travel

Kicking Back in Bath

/ Emily / 2 Comments

“They arrived in Bath. Catherine was all eager delight; her eyes were here, there, and everywhere.”
– Jane Austen, Northanger Abbey

I might start by alienating some readers by saying I’m not a huge Jane Austen lover.

Yes, gasp. Everyone assumes I am because I’m an English major. But honestly I had a lot of other books I found more compelling than the tales of Miss Elizabeth Bennet.

However, that doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate Jane Austen, which is why I admit that I was excited by the prospect of visiting Bath, partly because it conjured glamourous images of high society and tea and dresses.

Okay well not only that. I also knew it was a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

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Regardless I caught a bus from Oxford over to Bath, about two hours in the bus.

I checked into my hostel. Funnily enough I’d decided to stay at a YMCA. It was the best rated place in Bath, hostelwise, so it made sense to me. However, it still seemed funny after having worked at the YMCA in my hometown for a year.

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Definitely my least favorite hostel. It was crowded and didn’t really have a lot of good atmosphere. However, it was very centrally located, decently priced, and had nice privacy curtains, chargers, and lights on all the beds. So all in all I can’t complain too much.

After leaving my bags I headed off to explore Bath. I started, of course, in the most obvious place to visit. The baths themselves.

The Roman baths are quite remarkable. And I can say that easily as someone who has visited Rome alongside several Roman settlements in France and Spain (Arles, Nimes, Merida, Orange, etc). My parents dragged me to Roman archaeological sites throughout a good part of my childhood. And while I did enjoy them, I soon grew tired of seeing old Roman baths.

That was not the case here.

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Because Bath is built on a natural hot springs, the Romans built a large bathing and temple complex in the city. Amazingly, much of it is still preserved, amazingly intact after centuries have gone by. So yes, if you have to see Roman baths… well this is the place.

These are simply incredible to see, and give great explanations on the Romans as a whole. The museum is really well done and the sight itself is incredible as well. If you’re able to see it, I think it’s well worth it. You can’t bathe anymore, but you do get a chance to try the waters that were so reputed for their healing powers. If you’re a little more wealthy you can also have lunch or tea in the Pump Room next door, but it was a little out of  my budget.

After I was finished I decided to stop by Bath Abbey. It’s an absolutely beautiful church. It’s donations only, so you don’t have to spend a lot to visit. However, if you want to climb the tower you can pay a little more. It was a beautiful day and I do sort of wish I had done so, but I was exhausted and at that point feeling sort of ill, so I decided to skip.

I stopped by a pharmacy for some cold medicine and took a break back at my hostel for a bit. After that I decided to go walk around a little more.

I stopped by the Circus, which is a round square of Georgian homes. It’s very pretty, though nothing you need to spend much time on.

After that I was off to a very special booking I’d made.

I was due at the spa.

So, for any looking for budget travel tips, this is definitely not your post. I was in a huge “treat yourself” mode on this particular trip, and I decided that while in Bath I’d do like Bath Romans used to do…. Aka I’d visit a spa and lounge in the healing thermal waters.

Thermae Spa uses the same waters that the Roman baths did, although from the smell I think they are treated with chlorine (could be mistaken of course). Regardless, it looked like a fun place to visit, which even if it’s not historic in itself. So I booked a twilight package for myself, essentially a 3 hour window at the spa including a meal and drink at the restaurant.

I arrived around five in order to have enough time to get prepared for my time. I really didn’t need to get there quite so early, but it was fine and gave me plenty of time to adjust.

This last year I did a visit to the Szechenyi Spa in Budapest, and that was absolutely life changing. However, one drawback there is that there is very little signage, and not everyone speaks English so you do sort of just have to learn as you go. So it was nice to be in a more modern place that was very friendly and welcoming and had good clear directions on where to go.

I changed into my suit and then wandered a bit to get a sense of the layout before heading to the restaurant for dining.

Sadly they don’t allow mobile phones or cameras in the spa, so I don’t really have photos. But I’ll link to their website here so you can see it if you’d like.

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I ate a dish of rigatoni with mushrooms and a creamy sherry sauce which was quite good alongside a glass of white wine. I could have ordered other things for additional food if I wanted to, but I had no desire to add to the cost. And besides, I was about to go enjoy the spa and didn’t need to be overly filled up.

After a delicious meal I headed down to the Minerva Pool to start my time. It’s basically just a large warm pool of thermal waters with jets that come on at certain times and floaty noodles. Not really too different from a swimming pool.

I paddled around a bit before deciding I was a bit bored and wanted to check out what else there was.

Unfortunately some of the other pools are only accessible through a treatment. I had to admit I missed Szechenyi which had all kinds of different pools for you to dip in and out of.

So I headed up to the Wellness Suite, which had a variety of different rooms to enjoy.

I started in the Georgian Steam Room, a large sauna billowing with steam and with soft classical music and birdsong playing inside. I settled on a bench and did my best to bear the heat, finding my body relaxing as I did so.

I didn’t last long before I was out to take a cold shower and then head to the ice room to cool down even further. It’s not quite so exciting as it sounds. It really only has a big heap of ice in the center that you can rub along your body to help close your pores.

After the ice bath I headed to the Infrared Sauna. Basically infrared lights heat up and get you warm, causing you to sweat and relax.

After that it was back for more cold showers before I tried the Celestial Relaxation Room. Probably my favorite since I’d never run across anything like it. You like back in the dark, admiring twinkling lights overhead and look at a screen that displays images of the cosmos alongside soothing music. Quite pleasant.

Then to the Roman Steam Room where there was harp music and steam that smelled like flowers. Again it was relaxing and refreshing and I showered off afterwards before heading up to the Rooftop pool.

I arrived in time for sunset. And if you do check out Thermae’s website, I’ll say they aren’t exaggerating on their sunset pictures. It was absolutely stunning. I only wish I could have taken some of my own photographs, but I will include a video below for any curious to see what it looks like.

I went and did a few of the other things a second time, as I had more than enough to just enjoy to the max. Twilight Package is indeed more pricey, but the three hours was nice to feel like I didn’t have to rush.

After showering and changing and putting my robe and towels in the hampers (and taking my free flipflops with me!) I headed back towards my hostel feeling utterly relaxed and ready to take on the rest of my trip.

They say the waters are healing. I won’t lie, within the next day the cold that had started was almost gone. Just a light sneeze left over, but the stuffiness and lethargy and aches… gone. Magic of Bath or a coincidence? Who am I to say. All I’ll write is that I thoroughly enjoyed my time, and if you have the time and the opportunity, it isn’t a bad idea to take a day to relax and enjoy what people have known was amazing for thousands of years.

Travels to Narnia, Middle Earth, and Hogwarts- The Magic of Oxford

/ Emily / 1 Comment

“What you see and what you hear depends a great deal on where you are standing. It also depends on what sort of person you are.”
― C.S. Lewis, The Magician’s Nephew

When I was about six years old, I have one of my first vivid memories of falling in love with a book. I’m sure I had others I loved before that, but the one that stands out in memory for me is The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis. I remember both of my parents taking turns reading it to me. The magic of the tales swept me away and I remember being eager to devour the rest of the series as well.

About a year later there was the first written mention of what I wanted to be when I grew up. Author.

Though my writing dreams aren’t quite so big anymore (or at least I’ve realized I might need a day job too), I have lived my life indebted to writers who inspired me to want to create. Lewis was one of the very first. I would go on in university to take a course about him and study more of his works in depth. But others followed, namely J.K. Rowling, and J.R.R. Tolkien.

Which is why one of the best places that Emily could possibly visit in the U.K. is… Oxford.

For any who don’t know, two professors there were Lewis and Tolkien, both of whom were part of a writing group called the Inklings. From what I learned on my tour, Rowling also visited Oxford and liked it, but didn’t get in. However, parts of Harry Potter were shot on parts of campus, so it still has a bit of Rowling tucked away in certain places.

Therefore, it was the most perfect location a nerd like me could hope to visit.

I arrived about midafternoon. I checked into my hostel: Oxford Central Backpackers. It is beautifully centrally located and has a very small homey feeling, which was very nice and made it easier to meet people. It was a bit run down in places, but all in all for the price I was quite pleased.

From there I set out to get to Christ Church College.

If you didn’t read my Cambridge post, let me explain. The universities of Oxford and Cambridge both have several different colleges as a part of them. Therefore, if you want to visit “Oxford” you’ll have to pick a college that you want to see and go from there. I’d do some research before going, or maybe see if you can get a guided tour or something and see more than one. But the main thing you should know is that you’ll have to pay to see anything other than the outside.

Sad but true.

Christ Church College is famous because it has a few locations used in the filming of Harry Potter. For example, see this staircase that was featured in movie one when they are about to enter the great hall. Or the cloisters, or even the Great Hall which was used to inspire the one in Hogwarts. So yes, all in all quite cool to see. It’s a beautiful university, so not a bad thing to just see on its own merit too, but yes be warned you’ll have to deal with people with wands and robes pushing past you for pictures.

After that it was off towards the University Church of St. Mary the Virgin.

Wow, quite the mouthful. Nonetheless I had a reason I wanted to see it. Or well…I thought I did.

I’d combed through websites to find out what the best C.S. Lewis and J.R.R. Tolkien things were to see in Oxford. Turns out, next to the church there is a door that is called “the Narnia Door”. There is a lion’s face and there are two fauns crouching on either side. So yes, quite Narnia like in some ways.

I snapped a picture of that and glanced in the church before ducking over to the Bodleian Library.

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Now, the website for the library is a mess. It is very unclear about times and access and the like. Or at least I had very little luck with it. In fact, going in I was certain you could just waltz into the library at any time for free.

Nope. You have to have a tour.

So if you’re going to Oxford and want to see this library, make sure you check first thing for the tours and see what is offered. I ended up on a mini tour, because that was all that was left for the day. So if you want more get there early or make a booking or something.

Regardless I was taken into the Divinity School first, where they shot the dancing lessons scene in Harry Potter, and then up to the library that inspired the restricted section in movie one. Unfortunately no pictures were allowed in the upper section, so I’ll leave this link here for you to check out images on your own.

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It’s a gorgeous library, and well worth a look even if you’re not an HP fan. I certainly enjoyed the tour, even if it was short and lacking photography opportunities.

I walked around Oxford a bit, just enjoying the various sights. I think Cambridge might be more beautiful as a whole, but Oxford still is lovely to see.

After that I headed over to the more modern library that I had been recommended to visit. This one is free, or at least the ground floor is open to the public. You can waltz in, eat at the café, stop in the shop, and glance at the exhibitions they have going. I’m all for free stuff, especially libraries, so this was great for me.

I snapped a few nerdy pictures in the treasury, showing some of the exciting works they had on display. The Magna Carta, a first folio, some first edition poems and letters and other fun works. Very interesting to be sure. Sounds like they swap out what is displayed regularly, so you might have something different if you stop by. I definitely recommend it though.

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After that I was getting hungry so I decided to have a treat that I’d been waiting to have for a while. Afternoon tea.

I really enjoy a good cup of tea. One of my friends dragged me tea tasting over the summer and I about died of joy. Honestly, give me tea any day over alcohol. Or coffee. That works too.

I settled for having tea at the café of the church I’d stopped by earlier. They had a lovely garden area and it was a sunny day. So I grabbed a pot of tea for one and a scone with clotted cream and raspberry jam. My mouth is watering again just writing about it.

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After enjoying the refreshments and sunshine, I finally headed off again.

I stopped by Magdalen College to peek inside, for a fee of a few pounds of course. It was one of the colleges Lewis taught at, and one where Oscar Wilde attended for a bit, though neither was mentioned in the pamphlet I received. Still, it was fun to walk the halls of a place where Lewis once taught, and it’s a very pretty school in itself.

Again, do your research on which ones you want to visit. I wish I’d done a little more before going.

I stopped in a shop to buy an indulgent Oxford sweatshirt for myself, before setting off to walk around a bit more.

I walked past Merton and Pembroke colleges, both of which Tolkien taught at at different points in his life. And then I decided I had to make the nerdy adventure to last a lifetime. I wanted to visit two more sights of the famous authors.

I initially had hoped to visit both of their graves. But I found out sadly that they’re buried a ways out of Oxford center (about 3 miles in opposite directions), so that was unhelpful without a car and with no desire to figure out buses. So I settled for closer sights.

One was The Eagle and Child. Or… as it was known by the Inklings, the Bird and the Baby.

I didn’t go inside, so I have no advice to any thinking of eating there, but I did stop to at least see it. For those who are lost, again this was the place that Lewis and Tolkien met with their writing group known as the Inklings. The place those Narnia stories began to first be developed. The place Tolkien exhausted the group with tales of Lord of the Rings, where member Hugo Dyson would end up exclaiming “Oh god, no more elves!” (I’ve seen variants on this quote…so no clue what is truly accurate, but the sentiment remains the same) to a point where Tolkien stopped reading his works at the meetings.

Regardless, it’s famed for these two writers, so I had to see it. After that it was on to a ridiculous point indeed.

20 Northmoor road.

This is the home, or rather was the home of J.R.R. Tolkien. It’s about a mile away from the center, and there was supposed to be a blue plaque there. I thought I’d get a selfie with it for fun. However, after walking well over a mile, I was surprised because  couldn’t find the plaque anywhere. My stomach sank and part of me worried the house had been demolished.

As it turned out I wasn’t looking in the right place. Once I looked up I saw it.

It was on the wall of the house. Very far away from where I could stand. And again, as it was merely a private residence and not a museum, I of course couldn’t traipse up the steps to get closer.

Which is why all I have is a grainy photo of the blue plaque.

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So for fellow Tolkien fans, don’t waste your time going to his house. There is nothing to see. Even his grave is probably more interesting (I believe he and his wife are buried under Elvish names from what I know).

So I hobbled back into town to try to find food.

Everywhere that looked decent was super full. Anything that was more empty worried me about not being good. So I decided I’d just save my time and money and grab fast food Asian. I was a bit pissed off last trip when someone laughed at me for having Asian food in Scandinavia. So again let me reiterate that sometimes choosing food is about convenience, price, and availability and not being a well cultured person. I had chances to sample British food, and did, but for once it was nice to take a break and save some money while getting some rice and veggies into my body instead. You can travel how you like, but for me I don’t have to eat local food every single night I’m traveling.

Anyhow, after that it was back to my hostel for the night. I was decently warm by the time I arrived back, so it was nice to shower and change into my really light pajamas. For any staying in hostels I highly advise bringing really lightweight sleep clothes, as lots of bodies in one room tends to warm it up nicely.

However, when I got back to my room I was startled to find a heater sitting in the middle.

No one was in there at the  moment, so I definitely stared at it and muttered “who the heck is cold!?!” and then went to my bed shaking my head in disbelief.

Well it turned out there were two older women from Florida backpacking around England, and they apparently were freezing so had asked for a heater to be brought into their room.

I thought to myself “couldn’t you just put on extra layers and ask for more blankets?” but instead I let it go, just feeling grateful when they turned it off before bedtime. I do wonder how they survived when they got up to Scotland, but no matters.

Ah the joys of hosteling! Did get good travel and some job advice from them though, so no complaints in the long run.

 

Keeping Calm in Cambridge

/ Emily / Leave a comment

“Don’t Panic.”
― Douglas Adams, The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy

I woke up early and had a big breakfast at my London hostel. Two omelets and some cereal and other things and I was ready to go! So I grabbed my stuff and headed to the bus station not too far away, which was in fact good luck considering the tube was down.

I hopped on my bus and headed to Cambridge!

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I highly recommend checking out National Express if you’re considering traveling around the U.K. without renting a car (and with the difference in driving…I know I probably wouldn’t be brave enough). They offer cheap bus service to a variety of cities, making it easy to get around. So I had about a two hour bus ride over to Cambridge, all for under 10 pounds. On the bus there were chargers, wifi, and decently comfy seats. All in all I was quite pleased with the find.

I arrived in Cambridge in the early afternoon. I headed over to my hostel to check my bags so I could get going with my day.

My hostel for the night was YHA Cambridge. It sadly was a little far from the city center, but in a nice residential area, so very quiet at night, which I appreciated. It was built in 2014, so everything was quite new and clean. All in all I had no real qualms with the place. They even offer a full hot breakfast for 6 pounds, but I skipped in favor of going to get some coffee and pastries instead.

Well, unfortunately there was a free walking tour at 2 PM from the city center. Google maps said it would take about 35 minutes to walk there. It was currently about 1:26 PM.

Let it never be forgotten that I can be crazy stubborn at times. Always have been. Probably always will be. Which is why I decided I was going to do that walking tour. Even if I exhausted myself getting there.

I took off at a brisk pace towards the city center. Basically running in places, otherwise just speed walking.

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Sure enough I reached the walking tour about three minutes before it could begin. And thankfully there was room for me to hop on.

It was a company called Footprints and they do tours in a number of smaller English cities. It wasn’t quite the same level of amusement as like the Sandeman’s tour, but all in all it was quite informative and made it easy to see a number of the different colleges in Cambridge from the outside.

We began walking around and surveying some of the lovely scenic city with its beautiful colleges. And that was when my phone screen went black and wouldn’t turn back on no matter how many buttons I pushed.

The day before I had managed to drop it in water. I’d dried it off and it had seemed fine, but I realized standing with my tour group that it obviously wasn’t. And I began to start to worry.

I know I shouldn’t be so technology dependent, but I am. I keep my reservations on my phone (although I usually try to print a few backup copies if I can). I have my schedule on there, my train and bus times, my confirmation codes, my maps of the cities. It’s my means of calling people (I had service in nearly every country I visited thanks to T-Mobile’s great international plan), and even my only real means of telling the time, as I don’t usually have any kind of a watch with me. Plus, it’s my only means of taking photos as I do not own a camera, which as a traveler was one of the most horrifying things I could imagine.

So yes, in that moment there was a pretty significant amount of panic going through me as I followed along with the tour guide.

It was a tough decision, but I realized that if I quit the tour in that moment I’d highly regret it. So I opted to stay and head back to my hostel after it was finished. I had realized by that point I had my computer with me, so backups of all my schedules and codes and things. Plus I did have a small travel alarm clock for wake ups and time if I needed it. In short, I kept calm and carried on.

Sadly this is why my photos from Cambridge are lacking due to the phone not working during my tour.

Cambridge is quite the beautiful place. The old city and the amazing colleges (yes more than one) are all quite impressive. You can go on boat rides along the river, or just enjoy strolling around the city. Or if you have the time and the money you can visit the different colleges.

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I didn’t do a lot of investigating, but I still haven’t heard of or seen anything that allows this… basically what I’ll say is that each college is going to charge you to visit, usually just their grounds and chapel, as the rest is in use by students. If there is a way to pay one type of ticket to visit multiple, I didn’t find it. My advice for both Oxford and Cambridge is to pick which ones you want to see and go for them.

I wanted to do King’s College, which has a marvelous chapel with a fabulous ceiling. However, with the tour there really wasn’t time after, so I had to skip. I did, however, visit Trinity College, which had a lovely courtyard and nice chapel you could see for 3 pounds (which was a bit cheaper than some of the others). Again, if you want to go in, pick one or two. Or maybe do a guided tour, but you’ll have to look into some good companies that do that.

After the tour I headed back to my hostel to try to fix my phone. Thankfully I did get it working again so that evening I headed out to revisit some of the places from the walking tour and get some photos (which is why there are some shown above).

Then I tried to find a place to eat and settled for the Cambridge Chop House, which was a local restaurant with a good selection of meats. Since it was the bank holiday, they were out of a lot of things, but that is the day after Easter for you I guess!

Regardless, I had blue cheese and squash balls, a delicious piece of chicken with peppers and potatoes, and a piece of raspberry and white chocolate cheese cake, all washed down with a Falstaff Cider that sounded good and was indeed quite delicious. The food was super good, and the location is fun right next to King’s College, though I was taken downstairs where there are no good views sadly.

It was a bit of a splurge, but definitely fun and one of my favorite meals of the trip!

After that it was back to my hostel. I wish I’d had more time to explore the city a little better, but that’s life for you. Regardless I had a great experience and Cambridge is definitely a place I’d recommend seeing if you have some time in England!

One Short Day in London

/ Emily / Leave a comment

“When I was at home, I was in a better place: but travellers must be content” -William Shakespeare, As You Like It

I should start by saying that I never planned on spending much time in London. I have been there twice before (yes I’m spoiled), so I’ve seen most of the big sights like the Tower, and the British Museum, and Buckingham Palace. Even though I know there’s plenty more to see, my priorities were seeing some places in England I hadn’t yet gone to. However, London does make for a convenient stop when flying, offering flights all over. So that was why I’d chosen to fly down to London from Edinburgh.

So I had a choice that morning. I could get up early and walk around more of Edinburgh. Or I could sleep in and be ready to head to the airport.

I opted for the latter.

In my defense it was Easter day. Meaning that not everything would be open. Also, honestly I just feel nervous anytime I have to fly. I always want to make sure I get there plenty early, because my worst fear is I’ll miss my flight standing in the security line. As always though, I arrived plenty early and was through the line in a few minutes.

So I sat and had coffee and relaxed until I could finally be on my plane on the way down to London.

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I had plans to do some things when I got to London. Hop on the tube and head over to other parts of the city to see it.

However, the problem was that the trains going from Gatwick airport over to Victoria Station (the one nearest to my hostel), were not running that day. And I could either pay lots of money to go to a station and then try to take the tube over. Or, I could do a bus. That would use two hours of my time.

I opted to do the bus.

Sometimes traveling is about being willing to adapt your plans. So unfortunately that meant that I had to give up the things that I’d wanted to see were no longer open, so I had to be willing to live with that.

After I got out of the bus, I headed over to my hostel.

I stayed at Travel Joy Hostels in the Chelsea neighborhood, and it’s one of my favorite hostels of the trip! Very lovely! Nice personable staff, right on the Thames river, and they do free towels, free breakfast (with omelets, smoothies, and pancakes), and even all you can drink free soft drinks at the bar throughout the day.

All in all quite lovely. Beds weren’t too comfy, and was maybe a little run down in places, but honestly I wouldn’t complain all that much for what I received at such a price.

It was a ways from city center, and since the tube closest to my hostel wasn’t running (due to flooding or something) that meant that I had to walk if I wanted to go anywhere.

I decided to find dinner and then figured from there I could maybe do a quick walk over towards the center to get some photos.

As I’d had English food a few times I settled on doing Indian instead. Again, I’m not going to listen to people complain about my food choices. Sometimes you just need to go for something that is quick, easy, and open on Easter. So Indian it was.

All in all it was quite delicious and I was glad of my choice. After that I headed over to take some photos of Big Ben in the evening light.

Sadly it was too late to do much else, so I headed back to my hostel.

So things might not have worked out quite as I planned in London, but it was still a nice day all in all. I’ve already visited the city before so I don’t have much more I really need to see, but I would have one final night there before the end of the trip.

Exploring Edinburgh Day Two

/ Emily / Leave a comment

“The world is full of obvious things which nobody by any chance ever observes.”
― Arthur Conan Doyle

The problem with this city is, as with most big cities, there are far too many things to see. Or at least for me. I wanted to go to the palace, and the writer’s museum, and climb Calton Hill, and the national museum, go overlook all of Edinburgh on Arthur’s Seat, and do a walking tour, and explore all over, and see some mystery and do a ghost tour, and see things that inspired J.K. Rowling, and the statue of Sherlock Holmes.

Sad to say, that is far too much for one day. Though it doesn’t mean I didn’t try to squeeze as much of that into 24 hours as I possibly could.

I woke up at eight to get an early start. Bought breakfast at my hostel before heading out. I’d decided I wanted to start my morning with a hike up Calton Hill to admire the views of the city.

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It was a beautiful day thank heavens. Although much colder than I’d expected. I forgot how far north Scotland is, making it pretty chilly even in spring.

Regardless I snapped a few photos before taking off. I’d booked myself on the ten o’clock Sandeman’s tour around Edinburgh.

It was my favorite free walking tour I’ve ever done, and I’ve done five Sandeman’s tours now on top of other free tours in Porto, Lisbon, Rome, Budapest, and Vienna. So I feel I have a fairly good sense of what a good walking tour should look like.

My guide was absolutely amazing. She was super funny and really knew her stuff. She made sure to make each part of the tour engaging and informative while also answering questions with spectacular detailed answers. All in all I was quite happy.

We walked along the Royal Mile and down towards the castle. We headed down to check out the grass market and then some of J.K. Rowling’s inspiration in the fancy boarding school with four houses nearby a cafe where she worked, and even saw the grave of William Wallace (not the real one but it was funny that our guide pointed it out).

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And then over to see Greyfriar Bobby, Edinburgh’s… nay Scotland’s most famous statue.

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I’ll share the story just because I loved it. There was a watchman who adopted a terrier to come with him on his routes, and he named the dog Bobby. Unfortunately the watchman died two years after adopting the dog and was buried in the Greyfriar cemetery. Bobby refused to leave his grave. The townspeople were so moved by Bobby’s loyalty and devotion that they asked for Bobby to be made the town’s dog so that he wouldn’t be considered a stray and therefore wouldn’t be killed. He was, and when he died 14 years later they buried him in the same cemetery as his owner. Now people leave sticks for him at his grave and go to take photos of his statue and pub.

If you are in Edinburgh, be sure to not touch his nose. It’s apparently causing irreparable damage to the statue, so be nice. You can however go touch Hume’s toe…because apparently that gives you good luck (oh the irony).

After the tour finished I had a short time before I was supposed to be off to my next engagement. So since the National Museum of Scotland was free, I decided to head in there until I needed to leave.

So I wandered a bit. It’s a huge museum. Be sure to check it out if you’re in Edinburgh. Basically it’s just a huge conglomeration of different things. Natural history, science, Scottish history, and some special exhibits you might have to pay for. However, for free, this museum could easily provide two hours of entertainment. I only had about 45 minutes sadly, so I tried to see some of the highlights like the t-rex and Dolly the sheep (yes the real Dolly).

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After I was done browsing the museum I grabbed coffee and snacks for lunch and then snapped a very quick photo of Bobby before heading to the bus. I had schedule a 3 o’clock tour at a strange place called Gilmerton Cove.

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I’d seen good reviews on tripadvisor, so I decided to book a tour, since you have to book in advance.

Basically, since it’s not like a super popular destination let me explain. Basically these are all little hand-carved tunnels and chambers. A man in the 18th century claimed to have carved them himself. However, given their size and complexity, scientists doubt he could have done it in five years, and even more perplexing is the fact that they appear to be much older than such a time period.

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Down in these tunnels are what seem like tabletops or altar tops carved in the stone, with seating on either side. There is a shallow basin carved into one, something that seems like it could have held liquid… baptismal font, cauldron, sacrificial bowl? No one is sure. There is also what appears to be a fire place, but there is no smoke left behind from fires, same with what appears to be a forge. There is also a well, but it is not dug deep enough to reach water.

All of this is quite strange and mysterious. On top of that there’s a three mason symbol carved into one of the tables, and what appears to maybe be a cat alongside other strange carvings.

The best part is simply that on one knows what this is, what it was made for, or who made it. So it’s all left up to your imagination in some ways. The guide leads you around, lets you take photos, and explains the various theories and the history of the caverns. They’re quite different from anything I’ve ever seen, and it sent my creative mind turning wondering what stories these chambers could possibly hold.

If you’re in Edinburgh for a few days looking for some good things to do, I’d recommend this. It was a lot of fun.

I rushed back to my hostel after for a quick break, before taking off to find dinner. I stopped at Angels with Bagpipes which had a nice “lunch” menu still being offered at 5:30. I had the soup of the day, which I cannot remember what it was. And the slow cooked beef with cabbage and potatoes. Both were really delicious. And all washed down with some cider, one of my favorite alcoholic drinks (because it tastes more like juice and less like alcohol…hence why the whiskey experience wasn’t my thing).

I headed off to catch Sandeman’s Dark Side tour. I love this company so much, and honestly Edinburgh does kind of lend itself to a tour about darker things, be they ghosts or murders or fairies.

Our tourguide led us around the city as the sunset, focusing on graveyards and other spooky places where he described to us some of the more spooky parts of Edinburgh’s history. He was incredibly entertaining, and it was fun to do, especially since it was at a time when I wouldn’t be able to really do much else besides eat.

After the tour I rushed off to the Real Mary King’s Close for my tour.

So closes are very normal in Edinburgh. They’re basically little alleyways, usually ones that slope down the Royal Mile to the bottom. They generally are named after important people or tell you something about what went on in that area of the city at the time it was built. AKA Fishmarket Close, etc.

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However, Mary King’s Close was covered over when they decided to build a large federal building in the area alongside three other closes. They didn’t demolish it, they basically just built on top of it. Resulting in a little “subterranean” collection of houses and rooms attached to an alleyway.

With a guide who is dressed in period appropriate costume, you’re led through various parts of the old close and shown the parts of the city now covered over and preserved for all time. It’s a bit more theatrical than I might have cared for, but all in all it’s quite a cool experience and you get to see what life was like back in the old days of Edinburgh. Sadly no photos are allowed inside since it is underneath a federal building, but you can check out their website here which shows a bit of what it looks like.

So yes, quite the full day. It was back to the hostel for me so I could get ready for my next day and my planned return journey to England.

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Off to Auld Reekie- Adventures in Edinburgh

/ Emily / 2 Comments

“To travel hopefully is a better thing than to arrive.” -Robert Louis Stevenson

The next day I woke up early and had breakfast at my hostel before setting out by train to Edinburgh. I took a train from Liverpool over to Wigan and then from there all the way to Edinburgh.

As it was holiday season, the train to Edinburgh was quite full. There was even a full bachelorette party going on in one of the cars, complete with champagne. It was quite amusing to watch.

Regardless I arrived in Edinburgh realizing that it was going to be a bit crazy what with Easter and all.

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I walked from the train station right to my hostel. It was quite close which was handy.

I stayed at Royal Mile Backpackers, which I think has been one of my favorite hostels of the trip. It’s right on the Royal Mile, a very central and important street that houses many of the tourist attractions in Edinburgh. On top of that, it’s clean and spacious. The beds all have their own chargers and reading lights and were very comfortable. Sadly no free breakfast, but you can buy one for two pounds, which isn’t bad all things considered.

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The Gotham Room!

I left my luggage and headed off to explore.

I started by going up to the castle. The weather seemed okay, so I decided it might be a good time to do the castle and after I could see some of the other things. However, I was feeling a bit peckish, so I grabbed an ice cream outside the castle before heading off to go inside.

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It’s a bit pricey going in, but it’s a huge area and there’s lots to see. There are basically a collection of different museums there that you can go into. As it was Easter weekend it was quite crowded, so I had a hard time really seeing much of the museums, but it was still fun to walk around and explore.

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If I’d had more time I think I would have enjoyed either doing a guided tour or getting an audio guide. But feeling a bit rushed I decided it would be just as well to walk around myself.

After finishing up at the castle I headed down just a short distance to the Scotch Whiskey Experience.

I’m not much of a whiskey drinker… well in fact I had never tried whiskey before in my life. But I’m not one to pass up on a unique opportunity to learn something new about a particular region. If you read about my Spain trip you’ll remember I did a sherry bodega there too. Alcohol makes up part of the local culture and cuisine, and I like learning more about it if I can.

So whiskey it was!

Again quite crowded so I had to wait more than an hour to get in. However, once inside I had to admit it was a pretty fun experience. You do a short ride in a barrel…well not a real barrel, to learn more about the process of making whiskey. Then you go see a film about the different Scotland regions, complete with a sniff card so you can get a sense of the different flavors. And then you get to go try a glass of whichever region appeals to you most and learn more about blending whiskies.

If you pay more you get to sample more after, but for the poor people like me it’s just one, setting it on the colored circle of what region you want to try. The one was fine, because the shot of whiskey I had was… well let’s just say I don’t think whiskey is my stuff. Too strong for my tastes, although I at least do I have a little better sense of the drink itself and how to taste it.

The tour finished in the largest collection of Scotch Whiskey in the world, which was indeed quite impressive to see.

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I headed to the Real Mary King’s Close after I finished my tour. I’d seen good reviews on tripadvisor, so I thought I’d give it a try. However the Easter weekend problems continued. Turns out the tours were fully booked for the day, so I made a reservation for the next day hoping I could squeeze it in with everything else I wanted to do.

I walked around a bit after that, but most things were closed so there weren’t too many options of other places to go into.

So lastly was dinner. I asked at the desk about good options and the guy there mostly gave me like chips restaurants and such, so not necessarily what I was looking for, because after a full day with no food I needed something more balanced. So I headed off down the mile (well technically not a mile… since measurements have changed) looking for somewhere to eat.

Settled in a little place just off the mile called Villagers. It was a cute little pub that had decent reviews and lower prices. Portions were a bit small, but the staff was friendly and the food was quite good. So all in all I was quite pleased.

Then it was back to the hostel for the night. All in all quite a good day in Edinburgh!

Isle of Man to Liverpool

/ Emily / Leave a comment

Time you enjoy wasting, was not wasted. – John Lennon

Well, the pod AirBnB started as a nice idea… and quickly became a not so nice one.

As in, I woke up at about 1 AM freezing cold.

Normally if I’m cold I have options. Turn up the heat. Add another blanket. Put on another layer.

In a small pod in the garden with only a sleeping bag, those didn’t really exist.

On top of that I really had to use the bathroom.

So I stumbled out of the pod and down the garden path until I arrived at the guest house where I could use the toilet. It was cold, but I figured maybe the outside air would make me more appreciative of my little pod.

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When I got back I realized the pod was pretty much the same temperature as the outside air. Not sure if it was because of the window doors, or just really poor insulation overall, or what had happened, but it was quite cold.

I slid on my fleece and snuggled back in the sleeping bag.

I woke up again around 3 shivering. So I got up, put on a pair of pants over my leggings and a sweater under the fleece and climbed back into bed.

Woke again at 5. Pulled on my rain jacket and another pair of socks and then crawled back in the sleeping bag, curling into the smallest ball I could. It was pretty much all the layers I had at that point, so I was hoping I didn’t get any colder.

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I sound dramatic but that’s honestly what happened. I woke up again at 7, well before my alarm, still cold and miserable. So I ended up going to use the bathroom and realized it was warm in there. Which was how I ended up curling up next to the heater in the bathroom for twenty minutes trying to warm up.

Got back to the pod. I was basically already dressed. Opted to just leave the leggings on under the pants since I was still cold, and otherwise I was ready for the day. I made some coffee, put on gloves and did my best to warm up a bit.

Basically my lesson learned was to never do any kind of “camping” in England without the proper clothing and a really good sleeping bag, or extra blankets. Left a review on the pod to tell future travelers they might want warm clothes. Or maybe the owner will know better and provide more blankets next time or something. Or a small space heater. I cannot imagine what that must be like in winter.

Well, I used the early wakeup to go catch a bus back into town. My pass from the day before had expired so I purchased a ticket with cash. Unlike Dublin they actually will give you change, so that was nice. Regardless it was cheap and fairly easy. I got off a stop early by mistake, because they don’t announce them very often in Isle of Man, but regardless I managed to find it.

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I walked to the ferry terminal and dropped my stuff in a locker there. Made it so I didn’t have to wander all the way back to my accommodation to pick up my backpack and such, but also didn’t have to drag it with me.

Then I headed over to the steam railway station.

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There are several railway features in Isle of Man. They’re one of the things you’ll see advertised to do, which makes sense. They’re an easy transport and they are also incredibly fun and make it easy to go explore other parts of the island that might be more interesting than Douglas.

I’d decided I wanted to go to Castletown for the morning. There were two trains at decent times to be able to go there and back again. It seemed like a good option.

I bought the Go Explorer Heritage Pass for a day thinking that the pass gets you into attractions. It does not. Unless you buy the five day pass. So for any looking to use this, be warned. If you’re going to use lots of transport in one day, it’s a good deal, if not then I’d opt to just buy individual tickets and save your money. There is a pass that lets you into lots of the attractions on the island for like 14 days for only 20 euro, which is a very good deal, but obviously it wasn’t a good one for me being there only a day really.

Nonetheless I boarded the first train and quickly found out why these are recommended to do.

It’s a mix between Disneyland and a scenic drive. It felt sort of like a ride, but it was beautiful as well. You’d look out the windows and feel like you’d stepped back in time, rocking along in the carriage, steam billowing outside the windows. It was absolutely wonderful. I definitely enjoyed it to the max.

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I arrived in Castletown slightly later than expected. The problem is the conductors sell tickets too, so sometimes they take a while making sure everyone has a ticket before setting off. So be warned your train might not be precisely on time if you’re in a hurry.

Regardless I set out from the train to go explore Castle Rushen, the famed part of Castletown. You might understand why.

It’s a really well preserved castle. The exhibits are slightly dated looking, but all in all it’s quite a nice space, and that’s coming from a girl who’s seen castles all over France as a child.

My favorite element was that there were fantastic views from the top of the tallest tower, and you were allowed to climb all the way up and stare down at the city. On a beautiful sunny day it was perfect.

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After that I strolled through town quickly before heading back to catch the 12:27 train to Douglas. It was sad I had to cut my visit so short, but unfortunately it was needed

I enjoyed the rolling hills and beautiful scenery of the Isle of Man as I rode back. Again, if you’re on the Isle and have a chance to do the steam railways, especially on a nice day, it’s well worth it. The views are simply spectacular. You’ll see sheep and cows and pheasants. Views of the sea. Beautiful plants and farmland and so much more. And the steam engine is charming as well.

From Douglas I headed down to the ferry terminal. I technically had about 2 hours until my boat, but I knew trying to do much else would likely be pushing my luck, so I grabbed some coffee and tried to polish off the remaining Manx pounds I had on hand. Be warned if you go to the island that they use a different currency. If you’re coming from England they’ll still accept your British pounds, but for a visitor like me heading into England it was a problem because England won’t accept Isle of Man’s currency…which seems ridiculous, but definitely is something to be aware of.

The ferry was very similar to the one coming over. Quite nice overall. Cafes and shops and two cinemas showing films. It’s definitely a very comfortable way to travel (I’m writing this current post on a cramped train so you might understand why I say that).

From the ferry I had a mile walk to my hostel. I probably could have found transportation, but really didn’t want to mess with it. Thankfully it was a beautiful day so no problems on that front. I admired Liverpool’s lovely architecture as I walked.

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I arrived at Hatters Hostel. All in all my review of this place is quite good. It’s in this beautiful old building and quite cheap. On top of that you get free breakfast so I’m definitely not going to complain. The rooms were a bit cramped and they only had tiny lockers, so just could store valuables and that was it (not even a backpack would fit). But overall I was quite pleased.

I asked for dinner recommendations on the way out and was told that The Leaf on Bold Street was supposed to be quite good, so I decided I’d try it.

However, before heading there I figured I’d stop and see just a few things.

I arrived in Liverpool around six. So I knew everything I’d possibly want to see would be closed. Which meant I’d marked some more “public” spaces that I could still access as a tourist.

I started at St. George’s Hall which was a filming spot in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them. It wasn’t open of course, but I could still admire the beautiful outside.

The central library was also a stopping point for me. I love old libraries, and this one was very fun. It had been reconstructed, but the center room with triple layers of book shelves still seemed like the stuff out of movies, and the modern section was quite open and beautiful as well. On top of that it also has nice views from the roof. And again, it’s all free!

From there I headed to dinner as I was quite hungry.

The Leaf was popping, so it seemed worth a shot. I wish I’d gotten one of their teas, but it was a bit crowded and confusing and my server was training, so sadly didn’t get a chance to try any of that. I did have a Victorian Lemonade, and a dish of falafel with flatbread, which sounded quite good at the time.

The food all in all was decent, but definitely nothing spectacular. The flat bread was dry and the falafel itself pretty tasteless and the combo of flavors just left something to be desired. But it was cheap and filling and I do have to remember this is England… not exactly the center of fine cuisine.

Then back to the hostel for sleep. Unfortunately I should add this to my review of Hatters. Quite nice overall, but the fire alarm did go off for no apparent reason in the evening. When my roommate and I dashed out into the lobby, the receptionist said it was no problem and to not worry about it. But it continued going off for a good few minutes for no apparent reason. Definitely a bit strange. Didn’t help that we’d left our room key in our haste to get out. Thankfully they made us another one.

Then on for a good night’s sleep. Because the next morning I was off to Scotland!

Off to the Isle of Man

/ Emily / Leave a comment

“Ah, you’ve come over the water. Powerful wet stuff, ain’t it?”
― C.S. Lewis, The Voyage of the “Dawn Treader”

When I was booking my trip to Ireland and the United Kingdom, I was doing so looking at a map. And on that map, Isle of Man caught my eye. This tiny little country between the two ones I was visiting seemed like the perfect stop over!

I should clarify that it’s not truly its own country as far as I know (I’m no expert on this political stuff). It still remains listed as a colony I believe, but regardless it has its own currency and flag and still seemed like an adventure.

So I set out from Dublin by bus over to the ferry port. And from there I took a ferry to Douglas, Isle of Man.

The ferry was decent value for the price. I booked my next trip in Greece and my word the ferry was expensive! Regardless it seemed like a fairly easy option for how to get to this island I was set on visiting.

I went for an Airbnb as there really aren’t really any hostels on the island and hotels weren’t cheap. I think if you’re more outdoorsy you could do camping or something, but I sadly don’t have the equipment with me to do so. So Airbnb it was.

I stayed in a garden pod on a lovely property not too far from Douglas, which was a very fun setting.

I will warn future visitors that you should probably just take a cab there, as it will be easier. I took the bus to quarter bridge road and then walked the rest of the way, but it is up a steep hill and was a little confusing to access, and the bus is across a very busy road.

Regardless I stopped in and dropped off my bags. The setup was very cute and again the best option for someone looking to stay only a night in a semi-cheap accommodation. It’s not glamorous, but it works.

After dropping my stuff I took the bus to head over to Peel, a town on the opposite coast of the island. It’s like a 30 minute ride from Douglas over, and I was hoping to head to the castle.

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Sadly, I forgot the castle closes at 4, so no luck for me. But still I was able to wander along the coast and enjoy the sights and get some good shots of the castle from the outside. I also hiked up Peel Hill? Mountain? I cannot remember. The town itself was also very quaint and cute. Some pretty old churches and cottages and then the fun marina. It’s just a lovely place to visit, so if you’re on Isle of Man make sure to get over to Peel.

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I enjoyed the views. I was tempted to hike to a tower, but it was a fair distance away, and I was getting hungry. So I decided to take the bus back to Douglas for food. I walked around town a little, though again any museums or anything to see was closed at that point, but with the rain gone it was still nice to be able to explore a little bit and enjoy the town.

I ended up just going to one of the first places I could find, down near the harbor. It was a seafood place called Tanroagan Seafood Restaurant. I had some delicious local beer and fish and chips! The other more creative dishes looked amazing too, but I was trying to be budget. I loved that they brought different kinds of bread to your table and you chose which one you wanted. Very fun! Cute place and nice location. I was very pleased overall.

Then took the bus back to my Airbnb. Was pretty tired out and knew I needed to get an early night’s sleep to have some time in the morning to explore.

Day Two in Dublin

/ Emily / Leave a comment

“The world is full of magic things, patiently waiting for our senses to grow sharper.”
― W.B. Yeats

My second day in Dublin made me fall even more in love with the city. It’s so fun and lively and there’s so much to see. Admittedly I was spoiled with fantastic weather, but still.

That morning I woke early (first out of my six person room early) and headed down to breakfast before catching the redline tram over to Kilmainham Gaol. I’d seen it listed on good things to do in Dublin, so I of course thought I’d check it out.

I had read online it was best to have a ticket booked ahead of time. Sure enough when I went on to check, several times for the day had already filled up. So I went ahead and booked a 10 o’clock ticket.

I arrived with plenty of time to spare, so had a bit of free time to look around at the museum area upfront. And then before too long the tour began.

It was pretty good overall. Our guide led us through the jail, telling us more about the history and what had happened at particular places. It was an interesting place to see, especially noting the changes between the older and the newer parts of the jail. I was in disbelief when I heard that during the famine period they had ten times their capacity, often putting 5 to a tiny cell. So insane.

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After an hour long tour we were allowed to look through the museum on our own time. It’s fairly small, but still a nice collection. I spent about a half an hour just browsing, not reading all the signs. But it does provide some additional insight into the jail.

Once I was finished at the jail I hopped on the rail to get back towards the Guinness Storehouse, my next stop.

Again, I’d seen it listed as a fun attraction, so I figured I’d try.

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It’s quite pricey. And as someone who isn’t a big beer fan, it maybe wasn’t the best choice. However, I did still have fun. The facility is very nicely laid out. They make it very fun and interactive and you learn a lot. It’s just a pity that it’s so expensive and crowded, and of course that it basically just acts as one big advertisement for the beer. It reminds me of the Coca Cola museum in Atlanta, except that the coke museum at least has a fantastic tasting room at the end where you can try all kinds of different sodas.

At the end of the Guinness tour you just get a glass of the beer.

Not bad all in all, but definitely not to my taste in beer. And others agreed as I saw full glasses left scattered throughout the bar.

Well, up to you on whether or not you want to do it. It’s not my recommendation overall, but for Guinness or beer lovers this might be just the thing you need.

After that I was torn between going back to my hostel and resting for a bit and continuing on my way.

I’d already decided that my next stop needed to be the archaeology museum.

I ended up stopping at the natural history museum on my way. The place was free, so I figured why not since I had some spare time and since I was already there.

It’s two levels, but otherwise quite small. I’ve seen better natural history museums, but it still had a nice collection of animals and some fun things to see. And again, being donation only, it’s really not a bad pop in if you’re in the area.

I walked over to St. Stephen’s Green, a beautiful open park. I didn’t spend much time there, but on a beautiful sunny day it was certainly a sight to behold.

After that I headed to the right side of the block to enter the archaeology museum.

It’s definitely one of my top recommendations for Dublin. Lots of interesting artifacts, and my personal favorite, the bog bodies. Essentially they are mummified bodies that were preserved in the bogs of Ireland and are fascinating to behold! I’d never seen anything quite like them. I’m posting the least gruesome photo I have so you can see.

I was pretty much exhausted at that point, but I was close to the gallery so I figured I’d pop in since it was free.

Well, rather it advertises it is free.

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Apparently when I was there they were having a special exhibition, meaning that most of the museum was not free as a result. Only two rooms were open to the public, one of which had children’s drawings, and the other which had a few sculptures. Not too impressive. So be warned you might need to pay to go in. Check if it’s an exhibition you want to see. I wasn’t all that interested in going if I had to pay.

I headed back towards my hostel. I’d thought about visiting the Dublin Writer’s Museum, but I was simply too tired after a full day to possibly go. So I went to the store and bought some snacks for the next few day’s lunches. I have a strict one paid meal per day policy. So I usually just get some snacks for breakfast or lunch (if my hostel doesn’t provide breakfast). So I stocked up for the coming days.

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A swing through Trinity in the sun!

I took a quick break at my hostel before heading out to find dinner again.

Another recommendation from my tour guide the day before had been The Winding Stair, a restaurant along the river not far from the half-penny bridge.

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The prices weren’t cheap, but for what was included it was a good deal. Besides, one meal policy leaves a little room for splurging in the evening. So I had the three course meal to spoil myself.

I started with a watercress and potato soup, then lamb with mint and yogurt sauce, potatoes and broccoli, and finally a slice of dark chocolate cherry brownie with vanilla ice cream.

It was exceptionally delicious.

After the meal I headed back to my hostel. I was lucky enough to arrive back in time to the hostel in order to use the steam room. It’s only open for three hours in the evening, and only two of those are open to girls (one girls, one mixed group).

Anyhow, changed into my suit and hopped in the sauna. It was ridiculously warm so I only lasted about 10-15 minutes, but it felt really good and refreshing. So here’s my plug for Isaac’s Hostel with their awesome steam room. Very cool feature!

Then on for a good night’s sleep. I needed to be well rested and prepared for my adventure the coming day. After all, I was about to leave the beautiful country of Ireland and venture off towards a new place… The Isle of Man.

First Day in Dublin

/ Emily / 1 Comment

“When I die Dublin will be written in my heart” -James Joyce

I should preface this post by saying I was an English major in university. That’s probably pretty obvious for the upcoming posts about my adventures, but you should know this fact going in. I’m quite biased about what sights you should see visiting the British Isles due to my nerdy classic literature loving…and hence why I’ll try to have quotes from authors of each city/area I visited as the heading to my posts. Regardless, here are my thoughts on Dublin.

So as someone who usually rushes from place to place while traveling, I decided that I was going to try to be better and give myself two full days in Dublin, plus a night when I arrived. So three nights, two days. I hoped it would be enough.

It’s never enough.

Admittedly I was spoiled early in life when my father took me to live in France for a semester. I forget that I cannot possibly hope to see everything in a few day’s time. But I do my best.

I’d used Inspirock to create a day to day plan. So for my first day the plan was to do a 3 hour walking tour, go to Dublin Castle, go to the Chester Beatty Library, go to Trinity College, and finish off with a walk in Merrion Square.

Not quite how things went exactly. Because travel can’t fit a perfect little formulaic plan. Things happen. It’s the reason I normally avoid booking too many things, because otherwise a schedule can fall apart under stress very quickly.

The walking tour started at 10 AM after a breakfast at the hostel. It was with Sandeman’s New Europe, my favorite company. I have grown to love them because they really do put in a lot of time and effort into making a good walking tour due to the fact that they run on a tips only basis. I’ve yet to have a Sandeman’s tour I don’t like, and I’ve done their tours in Berlin, Amsterdam, Hamburg, and now Dublin.

 

Our guide led us around the city and told us more about the history and the culture and the sights. We started with the castle and then worked our way down to the old national library.

However, when we finished I’d decided I didn’t want to go to the castle after all. It’s the good thing about such tours, they sometimes give you a better scope of the city and what you might want to, or not want to do.

The castle is mostly reconstruction, so I decided it wasn’t really top priority to me. Besides, we’d moved further away from it so it wasn’t a great place to start. So I thought I’d head to the archeology museum instead, only to see it was closed on Mondays. Yay.

I peeked in the National Library, which had a free exhibition on William Butler Yeats. Overall quite fun. It was interesting to see original copies of poems I’d had to read for class.

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The library itself required you to check bags and such and the librarians all seemed quite grumpy and mean so I decided to skip it. So it was off to Trinity College instead.

I didn’t feel like I needed a full tour of the place. As much as I love Wilde and Swift and other people who attended this university ages before, I felt that another tour might be excessive. So I settled for going to see the library and the famous Book of Kells, an ancient copy of the gospels with beautiful illumination.

It was a bit of a wait to get in, but the weather wasn’t too bad, so I didn’t mind. It might have been nice to have booked a ticket, but I think it took me less than 20 minutes to get in, so really not too bad in the long run.

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The line for Book of Kells

The books themselves were beautiful. They sadly don’t allow pictures (which makes sense), so I cannot show you them. But look them up and see for yourself. They’re quite lovely and impressive.

However, the most impressive thing is the Long Room, or the actual library. It is a beautiful collection you’ve probably seen used in photos of gorgeous libraries… or maybe in its resemblance in Star Wars Attack of the Clones (the actual library was supposed to be used in the films but they weren’t allowed…so I guess they took photos and digitally recreated it… Trinity sued and won…of course).

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Regardless photos in the long room were allowed, thank heavens. Because it is absolutely stunning. If you love books and libraries then you need to see this. It’s a must.

Well to continue on in my nerdiness I headed over to the Chester Beatty Library. A free collection of beautiful works originally from a private collection. They had a nice variety, all quite beautiful and rare. I was quite in awe looking at all of them, but unfortunately, again, photos weren’t allowed, except on the roof where you had a nice view!

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Regardless, this is a must, especially since it is free. If you’re in Dublin for a few days and love books, check it out!

I headed to Christ Church Cathedral next. It’s not as big as Saint Patrick’s Cathedral, but it’s the older of the two, so I thought it might be fun to see.

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They charge to get in, but it’s not exorbitant, and you get to see the crypt too which is quite large.

They also had things up for lent, like a reflective prayer walk that I enjoyed.

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But my favorite thing to see was the mummified cat and rat. Both had gotten stuck in an organ pipe and died in it. As the organ wasn’t used for a while during some rougher periods in the church, no one noticed. So yes, they basically mummified until they were pulled out the next time people wanted to use the organ.

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It’s a fascinating story and the bodies were morbid but interesting.

I walked over to Saint Patrick’s Cathedral as well and took photos of the outside. Honestly, I hate when cathedrals charge, as I generally don’t spend a lot of time in them and have seen a lot of others that might have been more impressive, and therefore it isn’t worth it if I have to pay. But I understand that sometimes it’s needed for general upkeep and the like. Hey, support conservation of historical places, right?

After that I walked back over to my hostel for a break and a phone recharge.

And then I set out for dinner.

My tour guide recommended a few places, but one of them also had good trip advisor reviews and was considered authentic Irish cuisine. So I figured it might be fun to try.

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I showed up fairly early, and as a person by myself it was easy to get a table. But I was glad I arrived when I did, as not twenty minutes later they were asking people if they had reservations and had to turn some people away. So good luck on my part. Definitely an advantage of solo travel alongside just having good planning in arriving early (or you can do late too…that often works…though not in Spain…then it’s just insanely late).

I started with vegetable soup to treat myself, and then had a boxty, a traditional Irish potato pancake with slices of beef cooked in whiskey and a creamy mushroom sauce.

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Oh my word the dish was delicious. The sauce was so amazing, and the beef was cooked to perfection. The pancake was fine with the rest, but I didn’t know if it was all that special by itself.

Paired those off with the restaurants own craft beer and then had baileys cheesecake for dessert to be extra indulgent. And that was quite amazing too.

If you’re looking for a good Irish place definitely try Boxty House. It’s super delicious, not badly priced, and also in a great location right near Temple Bar.

Alongside all that I also decided I wanted to walk over to Merrion Square and get a picture with Oscar Wilde. He’s one of my favorite writers and a very brilliant man, and it seemed like a fun idea.

I had to run to get there before the park closed, but I made it and I got my picture. Also stopped by his house, which is sadly no longer open to the public. But got a commemorative photo of my own taking.

Then back to the hostel. Sadly arrived too late to use the steam room (has only a 3 hour window which is unfortunate) but regardless I had a fantastic first day in Dublin.