This week has been a first for traveling alone throughout England. On Tuesday I took a train to my MP's district to campaign and spend the night. I door knocked throughout his district which was an experience almost identical to my previous campaigning in the States. It was funny to see people's reactions opening the door to an American accent asking them to vote Conservative in the election.
Yesterday I travelled further west. I've always wanted to pay the town of Bath a visit and with 3 of my flatmates out of town this weekend and the other 2 with friends in town, I decided Saturday was the perfect time for a day trip. The journey to Bath was only 2 hours and a beautiful drive through the English countryside and quaint little towns like Chippenham.
Bath is easily one of the most beautiful places I've ever seen. Although it's an ancient town that dates back thousands of years and is full of buildings and architecture that reflect this history, it's full of amazing and high end shops, restaurants, art galleries, etc., which make it an amazing place to visit. I didn't realize how much there'd be to do and see in Bath and left feeling like my five hours in the city weren't enough to explore it all.
I was very relaxed when planning my visit, not really having much of a plan for when I got to the city. As soon as I arrived, I found a cafe with wifi to map out my journey, which included stops at the Roman baths, Royal Crescent, Victoria Park, and Pulteney Bridge. However, along my way, I ran into the cutest shops and found myself wanting to pop in every one of them so I didn't make it to all of the places I wanted to see.
After walking through town and seeing the sites, I stopped into a highly reviewed restaurant, the Blue Quails Cafe, for lunch before leaving town.
The outside of the baths, which date back 4,000 years
Bath Abbey
The baths were covered over by buildings over the centuries and when they were discovered 400 years ago these statues of famous Roman figures were also found
Last weekend I finally got around to crossing off Dublin from my must-visit bucket list. The trip was planned spontaneously as 3 of my friends and I were sitting at the dinner table one night and said let's go to Dublin in a few weekends! Considering the land of the leperchauns was somewhere I always wanted to visit, I was up for the trip and, before you knew it, we were in Ireland.
We got into Dublin on a Saturday evening and the second we left the airport we tracked down a restaurant since we were all so hungry. Saturday night was very quiet and after we ate dinner we headed back to our hostel to get a good night's rest to be able to explore on Sunday.
Sunday was packed with seeing the city. I'm pretty sure we walked the entire city of Dublin. One thing I was not prepared for was the freezing temperatures. Living in London I think I've become used to being a vampire not seeing the sunlight, so when we looked up the forecast for Dublin and saw that the weather said sunny, I assumed it would be warm - goodness, was I wrong. It was freezing in Dublin. After grabbing breakfast and indulging in some Irish coffees (naturally), I immediately realized only packing a pair of flats for the weekend was a massive mistake. Before our adventures began, we had to stop by an H&M so I could grab a pair of boots to protect my cold feet.
After that slight detour the adventures began. Our first stop was to Trinity College to see the Book of Kels and explore its beautiful old library. The library was as breathtaking as the campus. I honestly had no real interest in viewing the Book of Kels, but since it came with our admission ticket I ended up seeing it and was blown away by the intricate details of the books of Gospel that were illuminated in Ireland in the 800s.
The campus of Trinity College
Trinity College Library
After Trinity College we headed over to St. Patrick's Cathedral. I could not get over how old this church is (it was built in the early 1000s) and how beautiful it remains after all these years.
My friend Luke in front of St. Patrick's
The sight of a well where Saint Patrick would baptize Dubliners
After seeing St. Patrick's, we had a scheduled tour of the Guinness factory. Although it's one of the main attractions in Dublin, I had no massive desire to see it before our trip. However, during our planning, all of my friends really wanted to see it and I realized it could be pretty interesting. While the tour itself was slightly boring for me since I'm not too knowledgable on the process of making beer, the Guinness was amazing. The tour included a free pint of Guinness, which you were taught to pour perfectly, and access to the Gravity Bar, which had a 360 degree view of the city. It ended up being the highlight of my trip.
We were so exhausted after Guinness so we headed to the oldest pub in Dublin, which was right down the road, and grabbed dinner before heading back to our hostel to rest before heading back out to watch the Super Bowl at a pub in downtown Dublin. The pub we went to for dinner, The Brazen Head, dates back to 1198 and had incredible food, fireplaces, and live Irish music. It was exactly what I picture when I think of a traditional Irish pub. For dinner I had an Irish lamb stew that was out-of-this-world amazing.
Before heading out Monday night, we explored the Dublin Castle and its gardens and St. Stephen's Park, both of which were gorgeous. It was a bit weird to me though that the Dublin Castle, an ancient prison, sat amongst modern buildings in the middle of Dublin.
St. Stephen's park
I'll be honest, Dublin was not at all what I was expecting. While my idea and expectations of the city may have been a little high after seeing PS I Love You a dozen times and expecting the city to be like the beautiful countryside (you mean Gerard Butler won't actually be singing to me at a pub?), I felt like the city was overly Americanized.
There were American flags everywhere and most of the restaurants were geared toward American tourists (I can get a bacon cheeseburger at home, thankyouverymuch). It was incredibly disappointing to see a city with so much history and culture of its own brimming with America. While there were pockets of the Dublin I was expecting, the city was too touristy for me and I began to have doubts about traveling throughout Europe. I began to panic and think that everywhere I travel will be overly Americanized and not the full cultural immersion I expect. I also got incredibly homesick for London and found myself ready to leave Dublin the first full day I was there.
My cold feet in Dublin didn't just come from my lack of proper footwear. I began to have cold feet about traveling Europe in general and leaving London. I've fallen so in love with London that I became hesitant to want to travel elsewhere during my stay here. However, after coming to grasps with reality I remembered that each experience is what I make of it. Even though the city was Americanized and touristy, I still had a great time and am so glad I was able to see a place that has been on my travel list since I can remember. In Dublin I learned that some times the cure for cold feet is to strap on some boots and enjoy each adventure for what it is.
