Slainte*

I love Dublin.

I just had to get that out of the way first. I don't have a lot of time to write this morning, but I wanted to at least do a quick update. I'll probably go into everything more extensively later... like when I get home (which will be a week, sad face). So, on with it:

Wednesday after my brithday
The day was full of class stuff. In the morning we went on one of our walks lead by David Brady. This time we were (mostly) following in the footsteps of Mrs. Dalloway. That was really kind of fun because we had to read that book for class. And, that reminds me, I have to write a short paper by Tuesday. *sigh*  Anyway, our walk took us through "club land" where all the men's clubs are and where all the men's shops are. That's where you go for suits, ties, cigars, fancy shoes (that don't have heels) etc. Best thing I found: Zombie cufflinks!


The Weekend after my birthday
A group of us headed to Dublin on Thursday. We took the train and then a ferry. I may have mentioned this, but I love Dublin! I think I may have liked it better than London. It deserves it's own post completely but here is a short list of highlights: I rented a bike from the hostel and rode around a bit, saw the Book of Kells and the Guinness Storehouse, drank lots of good beer, saw some live music. Here is a picture:


Monday
After spending all day on the train back from Dublin on Sunday, I was all set to spend the day recovering. But then some classmates said "We're going to Kew Gardens" and I said "I want to come!" so I spent the day in Kew. The gardens are really lovely. I took lots of pictures of flowers. It was a nice relaxing way to spend the day.


Tuesday
I did finally take some time to rest. I was kind of exhausted after Dublin and Kew. Plus I had some homeworking to do. So after class I spent most of the afternoon just getting things done. Tuesday evening I went to a play: Joe Turner's Come and Gone. It was brilliant

Wednesday
was full of class stuff. We had regular class in the morning and then the afternoon was another David Brady walk.



I have to confess, I had a hard time on this walk - I only have so much interest in buildings and architecture. It was kind of a rainy day. I like London in the rain. After the walk I took the tube over to Covent Garden with a few other people for dinner, then caught a play at The Dunmar that was really good.

Thursday
We took the train to Richmond and then took a ferry up the Thames to Hampton Court.



I would have been happy to spend all day just on the river. But Hampton Court was really neat too. There was a real hedge maze. I got lost for a minute. That evening I went to a concert of the Philharmonia Orchestra.


Friday
Lynsey and I took a bus to Cardiff so we could be nerds.



We did Doctor Who and Torchwood stuff (didn't see any Cybermen or Daleks or even Weevils out around town, sadness). Plus, we saw the church where Roald Dahl was baptized.


Saturday
Yesterday. I've finally caught up to the present! I had a slow morning, slept in a little, took my time getting ready for the day. Then we took the tube to the south bank and saw Henry IV, part 1 at THE GLOBE THEATER. It was really good. We were groundlings, which means we were standing in front of the stage the whole time. That also means we were really close to the actor and got a (semi) authentic Shakespearean experience. I loved it, though my lower back and my legs were a little unhappy about standing around for 3 hours. Last night was, of course, the USA v England World Cup football match**. I watched it with my fellow classmates in the sports bar on campus... Oh? Have I not mentioned that there is a bar on campus? Well, there is. After the match we wandered over to a nearby pub and just spent some time having fun.

Today I'm planning on going to a couple markets with my roommate. There's a big street fair on Marylebone High Street and we're also maybe going to go to the Spitalfields Market.

* Irish for "Health." It is a common toast and is pronounced slon-cha
** British for "soccer game." Football match sounds so much nicer though, don't you think?