City of Caves

Nottingham, England UK

                      

We returned to the UK and back to England and it honestly, kind of, in a way felt a little like returning home.  Everything just seemed so familiar, even though it hadn’t been home for very long before we left. 

Anyways, it was back to civilization again.  I mean don’t get me wrong, I love the country, but it does make it a little difficult on tour to get around and even get food without a car and being a 40-minute train ride away from downtown and a 25-minute walk to the nearest grocery store.  After last week, having a choice of places to eat and multiple grocery stores that were within a 10-minute walk was almost like heaven again.

It made everything so much easier, from just finding food, to entertainment, to even working out.  And I must say, the gym this week by far tops my list of places to workout.  Not only was it clean and spacious, but the staff were exceptionally friendly and it was all in what looked like either an old factory building or train station building. So, when the sun was out, the skylights at Virgin Active Health Club gave way to the rays and filled the area with light.  It definitely added a nice touch, just like the canals that surrounded the city.

From lit arch ways under bridges to a cathedral turned into a restaurant, we were out to find it!  After all, it was time for a Girls’ Night since the guys were having their night too. 

Keeping it classy, we dined in Pitcher and Piano; what used to be a cathedral and were then even able to catch Beyoncé perform, or well that was the illusion that was displayed.  However, it really wasn’t a live performance, instead it was just the night that ONLY her music was played.  Anyhow, it was still a good time and made for a great night; the girls were out on the town!

And when we weren’t out in the nightlife or shopping, as per the usual, we were taking in all the history that we could.  From standing beside the Robin Hood Statue, to touring the grounds of the Nottingham Castle we were all about finding the best views of the city.  Even if that did mean ending up underground in the caves that used to serve as air shelters amongst other purposes. 

Finally, we found our way out though and back to civilization and just in time too!  We were off to the land of the kilts and bagpipes just in time for Thanksgiving!

The Luck of the Irish

Dublin, Ireland

Well, for as impressed as I was with the Irish countryside and as beautiful as it was, it was the complete opposite for the people.  Ireland was one of the places that I was looking forward to going to the most.  After seeing the land appear so many times in television programs and movies and knowing that part of my family descended from this land, it has always held a special place in my heart.  Unfortunately, though only being part Irish doesn’t help matters much.  Most of the people that would discover that I was from the states almost shunned me in a way and none were very polite.  There were a few that were, but they were few and far from in between. 

Anyways, enjoying my time with those that we travel with as per the usual, we tried to make it into the city as much as we could all things considered.  We were a 40-minute train ride or a 25 minute, $50 cab/Uber ride away.  Don’t get me wrong it was so nice being outside the city and in the country, but without a car and no fridge or cooking equipment, it made it more difficult than usual for finding food.  Especially, when there is only one Domino’s that has to be contacted by the hotel to deliver and room service stops when they hotel opens its own buffet.  And even though the hotel was gorgeous and had a huge gym and gold course surrounding the grounds, it was a tad bit creepy.  The hallways stretched in square directions extending forever and were like that out of a horror movie decorated in eerie pictures every two feet. 

So, escaping to the city was quite nice for a change and I never normally say that.  And I must say, walking through a modern art gallery in what used to be an old hospital where the artist was previously jailed in the jail across the street just added to creepiness.  However, enough of that feeling now, we walked through Trinity College, one of the most prestige in the country.  It is equivalent to the Ivy League schools like Yale and Princeton and Harvard in the states.  It definitely put a new perspective of what it would be like to go to college over here. 

And where there is a college town, you know there is a wide range of night life to experience and we did just that and even made it to some of the most iconic places there are to see in Dublin in doing so. 

However, a trip to Dublin is not complete unless you go to the Guinness Factory and Storehouse.  If you don’t make it in the next few years, it’s not to worry though, this factory will be around for at least a total of 9,000 years because when Arthur Guinness signed the lease to the seven-story building, he did so for that long.  He also married and fathered a total of 21 children, 10 of which survived to keep the company up and running and carry on the name. 

So, in the end, our trip to Ireland was amazing when it came to the sights to see, just beware of the people and never rely on a clock located on a church, chapel, or any building for that matter, because it will never tell the correct time. 

Back to the UK we went.

Old Smoke

Belfast, Northern Ireland

I couldn’t believe that I was actually in Ireland.  It was one of the top places that I was most excited about going to and I was finally here!  Sometimes it sets in when I am out sightseeing and I think to myself that there was a chance that I was not going to take the opportunity and instead stay closer to home.  However, even though it was out of my comfort zone, I took a leap of faith and here I am; standing in Belfast, Northern Ireland. 

And wow, do I hope that after this tour, my geography skills improve.   Did you know, that Belfast is actually part of Northern Ireland and in turn part of the United Kingdom and that the city of Dublin is part of the Irish Free State?  Both cities lie on the same island, yet are still separated by a partition that was declared in 1922.  The same can also be said for the wall that is still standing separating the Catholics and the Protestants.  And while most of Ireland and its cities remained rural and agricultural, Belfast was the only city to converge and become the main industrial prospect of the island.  Hence, the nickname, “Old Smoke.”  

On a side note, if you receive an Irish banknote (Irish Pounds/currency) you cannot use them for payment in the rest of the UK or in Dublin which uses the Euro for currency.  

Also, it was just Halloween and the City Hall already has their holiday sign hung saying “Happy Christmas Belfast.”  Not only does that seem extremely fast, but they do no celebrate Thanksgiving as we do in the states so it’s as if the holiday season is approaching even faster over here.  Christmas trees are already up and lights are already being hung.  However, one key difference is the wording.  Instead of “Merry” Christmas at home, they say “Happy” Christmas over here.  Even with these slight changes and being thousands of miles away from home, it’s still nice to be somewhere that my family descended from many years ago.

Having that little bit of history under my belt, it made the exploring that much more real and vivid and even though it may have been quite a rather long day, I had never seen so much all at once.    

One of the things that I was most looking forward to was exploring the Irish countryside.  It might not be much to others, but to me it’s everything.  They say, “You can take the girl out of the country, but you can’t take the country out of the girl,” and there’s no place I would rather be than surrounded by open fields, rays of sunshine, and fresh air whistling around me.  

Our journey covered places like the Old Bushmills Whiskey Distillery, the oldest working distillery in Ireland; Dunluce Castle which was struck by lightning, caught fire, and fell into the water below and now stands in ruins; the Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge built in 1755 by the salmon fisherman which still stands to this day with a 90 ft. drop to the sandy water below; a drive-by of Castle Black for those Game of Thrones fans out there; and of course the main attraction was Giants Causeway, which has about three tales as to how it was created so you choose which you would like to believe; Giants, God, or Irish folk tales. 

Taking some “Luck of the Irish” with us as we continue our journey across Western Europe, we headed down to Dublin.

EEK! BOO!

Birmingham, England, UK

Double, double, toil and trouble

Fire burn, and cauldron bubble. – William Shakespeare

If you couldn’t guess it by now, it was Halloween this week or well for us at least!  We celebrated a bit early, but it was definitely worth it.  The night was filled with lots of yummy food, laughs and shrieks of terror just like any Halloween gathering should be.  The lights and fog filled the room sending us all for a whirl.  Fake statues stood just around the corners.  And the candy waited for us once we returned. 

And if we didn’t get enough of the holiday at the party, we were even able to dress up for class!  All that was missing was the costume parade that we always did every Halloween in elementary school.  Sometimes, I think that we enjoy the holidays more now than what we did when we were younger. 

With all this dressing up and holiday festivities it was amazing that we were even able to find time to do anything else, but we did. 

We made it all the way to Stonehenge and the Roman city of Bath.  At first we were all a little shocked of the size of the stones at Stonehenge because from a distance they didn’t appear to very large.  Then, of course once you got up close, the size was more apparent.  The stones were set in place to be in alignment with the movements of the sun as well as serve as a burial ground.  For 500 years this monument stood untouched in a circular formation until about 4,500 years ago when stones weighing more than 30 tons each were raised creating a new shape for the monument. 

While this fascination is not the only one of its kind, it still has speculations about it.  However, now I can actually say that I was there! 

Our journey did not end there.  We were off to the Roman city of Bath where the hot springs are still present to this day.  However, after being used then covered by new reigning groups and now to be discovered again, these baths are still sacred waters.  And even though we weren’t allowed to take a dip in them, we did drink the water and steal a little touch.  To confirm, it feels like bath or hot tub water, that’s how warm it is and the architecture of the bath house is exquisite.   

To live during those times…

Anyhow, I am just blessed to be able to see the sights that I am seeing and be able to say that I was there!  I would have never imagined in my lifetime that I would be seeing the things that I am or even be this far away from home, but here I am.  One thing is for sure though, I definitely won’t be doing any driving over here.  Not only do they drive solely on the opposite side of the road, but all the cars are manuals instead of automatics.  Also, the road signs are slightly different.  For detours, the sign reads “Diversion Route” and as for yield signs, well they say “Give way.”  I think I will stick to having someone else drive or just walk, but like any foreigner from America, I still look to the left first.  I guess it is true that for most of the time, you can take the girl away from home, but you can’t take home away from the girl. 

Missing home as usual, but loving every minute over here.  Off to Ireland we go to see if we can bring back some luck of the Irish!