St. Patrick's Cathedral

It took me until my last week in town, but I finally made it to St. Patrick's Cathedral. I found Christ Church to be more impressive structurally, but this one had the added allure of a children's choir practicing for a Christmas performance tomorrow plus janitors putting up a rather large Christmas tree. My excitement to go home has made me extra excited for the holidays, and I liked this little festive moment that I wandered into.

Now that I've seen this Cathedral, there are just a few more items to cross off my list to do in Dublin: the Christmas markets, the National Museum, and Kilmainham Gaol. All of this - plus a Saturday evening spent listening to live trad music/downing Guinness with Kalli and Aditya - should make for a fantastic last weekend in Dublin.

Ah yes, and, of course, studying for that one last, pesky final that I have . . .

Now, I bring you photos of St. Patrick's Cathedral:

Nostalgia sets in

We have exactly one week left in Ireland and I'm starting to reflect on our time studying abroad!

Mostly, I'm beginning to feel very nostalgic about Ireland. I'm very, very excited to get back to Minneapolis. My apartment is just the cutest (albeit tiniest) thing ever and I'm soooo looking forward to being back in it. There are countless things in Ireland I'll miss, however, and I'm doing my best to burn the everyday aspects of life into my memory these last few days.

I made my last trip out to campus today to turn in two final papers and spent some time wandering around UCD. It feels like we made our first trip to UCD just yesterday and I spent most of the morning wondering how time can go so quickly.

There were, of course, lots of significant moments here that I'll easily remember: visiting Madrid/London/Aberdeen/Belfast/traveling around Ireland; getting to know Kalli and Aditya better; fighting with UCD Residence Life about heat/showers/lights/overall quality of the dorms; my first trip to city centre; landing in Dublin Airport and spending an hour in line at immigration; my mother's visit; etc. Part of the charm of study abroad, however, has been experiencing day-to-day life in another country. Thus, I'm doing my best to remember the mundane as well as the exceptional.

The local bar, Conways, where we drank many pints of Guinness:

Lazy Days, our favorite cafe, right next to the Blackrock campus (and let's not forget those roundabouts that are also pictured below, the models of efficiency that they are):

Attending law school in a castle:Walking 2.5 kilometers to the Belfield campus for class, through the posh Blackrock suburbs (and then down the N11 highway):


I'm sure I'll be filling my camera with more pictures of the mundane in the coming days, but there's so much more I hope I don't forget that I won't be able to capture on film: grocery shopping at Superquinn! my first piece of banoffee pie! looooooong, leisurely meals in restaurants!

I really am going to miss this place.

Just touched down in London-town!

We weren't quite sure we were going to make it. Vicious snow storms in England and Dublin closed Dublin Airport and Gatwick Airport for three days. The day of our flight, December 3, we dutifully got up at 3:00am, trudged to the Aircoach bus stop at 4:00am, and were at the airport by 4:45am. Our flight - the first one to Gatwick for the day - was on time and took off as scheduled! The flight after us was delayed, then one after that . . . canceled. We lucked out!

Visiting London was the perfect final trip for a semester abroad. Travel there was less stressful than previous trips. We knew the language (major plus), we knew what to see there, and Aditya spent a summer working in the city and thus was semi-familiar with the town. Our visit can neatly be summed up by photographs. Nothing out of the ordinary happened and no major stories to report. We saw a fantastic production of "Phantom of the Opera" at Her Majesty's Theatre, we toured Parliament, visited Buckingham Palace, walked through Soho, wandered the Tate Modern, climbed The Monument, rode the London Eye, and chased the "Gherkin" through the skyline until we found it. Successful (and busy) two days!

(London Eye, as seen from our car)

(The Monument)

(seeking the "Gherkin" - center, far background)

(Buckingham Palace)

(Westminster Abbey, which we never saw inside)

(Port Cullis House and Big Ben)

I was really excited to see London because I have close friends and family who have already been there. It seemed to me to be a city which invokes a strong response in people and I've heard many wonderful things about it. After visiting, I can see why; I loved London!

Every once in a while I'll take a trip somewhere and not realize how truly fantastic the trip is until I'm back home. This was definitely one of those trips. I knew I was having a great time while I was there, but as soon as we were back in Dublin I realized I wasn't ready to be done with London yet.

The city, surprisingly, reminded me more of New York than Europe. While there I mentioned this to Aditya and we had a conversation as to what is "European." Aditya decided European is culture, modernity, style, and class. I've tended to associate European with culture, but also history and age, ala Madrid, Dublin, Rome, etc.

I felt that London, for the most part, doesn't portray itself as an ancient city. The skyline is strikingly modern (the Gherkin's neighborhood actually quite reminded me of Chicago), storefronts are new, and many of the city's major attractions aren't based in history. With regards to the history that is displayed in London: the city is (as far as I can tell) entirely unapologetic (e.g., a larger-than-life statue of Oliver Cromwell flanked Parliament; the Crown Jewels are prominently displayed for tourists to see in the Tower of London).

What I loved most was the incredible diversity. I adore Minnesota and Ireland, but they're pretty monochromatic. (Though at least Minneapolis has massive African and Hmong populations. Ireland has . . . the Irish.) London was a wonderfully diverse city, in all senses. Ethnicity, culture, style, opinion - it's all there! The tube (the blissful, blissful Tube, which all cities should have) was a great opportunity to truly see the diversity of the city. People in the seat behind me spoke Hindi and people in the seat ahead of me spoke Italian. It was beautiful.

There are many, many details of the city I already miss. The Eames chairs in restaurants. The politeness of the locals. The many varied neighborhoods. The vast size. The way you feel that you automatically fit in, because everyone there is so individual. And did I mention I loved the Tube? Two and a half days in the city isn't enough time - I'm sure we could have easily filled an entire week with activities. I got the distinct feeling, however, that London is probably best experienced by living there. There are some places that are meant to be inhabited (I'd assume tourists probably don't fall in love with Minneapolis as completely as those who live there) and I'm sure London is best appreciated as a local. All of the varied shops, neighborhoods, restaurants, shows . . . these are only ever best appreciated by the people who live in the place, as they learn how to maneuver the city and distinguish the treasures from the gimmicks.

As such, I hope to spend more time in London in the future in order to continue learning about the city.