I spent the last weekend traveling with my friends from Boston College around Dublin and the home of The Beatles, London. Our flight to London left early Sunday morning out of Dublin, and since none of us had explored Ireland's capitol city yet, we decided to catch an early bus on Saturday morning and spend the day sightseeing. The bus dropped us off in Dublin's city center and we walked the 2 miles to Kilmainham Gaol (pronounced jail). We have been recommended by numerous professors and tour guides to take a tour of the jail because of the history behind it. The jail was built in 1796 and was controversially used during the Irish War of Independence before it was shut down and turned into a museum. We were able to see where the beams used to extend from the front of the building where public hangings used to take place and also where the leaders of Easter Rising were executed. Our next stop was the famous Guinness Storehouse. It is a self-guided tour of 7 floors with the option to retrieve your free pint at the Guinness Academy on the 4th floor or in the Gravity Bar on the top floor. We chose to drink ours in the gravity bar and enjoy the 360 degree views of Dublin city. One of the girls's roommates from Boston is studying in Dublin this semester and recommended we eat at Queen of Tarts for lunch, a well-known lunch and dessert shop around the world. I got a caprese bagel sandwich for lunch and a blackberry and apple crumble for dessert and they definitely didn't disappoint. We spent the afternoon and evening walking around the famous Temple Bar area, Dublin Castle, Trinity College, and enjoying gelato while relaxing in St. Stephen's Green. We had a late dinner at Bobo's Gourmet Irish Burgers and it was hands down the best burger I had ever had.
I wasn't sure what I would think about Dublin because I have heard a few people say that it's not what they were expecting and that it was a let down. Personally I loved it, but if you are looking for the traditional Irish experience, Dublin isn't the place to visit. It's more of a modern city and if you need to travel to places like Galway, Cork, Kerry, and Killarney to experience what a traditional Irish city is like.
I wasn't sure what I would think about Dublin because I have heard a few people say that it's not what they were expecting and that it was a let down. Personally I loved it, but if you are looking for the traditional Irish experience, Dublin isn't the place to visit. It's more of a modern city and if you need to travel to places like Galway, Cork, Kerry, and Killarney to experience what a traditional Irish city is like.
Our flight left at 7:30 AM on Sunday morning and all of the hostels in Dublin were either booked or ridiculously expensive so we chose to rough it and sleep in the airport for a night which turned out to not be bad at all. We arrived in London and took the tube into the city, stored our luggage at the train station, and had a quick lunch before heading out to sightsee. Our first stop was Buckingham Palace. It was everything I expected it to be from the black and gold gates to the red-coated guards with black furry hats and rifles. On our way to Big Ben, we enjoyed the views in St. James's Park and got to experience a drumline and armed forces that marched the entire length of The Mall, the long road lined with British flags that leads to Buckingham Palace. Big Ben's name serves the clock tower well. It is HUGE. Way bigger than I expended. It is attached to the parliament building and the entire structure is beautiful. We were able to stand outside and get some pictures of Westminster Abbey, which is where Prince William and Princess Kate were married. It costs a ridiculous amount to go in, so we decided to just enjoy it from the outside. We went on the hunt for the famous postcard picture of the red phone booth situated perfectly in front of Big Ben that everyone takes a picture in while visiting London. We ended up easily finding it and took more photos than is socially acceptable until we all got the perfect one. Our next stop was the London Eye, the giant ferris wheel that offers 360 degree views overlooking the city. It costs 23 pounds which ends up being $35 for a 30 minute ride, but since it is "the thing" to do while in London and we weren't paying for any other tourist sights we decided to ride it. Sarah's roommate is studying at Queen Mary in London this semester and let us stay with her so we didn't have to pay for accommodation. After figuring out how to get there on the tube, we dropped our stuff off and grabbed dinner before heading to bed early.
The next morning we woke up and took the tube to the Tower Bridge and the Tower of London. We found an authentic Italian restaurant for lunch and each got a pizza. They were so good, and it felt like I was back in Rome. We met up with Meghan and her roommate Alex at the Borough Market. London is famous for its markets and this is just one of many. We sampled a ridiculous amount of chocolate and nuts and each got ourselves a honeycomb-filled donut. We made our way to Trafalgar Square, where Mary Poppins was filmed, and Piccadilly Circus, London's version of Times Square. Our next stop was Harrods, the world's most famous department store. We walked around a couple of the stores and we were able to point out dresses that we had seen Kim Kardashian and Kylie Jenner recently wear. Meghan made the mistake of falling in love with a leather skirt and looking at the price tag - 2,000 pounds. There is an entire room dedicated to luxurious desserts and chocolates so I decided to get a couple of macarons. I almost laughed when the cashier asked if I had a Harrods card. When planning the trip to London, I knew that there were two things that I HAD to see. 23 Egerton Terrace, AKA 7 Pembroke Lane, AKA Annie James's house in The Parent Trap, my favorite childhood movie. The second being Abbey Road crosswalk, the location of the album cover for The Beatle's Abbey Road album. The Parent Trap House is located in Chelsea, the most expensive part of London. Harrods was also in Chelsea so it wasn't a far walk to the house. I have wanted a black Range Rover ever since middle school and the amount of black Range Rovers that I saw while in Chelsea was basically a reassurance that I will have one someday. After seeing the house, we caught the tube to a stop closer to Abbey Road. It was almost dark by this point so we were lucky to make it in time to be able to take a picture. Walking across the crosswalk is absolutely terrifying so how anyone gets a good photo of them crossing it is beyond me. There are no traffic lights and the cars only stop for a few seconds before going again. My picture turned out blurry, but I'm just glad that I got to see it. We were also able to see Abbey Road Studios where the album was recorded and we signed the wall outside. We all had to wake up early the next morning for our flight so we decided we wanted to have a relaxing night. The first thing that we saw when we arrived in London was the Apollo Victoria Theatre advertising the broadway Wicked. I had never seen it but have heard great things about it. All of my friends had already all seen it, but they said that it was amazing and they would go again so we found some cheap tickets since it was a Monday night and barely made it in time. It was absolutely amazing and I would highly recommend it to anyone. It was also a great experience to be able to see my first broadway show in London since it is such a big deal there.
I say this about every place that I visit, but London has hands down been my favorite place that I have visited so far. The city is massive, but the public transportation makes it so easy to get around. I have always seen myself working abroad somewhere in England, and I can definitely see myself living in London. The city is beautiful , the life is fast paced, and there are so many different neighborhoods of the city to cater to any type of person. My next two weekends will be spent in Cork, which will be nice to be able to relax after 7 straight weekends of traveling - it ends up getting so exhausting after awhile.
I say this about every place that I visit, but London has hands down been my favorite place that I have visited so far. The city is massive, but the public transportation makes it so easy to get around. I have always seen myself working abroad somewhere in England, and I can definitely see myself living in London. The city is beautiful , the life is fast paced, and there are so many different neighborhoods of the city to cater to any type of person. My next two weekends will be spent in Cork, which will be nice to be able to relax after 7 straight weekends of traveling - it ends up getting so exhausting after awhile.