This weekend, I traveled to Dublin, Ireland with about half our Tech London group, since we had a longer amount of time set aside for travel. Our amazing tour of the city included the favorite places of famous Irish writers such as Bram Stoker, James Joyce, and Oscar Wilde. However, we had to get there first.

Our first train left around 8:10 in the evening, and we settled in for a nice ride through the British countryside. Our second train took slightly longer to reach its destination, and as we opened the doors, we were met with a blast of cold air: we had arrived in Wales. Our ferry didn't arrive and prepare for departure until around 2:30 in the morning, and we were all extremely tired. Some of us only managed to get about two hours of sleep before the ship docked, but we toured until 7:00 that night anyway.

 

Dublin is slightly smaller than London, but the city is filled to the brim with kind and helpful people. As we took a hop on, hop off bus tour, we met people who were more than willing to give directions and other helpful bits of information. First, we headed to Trinity College to view the actual Book of Kells created by medieval monks. It was extremely ornate and intricate, written and drawn completely by hand and vibrantly colored. Another highlight of the day was the cathedral where Jonathan Swift, the author of Gulliver's Travels, was buried, as well as a famous library visited by Bram Stoker and James Joyce, full of old books.

After a night in the hostel catching up on sleep, our group split up: some heading for the north coast while I headed for the south of Ireland with others. We visited beautiful Glendalough, the site of an old monastery and lake. The trip made me fall in love with the Irish countryside, and I have never seen more sheep in my life. They were spray painted with different streaks of color so that farmers can tell who they belong to. Our other stop was the Powerscourt Gardens, one of the most famous and highly rated gardens in the world, complete with Italian, Japanese, and walled gardens as well as a pet cemetery. I found a stone that simply said "Black Beauty" during my walk through. My favorite part, however, was the garden solely dedicated to roses. It smelled wonderful.

Today, we packed our things, did a little bit of shopping, and prepared to fly back to London, but not before we visited the Writers' Museum, which gave us more information on authors such as W.B. Yates, Wilde, Stoker, and Joyce. They even had James Joyce's old piano and letters handwritten by the authors! It was a wonderful experience, and I was a bit sad to leave. I'll end for the night with a video I captured on the tour bus of our guide singing one of Dublin's most famous songs, "Cockles and Mussels."

Tomorrow: Last day of class and going to see The Crucible!