, which we made great use of at the Dublin castle, Christ Church, and Trinity College, unfortunately Kitsy was feeling a little ill and had to head back to the hostel before our afternoon tours of some of Dublin staples: Jameson and Guinness


Trinity College

Em, Ash, and myself started out with a tour of the Jameson factory to discover the process of making Irish whiskey. I even had the opportunity to become an official whiskey taste-tester at the end of the tour by comparing Scottish, American, and Irish spirits (I even have a certificate, which of course I plan on framing). In a stroke of genius, the gift-shop is located directly along the path to the exit, so once one is quite warm and happy, spending is not given a second thought (we all picked up a little something)

Next on the list was the guinness tour, a tiring 7 floor climb through the stout brewing process, advertising, and an exhibit celebrating the 250th anniversary of the 9,000 year lease signed by Arthur Guinness back in the early days of the brewery. The climb was well worth it, because at the top was the sky bar with an amazing 360 view of Dublin, and on our particular trip up, a wedding reception was going on as well, making for a festive evening overlooking Dublin.


Jameson factory and Guinness sky bar

Then back to Paris, just in time for round 2 at SciPo.

Thanks to the kind English, Scottish, and Irish peoples for a fabulous trip, my wonderful travel buddies, and of course to you who were praying for safety and fun for our journey! much love
xxoo

Edinburgh

After four hours through lovely green countryside on the eastern coast of the UK with stunning views of the sea, we arrived in the capital city of Scotland, Edinburgh, home to haggis, castles, and the café where JK Rowling penned a great deal of her early works (aka HARRY POTTER, I know, it was a bit of a theme for the first part of our journey)

We checked into our AMAZING hostel right next to the castle in old town. There were fireplaces in the common rooms/lounge areas, hot coffee and tea readily available, and a breathaking view of the castle to the south and the school that inspired Hogwarts to the West (which we could see from the dorm room). Then it was off to enjoy some haggis (sheep intestines with spices) and yorkshire pudding (mashed potatoes and sausage in a pie like bowl), both of which I am sure could give you a heartattack if not consumed in moderation.

The next day was a full one, with a hike up a hill called Arthur's seat in the morning (a muddy, slippery, and windy one since we followed the sign directions rather than what the hostel lady had suggested) after which we joined a walking tour of the city, which was super informative and included some laughs. We learned about the nailing of ears to doors for stealing, the presence of a bagpipe playing angel statue in the church (rather small in reality), the story of a dog who spent the majority of his adult life by his master's grave, poltergeists, witch hunts, and of course the stone of destiny over which many scottish kings (and english ones for a while when it was down at westminster) were crowned over. We enjoyed some of the local sites such as the Elephant Café where Rowling brainstormed for the early Harry Potter.

Our last day we spent at local museums and doing some last minute shopping before we were off to the next city!

the castle and the highlands we trudged through (fabulous view of the sea)


skies over the city and our walking guide next to greyfriar bobby's monument (the dog who stayed by his master's grave for over ten years)


windy top of Arthur's seat

London

It seemed like it would never arrive, but finally, after 6 long months, semester break was upon us, so along with a few fellow SciencesPo students from the states, and after stuffing clothing into carry-on bags (and wearing several layers on the plane) we embarked on a tour of England, Scotland, and Ireland. In the interest of making these posts a little more digestable, I will give account of our tale in a three part format, with a post dedicated to each city/region in turn, beginning with lovely London.

The adventure started before the wheels even left the tarmac, as my ever lovely procrastination skills had me up late stuffing sweaters into a duffel bag and "cleaning the apt" (unfortunately forgot about the oranges, but had a nice batch of penicillin going when I got back), and awoke the day of our flight literally an hour and a half before we were to take off, jumped on the metro and arrived at Charles de Gaulle airport as the gate should be closing, ran (or more did a pattern of run, walk quickly, run some more) through the terminals to gate 2B, which seemed to be the rough equivalent of a 5k, and arrived to discover our flight was delayed. Thank the heavens for bad weather and a push back of the departure by about 2 hours or I would have never made it.

Finally, after an semi-stressful morning we landed in London, checked into our 21 person dorm room in a hostel near the British Museum (and yes, we have many a tale of the individuals we met there in our triple bunk jungle gym of semi-craziness and along the labrynth path to the basement showers), grabbed a bite, and were off to see "Spring Awakening", a musical that was truly deserving of several rounds of applause (I already bought the CD). A fabulous first day in the English capital.

The next morning we were off to see the sites, from the changing of the guard at Buckingham (shown below) to exploration of the British parliament buildings, snapping pictures of Big Ben and Westminster Abbey along the way. By sheer luck and no planning, we sat in on a debate in the House of Commons where they were discussing housing, admittedly not the most lively topic, but good fun to see the almost taunting manner of banter that when on between the parliment members. Then it was a dinner in Chinatown and a play called "Three Days of Rain" starring James MvAvoy...we all drooled a little bit.


Fuzzy hat men during the changing of the guard (they do an adorable shuffle step in order to be perfectly aligned)



Kitsy, Emily, and Ashley model our lovely security passes for the parliment and Big Ben


oh James, you've captured my heart ;)

Then it was a day to explore the riverbank area of London, we stopped by St. Pauls Cathedral (on Peter's hill ironically enough), the Tate modern museum, and the new Globe Theatre, a reconstruction of Shakespeare's original built in 1599. Next we checked out the Tower of London where many a historical figure wasted away or went away without a head, and the tower bridge (which for the first half hour we firmly believed to be the London Bridge...honest mistake, the London Bridge is not as attractive). After an unsuccesful attempt to find Scotland Yard (apparently there is an old and a new, I should have been tipped off that we were by the new one since everyone we asked for directions wondered if we were in any trouble) we did have a bright spot of amusement with an evensong service at Westminster Abbey with an amazing male choir, after which they honored the birthday of Charled Darwin with a flower laying ceremony at his grave in the church walls. We then walked through a light snowfall to find dinner and do a little karaoke at an Australian establishment.


Tower Bridge


Westminster Abbey

The next day we were off to an adventure outside the city in Oxford. Em's friend showed us around the campuses (there are, I believe, approximately 39 colleges in the Oxford system) and Harry Potter film venues such as Christ Church. Then it was food time, we started with high tea (picture below) followed by a quick shopping run and finally the Great Hall Dinner (caps were necessary, it was that cool). We joined her college for hall dinner, a bit like Harry Potter as well, with long tables in a dimly lit hall with profs in robes at the head table. Unfortunately no magically appearing dishes or general sorcery, but still fabulous. Afterwards we stopped by the Turf Tavern where individuals such as Bill Clinton and Tony Blair have stopped for a pint, then back on the bus for London.


our group during the 'tour' and high tea (with YUMMY scones)


fields near Christ Church

Our final day in London we enjoyed our last minute must-dos like the British Museum, the hectic and eclectic Portobello market, and Hyde Park before we headed to Kings Cross (where we took pics at platform 9 and 3/4, again Harry Potter is all over this country) for our final leg of the journey up to Scotland.


Crowds at Portobello


Swans and the Peter Pan statue in Hyde Park

Une bouffée d'air frais

Sciences Po has a tradition called the 'diner de conference' where the instuctor and students come together outside of the classroom to share a meal. For my 'l'Economie du Maghreb' course, we ate a traditional Moroccan meal at the restaurant of a friend of our professor, which was very enjoyable, with meats cooked in canelle and exotic fruits. Furthermore, during the meal, a flower peddler came through the restaurrant and our Prof bought all the female student roses! Then he took us all on a tour of the quartier, pointing out lively streets and good restaurants/marchés. One of the french students in the class confided to us that the diners are usually not as sweet/nice as this one.

This hasn't proven completely true yet. For 'histoire de la France' course, we ate at a cute little creperie for hours discussing everything from historical films, to vegans, to small concert venues in Paris. Its been surprising and enjoyable to chat with the profs and students outside of an academic setting, getting to know them more, which is a bit sad so late in the semester...

This past weekend, I had a bit of a change-up to the usual 'diner' with a 'dejeuner' or lunch. My french language prof invited her three different classes out to her home in Medoun, about 20 mins outside of Paris, for a pot-luck sort of meal and tour of the adorable banlieue. It was so beautiful to be outside the city and in a HOUSE, with several rooms and a yard seperating the living space from the neighbors. The lunch was amazing with foods from everyone's home countries (I took over a friend's kitchen on Saturday to make PB cookies). After chatting in french, which proved a little difficult as our profs other courses are more advanced so I had to really concentrate in order to keep up, but overall it was a beautiful and fun food sharing experience followed by a tour of the city, which included the grounds for a castle where kings have hunted and the Dauphin (son of Louis XVI) stayed for a while.

All in all a breath of fresh air during the final exam period.