I'm back in Paris, and even though I had a great time in the British Isles when I stepped off the Metro and saw the Cite, a huge smile came on my face and wave of relief rushed through me. I loved the British Isles, but there is something about Paris that completes me. Enough about that, I'll start writing about my trip.
Dublin was awesome. In the morning on our first day we went to the Trinity College. It is such a beautiful university. We had a tour guide, who was quite cute, and he showed us around and told us some anecdotes. It wasn't a very long tour, but we learned some fun things. There was this sculpture in the front of the library that spins, and the statue of the George Salmon, former provost of Trinity who didn't want women to attend it. The story that we were told, was that he allowed women to attend but he wrote that while his hand was agreeing, his heart didn't. So naturally he had a heart attack. After the tour we saw the Book of Kells. I had studied illuminations in my art class so I comprehended the major historical significance of this magnificent book. I have decided that for law school I am going to either attend the School of Law at Trinity or Edinburgh Law School (I'll go into that more later), so in a way it was like a college prospect visit for me. After seeing the college and the Book of Kells we went to this market, where I bought a sterling silver Claddagh ring. I love it. I haven't taken it off my finger since I bought it last Saturday. It is an Irish ring that indicated relationship status of a person. Since I am single I wear it on my right hand with the heart turned away from my chest. After the market and lunch, we went to Guinness factory where I enjoyed two week old Guinness and then a pint at the top of the building. The view from the top of the building was beautiful, and we got to see the entire city of Dublin.
After dinner we went to the Stag's Head where we enjoyed some traditional Irish music. We met a birthday pub crawl, and it was fun to talk to some Irish men. I love their accents. Some of the girls left, but me, Lauren and Grace stayed behind and closed the bar down. The next day me, Lauren and Jessen went to the Writer's Museum and then we went to the Queen of Tarts for lunch. I went to Cork that night to see Sean, and the next day when I got back to Dublin we just shopped some and at night we went to a couple of different bars and a comedy club. The comedy was improv and pretty funny, but I have to say that Temple Bar was pretty awesome. Again, we got to listen to traditional Irish music and I had an Irish coffee. Needless to say, we were all sad to leave Dublin.
What I liked so much about Dublin was the vibe. First of all, the city is small of enough that people can literally walk anywhere. Also, even though the buildings are not in the best shape, the people's spirits are magnetic. People are cheerful and extremely kind. They don't look at a person and decide from their clothes if they like them. Rather, people apologized if they ran into us, they were personable and extremely generous. It reminded me of Titanic. Paris is first class. The people are gorgeous to look at, but they are pretentious and rude, while Dublin is third class. They may not have a lot of money or lavish things, but by God they are happy.
This type of feeling can be transferred to Edinburgh. When we were first arrived in Edinburgh, we were all still a little sad to have left Dublin, so the enthusiasm for Edinburgh wasn't as high as it should have been. But then we entered the center of Edinburgh, and we were completely taken aback by the beauty of the city. I felt like I was going back in time. I should have been in a coach and buggy, rather than a bus. The buildings were amazing, and the lighting made it all the more fantastic. We checked into our hostel, and I have to say that the hostel was a godsend. There was a pub crawl that night and so we decided we would go out to dinner and then do that. For dinner we went to the Royal Mile and had some pub food. The old men in the bar helped me decide which beer to have with my dinner. They were so friendly! After dinner, we headed back to the hostel to get ready and then we went to the first bar for the pub crawl. When we got to the bar there was a Scottish football (soccer) game on. It was fun to watch the game while enjoying a pint. The pub crawl was a ton of fun, and I met a really nice guy on it. Also, it was so cool to be walking around Edinburgh at night. Again, Edinburgh is small enough that a person can walk the entire city easily.
The next day we went to the free tour of the city, but the guide was less than desirable so instead us girls decided we would go to the castle by ourselves. Well, that was an adventure because not only was it cold, but the Edinburgh wind was some of the strongest winds I had ever encountered. We toured the castle, but it was more like running to take shelter in the various rooms so that we wouldn't be blown away by the winds. But what was pretty cool is that the castle is built on top of an extinct volcano. Also, we got to see the Crown jewels, the prisons, and a great view of the city. We had lunch in the castle, traditional Scottish stew and then made our way to some stores for shopping. I bought a cashmere scarf and some post cards. After that, we went back to the hostel because people were tired. But I decided to wander by myself, and so I made my way to Calton Hill. This hill is now my favorite place in the entire world. Not only does it have the best view of Edinburgh, but the countryside it reveals is truly the most wonderful thing I have ever seen in my entire life. Even though it was windy and freezing, I took a seat in the grass and just sat in awe of my surroundings. Have you ever had a moment in your life where you cannot belief that this is actually happening? This is what Calton Hill did to me. I have never felt so humbled in my entire life. On this hill I made up my mind that I am not only going to teach in Paris, but that I am going to attend law school in Dublin or Edinburgh and then move there permanently. Those places made me so happy, and they are quite close to one another. When I reluctantly got up to leave, I knew that I had left a piece of myself on top of Calton Hill, and one day very soon I will go back to get it. I have the goal to watch the sun rise on that hill.
After I got back from wandering by myself, we all went out and got some Japanese food. It was delicious. Then we just went back to the hostel to chill, because we had to get up at 3:30 am for London. Even though people were excited for London and some were missing Dublin, Edinburgh held my heart. I too was missing Dublin and excited for London, but honestly I cannot stop thinking about Edinburgh. I cannot wait to go back there.
Well I have to finish my reading for class tomorrow and so I will post about London later. Until next time!
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