Dublin, Day 2 - Churches, Trinity College and Pony-Trekking

Day 2 in Dublin, Ireland, January 26, 2013
        After our first night in the hostel, we started our day early. After a breakfast of toast and hot chocolate or juice, we were on the search for some churches! When we were trying to find where we were going, a nice old man pointed with his cane which direction to go! The first church we went into was Christ Church Cathedral, an Anglican church. It was originally built in the 10th century, but has been rebuilt since then. There was some sort of music festival going on in Dublin that weekend, and in the church a stage was set up. It got in the way of some pictures! But the church was really pretty. It had stained glass windows and also intricate tiling designs. The church had multiple chapels in the back dedicated to different saints. It also had a crypt, which was kind of creepy, but is supposed to be oldest structure in Dublin, and the largest crypt in Britain and Ireland. They had many artifacts such as bibles, songbooks, and tombs. The TV show the Tudors was filmed in the church, so they had some of the costumes from it. 

Christ Church Cathedral

Site of Christ Church Chapter room, built in 10th century

 

Creepy crypt

        Our next stop was St. Patrick's Cathedral. It was absolutely gorgeous. This church too was being used for the music festival. A church for St. Patrick has stood in the spot since the 5th century, and the church that sits there today was built in the early 13th century. It just seemed so Irish!

St. Patrick's Cathedral

Statue of St. Patrick

Pretty stained glass windows

    Our next stop was Trinity College! It was so pretty...I wanted to just stay in Dublin and go to school there! We just walked around the campus; we did not get to see the library or Book of Kells. Trinity College is Ireland's oldest university.

Trinity College

Trinity College Campanile

     Then it was time for me to go pony trekking! We found the train station for the DART (Dublin Area Rapid Transport) and I bought a ticket to Bray, and then I was on my way by myself. I had to wait a little bit for the right train to come (although now I wonder if the other train going south would have gotten me to the same place). I got to the Bray train station, and then waited for the Finnegan Bus to come along, which was a local bus. The Dublin Bus runs in the town, but none of the stops were close to the riding school. I waited a while for the Finnegan Bus, and then I got on and went to the Brennanstown Riding School. I walked down a road to get to the riding school, and followed some other riders to see where they were going. I got checked in, and got a helmet, and then I was ready to go! One of the older ladies that was also on my ride told me what to do...the horses were just sitting in a muddy ring, and their were younger girls that brought out the horses. So, I got my pony, Bumblebee and got on inside another ring. There were only 2 older ladies in my "ride out", but there was also another ride with about 9 young kids, probably aged 8-10. They were all riding ponies and it was so cute!! We started our ride, and it was kind of drizzly, but not too bad. It was so muddy though...I would not ride my own horse in those conditions! We were able to trot and canter some, but couldn't go the way that was planned due to hunters and some event that was going on. I think they are limited anyway in the winter since it rains the most in Ireland then. The scenery was pretty, with a mountain nearby and a lot of forested area and some creeks. And I got to see their cross-country course. It was a lot of fun, and I was kind of glad we didn't do a lot because I didn't have half-chaps on! (for English riders no halfchaps/tall boots and jeans = saddle sore).

View from DART on way to Bray...a small harbor

An our way back to the stable, following the kids on ponies!

Me riding Bumblebee, after the pony trekking. Look how muddy she is! (her legs were white before I got on)

       I made my way back to Dublin and met my friends at the train station, because it was dark and I didn't know where I was going. We walked around some and found a Carroll's to get Irish souvenirs. We were all really hungry and went to find something to eat. But by then it was 7:30 and a Saturday night, so most of the bars were packed with drinkers. We decided to go back to P'Borza (it must have stayed open really late) and I got some fish and chips, yum! We took our time eating and then walked back to our hostel because we were so tired! 

Things I learned in Ireland:

• There are a lot of churches in Ireland
• Horseback riders wear protective vests, even if they aren't jumping...I don't do that, and I've never been to a stable in the US that does that either!
• Rubber tall boots are a thing to ride in, too
• It rains a lot in Ireland, and is really muddy! But is also really green
• Fish and chips is a good meal
• Ireland also has Fanta...why isn't it as popular in the US? They even had the lemon kind!
• I love Irish things! Going into gift shops was a lot of fun
• I am glad I am Irish...my great-grandmother came over from Ireland!
• I want to go back to Ireland!

Cheers!

Dublin, Day 1 - Arrival and Guinness Storehouse

          I went to Ireland this weekend, and it was so much fun!! I really enjoyed the city of Dublin, and the countryside. It was a lot less hectic than Madrid, and everyone was extremely nice. Since I haven't had much to say lately during the school week, I will just do 3 separate posts about Dublin (for the 3 days I was there), because I loved it so much and I have so much to talk about!!
       Our flight left around 9, so that meant that we had to be up really early...not fun. But we took the Metro and got checked into our flight alright, and had plenty of time to spare. The flight was only about 2 hours, so I read and slept for a little bit. Before we left Spain, I was able to take some good pictures of the mountains! 

      When we got to Dublin, we had to wait a long time to go through customs, because there was a very large group of people from Brazil that were staying for 3 months, so they took longer. We finally got our luggage and we were off! All of the people I traveled with got the Dublin Pass, which you pay a certain price for it and it gets you into things for free. But, I figured since Friday we didn't have a full day, Saturday I was going pony-trekking, and Sunday Claire and I were touring the Cliffs of Moher, I didn't think it was worth it for me to get one (and I'm glad I didn't!). But if you plan to stay in Dublin for a full 2 or 3 days, it is probably worth it. 
      We got on a bus that was supposed to take us to the city center, which was kind of close to our hostel. Well, I don't think our hostel was close to city center, or at least not close to where the bus dropped us off, so we ended up walking around Dublin for a while. At least it wasn't raining! When we were walking, a lady asked us if we needed help and she pointed us in the correct direction. 
      We made it to the Four Courts Hostel and were able to check in. My first thought when I entered the hostel was "hippie", because there were posters on all the walls, and paintings, and the two men checking us in looked like brothers (or maybe even twins) because they both had gray hair pulled into a ponytail. There were a total of 6 of us, and 4 of us go to stay in the same room, a 6 person room, and the 2 others went a little cheaper and were staying in the 16 person room. It was definitely worth it to spend an extra 2 or 3 euros a night to have less people in a room...and it was only the 4 of until our last night, and we had our own bathroom! 
      After we got all of our things settled, we asked the man at the desk where to get something to eat, and where the Guinness Storehouse was. He told us to go to P' Borza, so we did, and it was good! I had fries (chips) and some water...we were all just so hungry. 
        We went to the Guinness Storehouse and did the tour. I wish we could have actually seen them make the beer, but they just explained the processes of it. It was really interesting, they had a section about Guinness advertising, how they make the beer and whats in it, you could look up your name to see if any family members had worked for Guinness, and of course you got to taste it. They had one part of the self-guided tour where they gave you a sample of it. I did not like it at all! I took one sip and I was done..ewww. Apparently it is an acquired taste. We went up to the Gravity Bar and looked out at Dublin. It was really cool that you could see all of Dublin from the bar, but it was crowded and quite foggy out. We then went to learn how to pour our own Guinness. It was fun to learn how to do it, and it was easy once one of the instructors told us what to do and why you do it. Who knew that there was a specific way to pour beer, well at least Guinness. You have to hold it at a certain angle, and then fill it up 3/4 of the way, and then let it sit for a little, and then you fill it up all the way, pushing the handle the other way though. Apparently they use nitrogen instead of carbonation, so you have to let it sit to let the bubbles do whatever they do. We all got certificates saying that we are certified in pouring Guinness! After, we went to the gift shop to look and see what they had. I didn't know what I would do with a Guinness pint glass, so I ended up getting 2 postcards.

My perfectly poured pint of Guinness! 

I thought this ad was cute, so I got a postcard of it

           After our trip to the Guinness Storehouse, we walked through the rain and ate at a restaurant close to our hostel, called O'Shea's. One of the men working at the hostel told us on Fridays they had 2 for 1 meals, so we were totally interested! I got a hamburger with cheese and bacon (actually ham) on a floury bap (a big roll) with chips. It was so good! We were all really tired, so we headed back to the hostel and found a room in the basement where we could all sit and charge our phones. It was a room with some books, but there was another room that had a TV with DVDs and also a Wii. We then went to bed at a reasonable hour so we could get up early to explore more of Dublin!

Things I learned in Ireland:

• It is better to spend an extra 2 or 3 euros a night at a hostel for a smaller room with its own bathroom
• Bring locks (combination lock and something smaller) so that you can lock up your things. At the hostel we had metal cages under our beds so we could lock up our belongings, there was also a locked room to store luggage
• You can't go to Ireland without a rain jacket, I had one and I was really happy I did
• People dress normally in Ireland, unlike in Spain where they always dress up. I would say sneakers/tennis shoes are acceptable
• Irish people are so nice and have awesome accents - multiple times people pointed us in the correct direction or asked if we needed help
• Irish people start drinking early - like 7. So eat dinner before then so the bars, restaurants, and pubs aren't crowded with drinkers
• Make sure to bring the appropriate converter. Ireland (and the UK) has different plugs than the rest of Europe, they use a 3 pronged one. But make sure that fits into your US plugs, because I needed the Europe plug  (which I didn't bring) to fit into the UK/Ireland one
•  Look right-left-right before crossing the road, because in Ireland people drive on the wrong side of the road...left instead of right! 

Cheers! 

Going to Ireland!!

Hello everyone! So I will be in Ireland for the next couple of days, and won't be able to update my blog, but I am sure I will be full of stories when I come back!

Nothing too exciting happened today, except I actually made the microwave popcorn that I got last week..and then I burned it a little. But it was pretty good...as some of you may know I love popcorn and I have missed it so much!!!

We had leftover lentil soup, salad, bread, fries, and breaded/fried beef for dinner tonight. Claire and I thought we were just going to get the fries and beef, and were super excited...then she pulled out the lentil soup. She put rice in it which did make it taste better. 

Things I have learned in Spain:

• The SuperSol near SLU-Madrid has more varieties of little packages of tissues than the boxes...I got 15 little things of 10 tissues for about a euro! 
• Packing is stressful...so is traveling
• Madrid has an Egyptian temple...who knew! I have to visit it for my art history class, so I'll be sure to take some pictures of it
• I am really excited to go to Ireland!!

¡Adios!

Another day of school

     Sorry I didn't make a blogpost yesterday, for those of you that might read my blog daily! I got caught up with homework, trip plans, and such. Nothing too interesting happened yesterday, but I did go to the SuperSol and get these Teddy graham type things because I was so hungry and didn't know what to get! They are chocolate but look exactly like Teddy Grahams but apparently are some sort of cereal or breakfast item for kids. They don't have too much processed food here...I really wanted some pretzels.
      I decided to drop my archaeology class, it was interesting but seemed like too much work. So, I had even more time to do things! I went to get money for my upcoming trip (to Dublin, yay!) and Claire was also looking for a mailbox to mail a letter. Well, we saw something that said Correos on it, but it wasn't a mailbox! We looked all around it for a mail slot, but there wasn't anything. We figured it was for the businesses or something...maybe. Then we went and found a store called Alvarez, which is a big sports store that has things for fishing, skiing, scuba diving, tennis, soccer, and horseback riding! I bought some boots for about 40 euros...they look pretty nice and fit well, and that price is pretty cheap for boots, even in dollars! I hope to do some horseback riding while I am in Europe, and hopefully when I go to Dublin! 
    Claire went to SLU Madrid and I went back to the apartment to drop off my boots - my first time on the Metro alone. It wasn't that bad at all. I have been walking the same way every day to and from school that I don't think I'll forget which way to go. I got back to the apartment and dropped off my stuff, and didn't really know what to do so I just took my time getting to SLU Madrid. I ate lunch with Claire and some other friends, and then we stayed in the extremely tiny cafeteria until our next class. History was good, we are still talking about the Renaissance and looking at art; that's fine with me! I definitely recognize paintings from when I was at CJA and taking art history. 
     On our way home, we saw a Correos mailman on a scooter, and we joked about just giving the letter to him, but then guess what Claire and I saw...a mailbox! It was yellow and said Correos on it. Whoever said that mailboxes are everywhere was not telling the truth. That was the first mailbox I have seen in Madrid! But now we know where one is, so that's good. 
      We got home and talked with our roommate Brittany how small SLU Madrid really is. No one actually told me how small it is. Everyone said, "oh yeah its small", but small can mean different things. So, I would like to tell all potential SLU-Madrid students: SLU-Madrid is about as big as 1/2 of Ritter Hall, or maybe same size as Pruellage, with 675 students. Just so you are not shocked of its size, it is a big difference from SLU.The location is great and its really fun, but difficult to find a place inside to study when it is cold out! Oh, and all the hallways and stairs are outside. Hopefully when they get the new building open there will be more places to go. 
     Tonight for dinner we had spaghetti with meat sauce, bread, and a slice of cheese. I miss my green veggies! 

Things I have learned in Spain:

• Mailboxes in Spain do exist and are bright yellow and round
• Mailmen/women ride on scooters to deliver or pick-up mail
• Planning out trips is hard and I understand why people hire travel agents
• It is scary when you go to an ATM because it takes the card from you, and when you are done it spits it out
• Spain doesn't sell a lot of processed food in grocery stores...I just wanted some pretzels or cheez-its! 

 

¡Adios!

 

More classes...and a video!

     So I ended up putting my video on YouTube, because it wasn't uploading to my blog! You can only see it if you watch it here, with the link. If you search for it it on YouTube, it won't come up. When you watch it make sure you have the sound on!

    Today I had more class, archaeology and history. Archaeology isn't going so well, so I am going to talk to an adviser to see what class I can switch to....when I signed up I didn't realize it had an expensive trip, 200 euros! And the two books are expensive too. The topic is really interesting...but it seems like a hard class. Let's face it, I want to take easy core classes! History was good, we talked more about the Renaissance and art. If he relates everything we talk about to art history, that would be awesome! There is so much you can learn from art.
     Tonight for dinner we had paella with pork, and bread. I love paella!

Things I have learned in Spain:

• I can't watch Downton Abbey! I was hoping since I was in Europe I would be able to watch it somewhere, but I haven't found it! And with no Hulu or Netflix.....
• Spain must not make many movies? I've seen one poster with a movie starring Penelope Cruz on it, but all the rest I have seen are American movies like Lincoln, Wreck it Ralph (Rompe Ralph), Django Unchained (Django Desencadenado), and Les Miserables. 
• H&M clothes are the same amount as in the U.S., just in euros...so its more expensive here
• I have a cold, and my Senora asked if I had allergies, but neither I nor Claire could remember the word for cold, and didn't want to say "I'm ill" (estoy enferma) because then she might have freaked out. So I just said no, then we figured out it is "Tengo un resfriado", I have a cold. 
• The restaurant we were in yesterday was playing old VH1 or MTV shows and was playing everything from Beyonce "Crazy in Love", Michael Jackson "Man in the Mirror", Prince, and Rihanna....and there was Spanish man in the table next to us that was singing to Michael Jackson. 

¡Adios!

 

El Escorial

   Today I went on SLU-Madrid hosted trip to El Escorial, which is where the Kings of Spain used to live, and was built in the name of San Lorenzo del Escorial. Philip II (Felipe II) of Spain came up with the idea, and the building was finished in 1584, a little more than 20 years after it was started, which is a great feat due to the lack of power tools and its grand size, about 35,000 square meters, or 115,000 square feet. It is about a 30-45 minute drive north of Madrid, and has a mountain range right behind it. El Escorial is now a historical royal palace, monastery, and boarding school. 
    We could not take pictures inside, but we went on a guided tour of the middle part of El Escorial, where everything was located, as one side was the boarding school, and the other side was a monastery for monks. We first saw the bedrooms of the King Philip II and his wife, which was pretty plain but still had their bed in it. Apparently he thought that kings should live like monks and monks should live like kings. The daughter's bedroom was on the other side of the basilica (that's right a Church separated them). Apparently Philip II wanted to be able to hear mass when he was in his room, and the rooms had windows, so Philip and his wife could saw goodnight to their daughter. We then walked into a large room that was where Philip exercised, because he did not want to walk outside because it was too cold. We walked into some other rooms, with various paintings of royalty, but were still pretty plain. 
    We then walked down steps with walls, ceilings, and floor lined with marble, and were in the Pantheon of the Kings, a mausoleum with the remains of kings and queens of Spain. The room had a rounded top, which was located exactly below the altar of the basilica, and had a lot of marble and bronze covered with gold. There were 8 walls, so the kings matched up with the kings on the opposite side. The room holds all the kings and queens of Spain since Carlos I, except for the 2 recently deceased, and the present. There will be no room for the present king and queen, so another place may have to be built. The 2 recently deceased king and queen are in the "rotting chamber", as our guide called it, for another 40 years, for a total of 50 years. They wait until all is left is the bones so they can put them in the mausoleum. We walked back up the stairs and walked through room after room that had deceased princes, princesses, and extra wives (our guide said that one king had 4 wives, and 44 children, some not with those wives). Some of the tombs were not filled, as some chose not to be buried there or are still living. We also came to a room for children who died who were under 7 years old, which had the tombs in the middle in marble shaped like a wedding cake. When a child turned 7, they went through First Communion and a received cake, so this was representing the cake they never received. 
     The room after that was part of where the monks lived and met, and was decorated with paintings by famous Spanish artists and beautiful frescoes on the ceiling. We also looked at a giant grand staircase that the monks used, that had an even bigger fresco on the ceiling. This part isn't used by the current monks that live there. We looked at the basilica, which was very big. The altar was magnificent with paintings of Jesus and also statues that got bigger the higher they were, so they appear to be the same size. The last part of our inside tour was the library, which had very old books that were organized by looking at the fresco painted on the ceiling....I'm not sure how well that worked. In order to preserve the books better, the books were placed bind to the wall of the bookshelf. 
     We spent a little bit of time looking at the gardens, which were gorgeous. Here are some pictures.

Courtyard of the Kings

Western wall of El Escorial

El Escorial and the Gardens

Mountains behind El Escorial

Basilica of El Escorial

    For lunch we went to a little restaurant and I had a hamburger and fries, really Spanish I know. But since I've been here I have really wanted a hamburger! It was really good. We then walked outside, and this was happening:

Well that's pretty neat....dancers were dancing with castanets and men were playing flutes, trumpets, and drums (I couldn't get the video to upload, but I'll try again tomorrow). It was a festival for the feast day of San Sebastian, because there was a church and parish dedicated to him in the town of San Lorenzo. 
     For dinner we had vegetable puree, bread, and leftover canneloni. I feel like I have given enough facts about Spain in this blogpost, and I am tired, so I will skip the What I have Learned in Spain section, to be continued tomorrow!

¡Adios! 

Museo del Prado

     Today, Claire and I visited the Museo del Prado, the famous art museum in Madrid. It was so big!!! Claire and I just explored probably about half, maybe a little less, of the museum. The museum has a lot of Spanish paintings from famous artists like El Greco, Francisco Goya, and Diego Velazquez, which were most of the paintings we looked at. The museum also had statues, French, German, British, and Flemish paintings. We weren't able to take pictures in the Prado, but here are some of my favorite paintings, from the Prado's website: http://www.museodelprado.es/en

Equestrian Portrait of the Duke of Lerma, by Peter Paul Rubens. Rubens was a Flemish Baroque painter (from the Netherlands). I really like this painting because of the horse and its eyes, the eyes really look like they have depth. I like that the painting accurately portrays the figure of the horse - some paintings focus more on the rider and the horse kind of looks like a blob. 

Duke and Duchess of Osuna and their Children, Francisco Goya. Goya is a famous Spanish painter. Family portraits were not popular at this time in Spain, so experts think he based it off of English and Flemish paintings. The waists of the Duchess and the oldest girl are quite small, but I like the one dog that is hiding between the 2 girls, and how detailed the painting is. 

Las Meninas, Diego Velazquez. In the middle is the Infanta Margarita, the daughter of Felipe IV, and all of her servants. The painting shows a good use of light, and also depth. I like this painting because even though there is so much going on, the Infanta Margarita is just standing in the middle like nothing is going on, looking very elegant and mature. And if you look in the background, you can see the reflection of Felipe and his wife in the mirror.

 

The Crucifixion, El Greco. El Greco created 5 or 6 religious based scenes to go behind the altar of a church in Madrid, and this one was in the middle. I like the contrast in light and color, and also the emotions in the painting.

Prince Baltasar Carlos on Horseback, Diego Velazquez. Fat pony!! That is the first thing that I thought of when I saw this painting. A little boy, who is a prince, riding a fat pony.

 

Tonight for dinner we had potato soup, bread, and a piece of pork.

Things I have learned in Spain:

• You can get a cheeseburger, fries, and a bottle of water for 3 euros at McDonald's, off the euro menu
• It can get really windy in Madrid
• Chocolate chip cookies are non-existent in Madrid
• The Prado is really big and you could be in there for a really long time looking at paintings and statues
• If you are a student between the ages of 18 and 25 you can get into the Prado for free
• In the basement of the Prado, that is hard to find, you can go into a vault that has decorative arts from royals throughout the ages, that features coins, miniature portraits, crystal vases with gold, and things covered with precious gems. 

¡Adios!