hello. i put up all my pictures from dublin, london, coventry, and from christmas up on my picasa website so you can check them out. i won't put them up here, because you'd be waiting a hour or something ridiculous (there are tons!) i think i get worse instead of better with every place i go, taking millions of pictures.
i watched elf today. yellow ones don't stop! i didn't watch nearly enough christmas movies leading up to. allie and i watched love actually, the day before christmas eve, but that's it.
so, dublin was great. i did a hop on/off tour right when i got there and went and toured the guinness brewery, learned how they make the beer, and barrels, there was an advertising section that was really interesting, where you could also watch all the old commercials too. At the top you exchanged your ticket for a beer, and had a fabulous lookout of the city. I also toured the Old Jameson Whiskey Distillery (no longer there) and learned about making whiskey, and they used already used sherry barrels instead of new (which I learned Jack Daniels does). Some people volunteered and did a taste test. They had shots of Jameson, Jack Daniels, and a Triple Distilled whiskey, i can't remember which one. The rest of us had a choice between straight up, ice, gin, or cranberry. It was actually interested, they did a short video on how people around the world drink theirs.
I also did a tour of the Kilmainham Gaol Prison, where they mostly kept the Irish rebells. They hung people in front of the prison until that was outlawed, then in the back, they also had a firing squad in the back of the prison. It just sat for a long time, then finally was restored by a private group, then given over to the government and run as a museum now. Many of the people were taken to Australia. A lot of people who were arrested were arrested for petty theft (the youngest being a 7 yr. old boy) during the famine a lot of people just committed crimes to get in prison where they could get something to eat, and some bribed guards. At the highest population they had people sleeping on the floor in the halls of the prison, there was never just one prisoner in each cell. There were a lot of famous prisoners, although i didn't recognize any names, i don't know much about Irish history. A lot of movies were filmed in the prison, you might know, In the Name of the Father, or Michael Collins, or the old Italian Job. Actually, the Escapist, is a movie filmed this year that takes place in the prison, I don't think it's out yet though.
I went and saw the Book of Kells in the Trinity College. It actually wasn't on display, something about maintenance, I saw a fine arts copy of the book. I also got to look around the Old Library in the Trinity College, with some books on display from the Netherlands, pretty comical actually that now I'm here, I see Dutch things everywhere. But, one of the books on display was from Darwin's voyage on the Beagle when he was researching plants before he researched finches and everything else, from his younger years. I got to see his book, a drawing of one of the plants and his signature. Which was super cool since I know so much about him.
The second day I went to Newgrange, very exciting. It's a winter solstice tomb. Winter Solstice (the 22nd--I visited the 21st). There's an opening above the doorway that lets light in the tomb/cave, it lets a beam of light in and after 5 mins it lights up the area in the tomb. It only lasts for about 15 minutes, but every year you can enter a competition to be able to go inside the tomb during the sun rise and so many people are chosen. It's also a burial tomb, 2 full skeletons were found inside, as well as cremations from other bodies. The cremations took place outside the tomb and were carried inside on animal hides. The tomb dates to 3,000 B.C. There are carvings on the stones before the entry way, a stone on the outside in the back of the tomb and also inside the cave. There were many animal remains found outside around the area. A lot of standing stones, and at one time there were wooden pegs in a full circle surrounding newgrange that date to after the tomb was made. It was a ceremonial spot. It was built with quartz and river rocks. Because of the weight, the tomb collapsed and was not excavated till the 1960s. Inside you can see graffiti on the stones, the earliest i saw was 1812. Part of the interesting thing about the tomb is the marking on the stones are also found in other parts of the world around the same time. No one know for sure what they mean, there are lots of theories. There are other tombs found around the same area as Newgrange, though not as big. It was fascinating, definitely my favorite place I went in Dublin.
I also saw St. Patrick's Cathedral, Temple Bar, and all the other touristy 'must see' places.
London was pretty cool, very huge. It's interesting because all the americans told me i'd love it. And I think mostly they all loved it because it's pretty much like any other big city in the U.S. with some differences, but it's closer to what they know and like. I thought it was just fine and dandy, but definitely not my favorite place, and i wouldn't say i loved it. I could find mostly the same foods and restruants I can back home, but of course it had a europy feel, and the old buildings and monuments and things. Allie and I went to the London Tower did a tour, saw the Crown Jewels, The London Bridge, The Monument, Big Ben, the Parliment Building, The London Eye, went down Portobello Road (where I really wanted to go!!!) Unfortunately the market is on saturday, and we went on a sunday. But it was really cool, all the antique and 2nd hand shops were lots of fun to look around in. And of course saw Westminster Abbey, went in the National Gallery and the Portrait Gallery, went to Oxford Circus, Trafalgar Square, and loads of other places. The only place we didn't have time to go to was Birimingham Palace. Allie and I stayed in a hostel in London for one night, then went to her parents house in Coventry.
Coventry was super cute. Lots of old English buildings, it was also bombed and has some wreckage. We went in a museum, and like 1/4 was on Lady Godiva. Every year they do a parade to celebrate, some woman wears a nude suite, but i guess there've been a few cases where women go streaking and get arrested. I think I had all the typical English food, fish and chips (I had a cod one and a plaice fish one), tea (black tea with milk), crumpets (suspiciously similar to english muffins), minced pies (which contain neither minced anything, nor meat--they're just fruit and nuts), tried a pickled onion (spicy and very strong), hmmm i think i'm missing something.
For Christmas dinner we had turkey, potatoes (both roasted and boiled), asparagas, string beans, peas, carrots, cauliflower, boiled green onions, red cabbage, bread pudding, yorkshire pudding (both in cake and muffin form), roasted parsnip, stuffing (with sausage and nuts), roasted chesnuts, brussel sprouts, cranberry sauce, and i'm sure a few other things. Allie's dad said he cut back on the veggies!!!!!!!! And of course, load of drinks. On Christmas the 4 of us finished 2 bottles of champagne, and Allie and I a bottle of white wine. With lots of coffee and tea in between. Later on we had Christmas Pudding (which they make in september and put on the top shelf) Allie's dad poured Brandy and lit it on fire. We ate that with cream and with custard. It was super sweet (mostly because of the brandy and raisins). I could only have a small slice it was so rich. That morning Allie came with me to church at a catholic all souls church. Allie's parents gave me a box of cadbury chocolate candies, some assorted candies, and some body shop gifts for christmas, Allie gave me a Dutch Christmas Card. I got a bottle of red wine and chocolates for her parents, a box of chocolates for her brother, and a box of assorted teas for Allie from Harrod's in London.
I'm sure I'm leaving some things out, but I think this is long enough. I hope you all had a great holiday, and have some rest before the next one. I'm not sure what I'm doing for New Years yet, I'm not sure who all will be in town. I was thinking about going to Leuven, Belgium with a friend, but I think it's a bit too much money for just 2 days.
TTFN.
p.s. title song by Nickelback
i watched elf today. yellow ones don't stop! i didn't watch nearly enough christmas movies leading up to. allie and i watched love actually, the day before christmas eve, but that's it.
so, dublin was great. i did a hop on/off tour right when i got there and went and toured the guinness brewery, learned how they make the beer, and barrels, there was an advertising section that was really interesting, where you could also watch all the old commercials too. At the top you exchanged your ticket for a beer, and had a fabulous lookout of the city. I also toured the Old Jameson Whiskey Distillery (no longer there) and learned about making whiskey, and they used already used sherry barrels instead of new (which I learned Jack Daniels does). Some people volunteered and did a taste test. They had shots of Jameson, Jack Daniels, and a Triple Distilled whiskey, i can't remember which one. The rest of us had a choice between straight up, ice, gin, or cranberry. It was actually interested, they did a short video on how people around the world drink theirs.
I also did a tour of the Kilmainham Gaol Prison, where they mostly kept the Irish rebells. They hung people in front of the prison until that was outlawed, then in the back, they also had a firing squad in the back of the prison. It just sat for a long time, then finally was restored by a private group, then given over to the government and run as a museum now. Many of the people were taken to Australia. A lot of people who were arrested were arrested for petty theft (the youngest being a 7 yr. old boy) during the famine a lot of people just committed crimes to get in prison where they could get something to eat, and some bribed guards. At the highest population they had people sleeping on the floor in the halls of the prison, there was never just one prisoner in each cell. There were a lot of famous prisoners, although i didn't recognize any names, i don't know much about Irish history. A lot of movies were filmed in the prison, you might know, In the Name of the Father, or Michael Collins, or the old Italian Job. Actually, the Escapist, is a movie filmed this year that takes place in the prison, I don't think it's out yet though.
I went and saw the Book of Kells in the Trinity College. It actually wasn't on display, something about maintenance, I saw a fine arts copy of the book. I also got to look around the Old Library in the Trinity College, with some books on display from the Netherlands, pretty comical actually that now I'm here, I see Dutch things everywhere. But, one of the books on display was from Darwin's voyage on the Beagle when he was researching plants before he researched finches and everything else, from his younger years. I got to see his book, a drawing of one of the plants and his signature. Which was super cool since I know so much about him.
The second day I went to Newgrange, very exciting. It's a winter solstice tomb. Winter Solstice (the 22nd--I visited the 21st). There's an opening above the doorway that lets light in the tomb/cave, it lets a beam of light in and after 5 mins it lights up the area in the tomb. It only lasts for about 15 minutes, but every year you can enter a competition to be able to go inside the tomb during the sun rise and so many people are chosen. It's also a burial tomb, 2 full skeletons were found inside, as well as cremations from other bodies. The cremations took place outside the tomb and were carried inside on animal hides. The tomb dates to 3,000 B.C. There are carvings on the stones before the entry way, a stone on the outside in the back of the tomb and also inside the cave. There were many animal remains found outside around the area. A lot of standing stones, and at one time there were wooden pegs in a full circle surrounding newgrange that date to after the tomb was made. It was a ceremonial spot. It was built with quartz and river rocks. Because of the weight, the tomb collapsed and was not excavated till the 1960s. Inside you can see graffiti on the stones, the earliest i saw was 1812. Part of the interesting thing about the tomb is the marking on the stones are also found in other parts of the world around the same time. No one know for sure what they mean, there are lots of theories. There are other tombs found around the same area as Newgrange, though not as big. It was fascinating, definitely my favorite place I went in Dublin.
I also saw St. Patrick's Cathedral, Temple Bar, and all the other touristy 'must see' places.
London was pretty cool, very huge. It's interesting because all the americans told me i'd love it. And I think mostly they all loved it because it's pretty much like any other big city in the U.S. with some differences, but it's closer to what they know and like. I thought it was just fine and dandy, but definitely not my favorite place, and i wouldn't say i loved it. I could find mostly the same foods and restruants I can back home, but of course it had a europy feel, and the old buildings and monuments and things. Allie and I went to the London Tower did a tour, saw the Crown Jewels, The London Bridge, The Monument, Big Ben, the Parliment Building, The London Eye, went down Portobello Road (where I really wanted to go!!!) Unfortunately the market is on saturday, and we went on a sunday. But it was really cool, all the antique and 2nd hand shops were lots of fun to look around in. And of course saw Westminster Abbey, went in the National Gallery and the Portrait Gallery, went to Oxford Circus, Trafalgar Square, and loads of other places. The only place we didn't have time to go to was Birimingham Palace. Allie and I stayed in a hostel in London for one night, then went to her parents house in Coventry.
Coventry was super cute. Lots of old English buildings, it was also bombed and has some wreckage. We went in a museum, and like 1/4 was on Lady Godiva. Every year they do a parade to celebrate, some woman wears a nude suite, but i guess there've been a few cases where women go streaking and get arrested. I think I had all the typical English food, fish and chips (I had a cod one and a plaice fish one), tea (black tea with milk), crumpets (suspiciously similar to english muffins), minced pies (which contain neither minced anything, nor meat--they're just fruit and nuts), tried a pickled onion (spicy and very strong), hmmm i think i'm missing something.
For Christmas dinner we had turkey, potatoes (both roasted and boiled), asparagas, string beans, peas, carrots, cauliflower, boiled green onions, red cabbage, bread pudding, yorkshire pudding (both in cake and muffin form), roasted parsnip, stuffing (with sausage and nuts), roasted chesnuts, brussel sprouts, cranberry sauce, and i'm sure a few other things. Allie's dad said he cut back on the veggies!!!!!!!! And of course, load of drinks. On Christmas the 4 of us finished 2 bottles of champagne, and Allie and I a bottle of white wine. With lots of coffee and tea in between. Later on we had Christmas Pudding (which they make in september and put on the top shelf) Allie's dad poured Brandy and lit it on fire. We ate that with cream and with custard. It was super sweet (mostly because of the brandy and raisins). I could only have a small slice it was so rich. That morning Allie came with me to church at a catholic all souls church. Allie's parents gave me a box of cadbury chocolate candies, some assorted candies, and some body shop gifts for christmas, Allie gave me a Dutch Christmas Card. I got a bottle of red wine and chocolates for her parents, a box of chocolates for her brother, and a box of assorted teas for Allie from Harrod's in London.
I'm sure I'm leaving some things out, but I think this is long enough. I hope you all had a great holiday, and have some rest before the next one. I'm not sure what I'm doing for New Years yet, I'm not sure who all will be in town. I was thinking about going to Leuven, Belgium with a friend, but I think it's a bit too much money for just 2 days.
TTFN.
p.s. title song by Nickelback
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2 comments:
Did you see the Stone Wall with Lions heads carved in It? papa
Not that i recall. sorry.
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