On Saturday we woke up bright and early to a still very windy and chilly Dublin. We wandered over to Trinity College on the other side of the water and checked out its many beautiful buildings.
The campus was gorgeous, but a lot smaller than I would have thought considering how well known it is. After Trinity College, we decided to begin our trek across town to the Guinness Brewery. On our way there, we saw many pretty churches, old government buildings and views of the surrounding areas. The Guinness Brewery was a really interesting experience because of the history behind the brewery. The premises is in a very conspicuous location and has been the location of the Guinness enterprise since the very beginning. Also, the beer has remained in the hands of the same family since it was created. Unfortunately you do not get to go in the actual brewery buildings when you visit the premises. However, we did get to learn a lot about the history of Guinness and how it is made to have such a unique taste. We also had the opportunity to pour our very own 'perfect' glasses of Guinness.
Who knew there could be such a precise method to pouring a beer? There were so many seemingly unnecessary elements to it like the amount of gas used on the tap and the amount of time you let it sit before drinking. Yet, the beers tasted as good as Guinness can taste (as I don't really like the taste all that much). After raiding the Guinness store, we headed back toward the City Centre and went to Rick's Burgers, the burger joint that Grace (who is studying in Dublin) had recommended to us. Though it is kind of embarrassing to admit that we basically had fast food in Ireland, the burger was absolutely amazing. Honestly had to have been one of the best cheeseburgers that I have ever had... and that says a lot because I have had many a cheeseburger in my day. After lunch, we continued to wander and made our way over to the National Gallery. We saw some Irish art, which tended to be more contemporary and realist, and some classic impressionist paintings like those of Monet. Then we continued to meander around the City Centre along some of the shopping streets and eventually made our way to St. Stephen's Green.
The park was absolutely beautiful. It definitely would have been even more gorgeous if it had been sunnier and warmer out, yet we were in Dublin... you can't expect sunshine in Ireland in November! We made our way through St. Stephen's Green, saw some mallard ducks, then headed back to our hostel to give ourselves a little rest. That night we ended up just finding a small Italian place to eat at (me? Italian? nooo...) then went to the same pub that we had been at the night before for a sider and the end of X-Factor. We were quite exhausted at that point and ended up heading back to our hostel to get some rest. It was great to see the girls and just hang out and discuss things that we haven't really had the chance to talk about in our months apart. It was also interesting to hear about how our abroad experiences are similar and different, with Bridget basically alone in Galway, Kristen studying in London through Wake Forest's Worrell House, and me studying in London through Boston University.
By early Saturday morning, we were definitely ready to head back to our respective locales. The weekend was great and I absolutely enjoyed the memories we made. It was wonderful to see some familiar faces, learn about Guinness, and see what Dublin is like. I would have to say, I would not necessarily recommend visiting Dublin simply because it just seems to be like London on a bad day. I know I have been spoiled here in London because this really is one of the most amazing cities in the world. Yet, I just found that Dublin did not really have its own character to it. It reminded me a little of Copenhagen, but then had the British feel to it. Unlike Copenhagen, however, it did not have its own unique architecture. And unlike London, it seemed slightly dull and mundane. Perhaps therein lies the problem I will face in four weeks' time... I surely hope that I can still find places to be beautiful and exciting even though they aren't in Europe.
Since I’ve been back from Dublin, my week has been relatively normal. I mean, not normal in terms of my American life. Yet, normal in terms of my London life like shopping for food in Harrods and working at Parliament. Today I actually got to go to the Prorogation in the House of Lords where the Royal Assent (the Queen’s approval of laws that have gone through the House of Commons and House of Lords took place for various bills like the Health Bill, Autism Bill, and Marine and Coastal Access Bills. As my colleague V said as we left the House of Lords, it was “just a little bit of history.” I had another one of those moments as I listened to the Queen’s Deputy give the Queen’s approval for the laws in question. I was looking at the gilded throne upon which the Queen sits during the State Opening of Parliament (which is next Wednesday) and felt a little pang of sadness for my impending return to the states. Where am I going to see golden thrones in the U.S., something that I have become all too accustomed to seeing? Oh… the burdens placed upon those American students who opt to take a walk on the wild side and fall in love with somewhere new. Anyway, this weekend I will be going on a daytrip to Bath and am hopefully going London-hopping on Sunday to different markets. One month left? No thank you.
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