An Edinburgh Easter

St. Giles’ Interior Panorama (Credit: Wikipedia)

Happy Easter! This was my first time to celebrate a holiday without my family. Although it made me sad, I made the most of it with the friends I have made while studying abroad. 

St. Giles’ Exterior (Credit: Internet)

This morning I attended an Easter service at St. Giles’ Cathedral on the Royal Mile with my friends, Ivy and Jenny. St. Giles’ is considered the “Mother Church of Presbyterianism” and dates back to the 14th century. I had never been to St. Giles before so I figured Easter would be a great time to visit. I was right. The church was decorated with beautiful spring flowers and yellow banners. The lighting was also amazing thanks to the sun shining through the stained glass windows. The very beginning of the service was definitely my favorite part. The cathedral was silent and then all of a sudden the choir started to sing. The choir was in a different part of the sanctuary so you couldn’t see them. All you could focus on was their powerful voices being carried throughout the sanctuary. It gave me the chills. If you ever find yourself visiting Edinburgh, definitely attend a service at St. Giles.

 

After the service I headed over to Jenny’s flat to meet friends for a late Easter lunch. We made the lunch potluck style and each brought a dish. My contribution was smoked salmon pinwheels and orange juice and champagne for mimosas. We also had roasted carrots and parsnips, roasted asparagus, egg salad, potatoes boulangere, rolls shaped like bunnies, brownies, and plenty of Easter candy. Everything was delicious and I couldn’t ask for better friends to celebrate Easter with.

Easter Lunch Minus Jenny & Yvonne (Credit: Jenny)

 

The next couple of weeks are going to be crazy so my posts are going to be even more sporadic. This coming up week is our last week of classes and then I am off to France, Italy, and the Isle of Skye for Spring Break. Once I return it will be time for exams! Fortunately, I have three weeks free of exams so I am going to squeeze in a few more trips before my mom comes in mid-May.

 

 

MARCHing On

Benmore Center in Argyll (photo stolen from internet)

It is hard to believe the month of March will be over in a little over a week. Over the past few weeks I have been balancing papers with fun and I think I have done a pretty good job. Unfortunately, I have one more big paper due next week. On the bright side, it will be smooth sailing until exam time in May. That’s enough about school though. Let’s get to the fun.

During the second weekend of March I visited Argyll. This trip is one of two IFSA-Butler planned for us. Argyll is in western Scotland and is known for its lush nature and wildlife. To get to our destination, the Benmore Center, we had to take a ferry which was very exciting thanks to the choppy waves. The Benmore Center looks like a castle from the outside, but felt like summer camp on the inside and I for one love summer camp. After we got settled in and had dinner it was time for a night hike. My group cheated and used a flashlight to avoid the giant mud puddles and stayed dry for the most part. Other groups weren’t so lucky and came back pretty filthy. On Saturday, we had the opportunity to participate in some outdoor activities. My group went kayaking that morning and mountain biking that afternoon. The kayaking was pretty brutal thanks to the freezing temperatures and wind. Thankfully, our group leaders brought us some hot chocolate to warm us up. Mountain biking was a lot drier and wasn’t nearly as hard. That night everyone (100+) kicked back and watched Braveheart. On Sunday, we took a scenic route and had a photo op at Loch Lomond before heading back to Edinburgh. The weather was stunning in Loch Lomond, but that wasn’t the case in Edinburgh. We encountered sun, rain, sleet, and snow in a matter of hours. There really is no point in even checking the weather forecast because it can change within minutes.

Activity Group

Loch Lomond

Snow Greeting Our Arrival

This past weekend I visited London with my friends John and Emily. We were fortunate enough to stay with family friends of John in Kensington. I had already visited London and was dreading how busy and big it is. However, this time around I absolutely loved it. I think it was because I actually had time to take everything in and explore the city at my own pace rather than being herded around on a tour. It was also nice to see London without feeling the effects of jet lag. On the first day we visited Big Ben and Parliament, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace, and The British Museum. After such a busy day we were starving. Fortunately for us, there was a wonderful Italian woman also staying with the family. She cooked all of us dinner both nights and it was divine. The next day we visited the Tower of London, Trafalgar Square, the Manet exhibit at the Royal Academy, and Kensington Palace and Gardens. On our third day, we went to the 11:30 service at St. Paul’s Cathedral and strolled around Covent Gardens before heading to King’s Cross to catch our train back to Edinburgh. The service at St. Paul’s was really something. I definitely recommend it to anyone visiting London. The details of the cathedral and the choir were absolutely stunning. Thankfully, I will be returning to London in May with my mom!

Big Ben

British Museum

Kensington Gardens

A Week in Ireland

Ireland’s Coast

So as I mentioned previously, last week was “Innovative Learning Week”. My friends, John, Grace, Jenny, and I spent the week traveling around Ireland. It was so much fun and the Irish are so friendly. Also, the weather was pretty good for the most part. Here is my day by day breakdown:

Day 1: We flew from Edinburgh to Cork and checked into our hostel. Since we didn’t have any plans set in stone, we just wandered around the city and looked up places we wanted to visit.

Day 2: We woke up bright and early in order to go on a Cliffs of Moher day trip. On the way to the cliffs we made a quick stop in Limerick. Next we visited Poulnabrone doulmen, a Neolithic burial site. As we arrived to the coast, the clouds started to break and the sun made an appearance. The coast was so beautiful. After a photo opp, it was time for lunch at Fitzpatrick’s Pub in Doolin. If you ever find yourself in Doolin, I highly reccommend Fitzpatrick’s. Their seafood chowder was incredible. After lunch it was time to see the cliffs. The Cliffs of Moher are truly amazing. I felt like I was in a scene from a movie. The only negative was the wind. I seriously thought we were going to fly off the cliffs due to the gusts of wind. The highlight to the Cliffs of Moher was bumping into my friend Chelsea. Chelsea is studying in Dublin and just happened to be on a day trip as well. Small world.

Poulnabrone

Coast overlooking Galway Bay

Cliffs of Moher

Day 3: We woke up grabbed some cornflakes from the hostel kitchen and explored the city of Cork some more. We visited St. Finnbarre’s cathedral, University Cork College, and Cork jail. I was definitely jealous of Cork’s campus. The University of Edinburgh is very urban so it was nice to actually be on a typical college campus with sprawling lawns. After walking around for several hours, we worked up an appetite and grabbed fish and chips from Lennox’s. I have never seen so much food in my life. After lunch, we caught a bus to Blarney Castle which is right outside of Cork. Blarney Castle was amazing. If I could, I would live there. There are walking paths, gardens, streams, and so much wildlife. I also got to kiss the Blarney Stone which means I have the gift of eloquence.

St. Finbarre’s

Blarney Castle

Day 4: We checked out of our hostel and caught the train to Dublin. Once again, we didn’t really have plans so we checked into our hostel and explored the Temple Bar area of Dublin. Temple Bar reminded me so much of the French Quarter in New Orleans. There are pubs on every corner and musicians everywhere.

Day 5: We went to the Book of Kells exhibit and Long Room at Trinity College. We then went to St. Stephen’s Green and St. Patrick’s Cathedral. Our next stop was a tour of the Guiness Factory. The tour was okay. I think I would have appreciated it more if I actually liked Guiness. Instead of getting the complimentary pint at the bar, I opted for an orange soda. Pretty hardcore.

St. Patrick’s

Day 6: We had another early morning in order to go on a day trip to Belfast in Northern Ireland. On the way we stopped by Drogheda to see St. Peter’s Church which contains the skull of St. Oliver Plunkett. We also visited Monasterboice, an early Christian settlement known for their high crosses. In Belfast, we took pictures with the murals depicting the religious and political divides. We also visited the Irish Republican History Museum which contains items from the period known as The Troubles. I found Belfast really interesting and kind of eerie. The Protestant/Catholic divide is still present but it is nothing like it was in the past. There are still peace walls with barbed wire that divide the city though. After touring the museum, our tour guide gave us a few hours to explore the city. We decided to head to a pub for lunch and more importantly to escape the cold. Belfast was freezing. After lunch we went to the Belfast library and visited the Europa Hotel. The Europa Hotel is actually the most bombed hotel in Europe which is pretty spooky. There are quite a few documentaries on the hotel and the religious conflict in Belfast that I want to watch since my knowledge on the subject is extremely limited. My only regret was not going to the Titanic museum. We just didn’t have time to fit it in to our busy schedule. We did get to see the harbor where the Titanic was built though.

St. Peter’s

High Cross

Belfast Mural

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Day 7: During the morning we visited several museums. That afternoon, I got to see my friend Chelsea again. This time our meeting was planned. We went to lunch at one of the first coffee shops in Dublin and walked around the city for a few hours. It was so nice to see a familiar and friendly face. That evening John, Grace, Jenny, and I went on the Literary Pub Crawl of Dublin. We went to five different pubs and learned about the writers that visited them. Our tour guides were very entertaining and informative.

Day 8: By this day, we were running out of things to do. We decided to go on a walking tour of the parts of Dublin we had not seen yet. We also visited Christ Church Cathedral.

Christ Church

Day 9: I think it is safe to say we saw most of Dublin by day nine. We spent most of the morning  just walking around aimlessly because everything was closed. After lunch we grabbed a table at a pub to watch the Scotland vs. Ireland rugby game. Even though we were in Dublin, we were rooting for Scotland. Fortunately, Scotland won. That evening it was off to the airport to catch our flight to Edinburgh. It felt good to get back to Edinburgh. I am really glad I chose to study abroad here.

Presently, I am working on a history paper. I also have about a week of down time before I’m off traveling again. In other news, it is March! It is so hard to believe I only have 5 weeks of classes and 3 months left in Scotland.