Ireland, Liverpool, and more!

The last two weeks of break were, quite frankly, exhausting. I had a new adventure pretty much every single day! So let's start from the beginning, shall we? (Cheers to Ramona, Lottie, and Lou - who are all mentioned in this lovely update!)

On the 4th of January, I got myself up, caught a train to Glasgow Prestwick Airport and boarded a flight set for Dublin! I was going to be staying with a friend Ramona and her wonderful family. Ramona and I had never met before, and before anyone winces and exclaims how ridiculous and dangerous such adventures would be, let's go back to 2005-2007, when I was in a phase of my life where everything was Harry Potter and nothing else (little has changed). In 2005, I wandered onto a wonderful website called HPFF.com, which was an archive for fanfiction of Harry Potter. Unashamedly I will admit that, yes, I did write Harry Potter fanfiction. And if I do say so, I did quite well. It was through the forums that I developed friendships with people I would've never met or had the opportunity to talk to otherwise. They were helpful, they were kind and funny, and some of them I kept in contact with via the internet consistently even when I left and came back to the site several times. Others, I lost contact with for many years.

Ramona and I reconnected via happenstance Facebook encounters last Spring and when it became apparent that I was going to be in Scotland for my graduate program, we both contemplated the idea of finally meeting up. And so we did! I'm very glad that we did so, too. So before I delve into our shenanigans in Ireland, I just want to toss a great big thank you out to Ramona and her family (including the wee ones) for their hospitality, and to say that Harry Potter is truly very magical!




So. Landed in Dublin airport, and the next day began some pretty awesome adventures. Our first stop was Newgrange Passage Tomb which is in the Boyne Valley, along the river. Newgrange Passage Tomb is a large part of a Neolithic burial complex and quite frankly is very amazing. One is able to walk through the passage of the burial mound and into the chamber itself, where there are very intricate carvings. On the solstice, at 9:04 in the morning, the sun will rise and align itself so that bright, clear yellow sunlight will filter in through the top hole above the passage way and into the chamber; this is the only time the chamber is filled with natural sunlight, and by 9:15, the sunlight is gone and the chamber is in complete darkness once more.

They give a light demonstration inside Newgrange, and let you walk around for a wee bit before ushering you back on a bus to the visitor's centre which has a small museum-like display set up about the history of Newgrange and the surrounding area. Though prehistory is far from my expertise, it really is a fantastic place!

Me in front of the recreated facade of the Newgrange Passage Tomb

Afterwards, we headed off to Mellifont Abbey. Mellifont Abbey is a Cistercian Abbey founded in 1142, which means that the monks who resided there would have followed Catholic religious traditions and additionally operated on the values of manual work and self-sufficiency. As we got there it was getting dark, and fast, and we were the only ones there aside from wee Arthur who was taking a nap; it was rather nice to wander around on our own, though it would've been very helpful to have someone around who knew immediately what we were looking at and how it came to be that way.

After that, we swiftly stopped by Monasterboise to peak around the graveyard and ruined church; it got dark by then, but it was very peaceful and there were a few others around. I didn't take many pictures at all due to the darkness and the fact that I hate flash on cameras, but I do have a good one of a magnificent standing cross.

Afterwards, we headed home and prepared for the next day's adventures. Ramona showed me around Bray, which is the town she calls home, just south of Dublin. With Cassie the dog in tow, we hiked up Bray Head, a rather large hill, to see the magnificent views of the ocean, of Bray, and of in the distance - Dublin. Then we walked along the seafront and got hot chocolate/coffee and talked. Lots of talking, lots of admiring the views... Let the pictures speak for themselves!

At the top of Bray Head

Day three began with a trip to Glendalough! Glendalough is absolutely beautiful. It hosts a park with hiking and walking trails, beautiful scenery, and quite the beautiful drive as well. It was rather chilly and windy, but honestly, I didn't mind at all. Glendalough is also host to a ruined monastic site, which, anyone knowing me and what I study, is right up my alley! Again, I feel it best to let the photos speak for themselves rather than words.

After a 3 km walk with Ramona, Cassie the pup, and two very tired toddlers, we worked our way back to Bray; however, we did make a few stops along the way! First, we stopped at Sallygap, just along the road long enough to wonder in how marvelously gorgeous it was and how beautiful the waterfalls were. One day, I want to sit and hike along these mountains near Sallygap and sit with a book on the edge of the cliffs and just read, write, and take as long as I need to just look at everything. Sallygap is beautiful... here's two photos that explain why:

And now you see why I could've sat there for hours and hours, just reading on the edge of that drop off looking out into that valley. Our final stop of the day was at Avoca, at a point where two large, flowing rivers meet to become one. I don't have any photos of this location, as we only stopped for a few minutes before returning back to Bray, but it was very peaceful.

My final day in Ireland was extremely exciting. I was dropped off at the Bray train station in the morning for a solo trip into Dublin. Armed with a personal itinerary (Book of Kells, Trinity College, National Museum, Dublinia/Viking Dublin museum) I exited Pearse Station in Dublin trying to appear not as a tourist, but as natural as possible, all the while looking up, down, around, everywhere I could possibly look. Dublin's a very nice city to wander around on one's own. But I had an agenda before I could wander.

Trinity College Library

Once upon a time, I saw a film for class and wasn't sure what to expect. It was called the Secret of Kells and after I watched it about four more times and loved every bit of it, I read what I could on the Book of Kells, Iona, and Kells itself. However, I was limited by the resources available to me in the States. I discovered that Trinity College Dublin had the Book of Kells on display, and knew then and there that one day I would get to visit it. And so, Trinity College and the Book of Kells was my first stop on my Dublin checklist.

I could've stared at that book for ages and ages. Sure, the exhibit was wonderful and informative and interesting and had plenty of other manuscripts, both illuminated and not, on display but the real treasure was seeing the Book of Kells. I managed to see one of it's more famous pages - folio 32, which depicts Christ. Of course, eventually, I had to leave and move on. The next stop was at Dublinia, or the museum on Viking Dublin, which is adjacent to Christ Church Cathedral. After writing an essay on Viking Dublin, I have to say that the museum was cool, but also very tiring. I twitched reading certain things because a.) I already knew it or b.) I really did not want to read about it anymore. But, it was a really cool museum and nicely exhibited, especially for young children (or Masters students who just want a wee bit of fun in their research). The top floor was almost laughable, as it depicted what an archaeologist did, different stages of digs, and what various archaeological environments, tools, and artefacts were like.

Following Dublinia was Christ Church Cathedral, which I have to say, is very impressive.

After that, I grabbed myself a snack and some hot chocolate and sat outside St Patrick's Cathedral (the largest church in Ireland) and enjoyed peace and quiet in St Patrick's Park. St Patrick's Cathedral was equally fantastic and cool, and I enjoyed myself. However, I next had to find the National Museum of Ireland. ...I might've walked up and down and past it about five times before I finally found it. I almost gave up looking! But I'm glad I didn't, because inside were even more treasures that I had always wanted to see. Namely - the Tara Brooch, four bog bodies, and some pretty cool medieval artefacts. Fair warning up ahead for anyone squeamish, the below picture contains human remains (a bog body, to be exact: that of the Clonycavan Man from the Early Iron Age, 392-201 BC).

Clonycavan Man. Yes. I think this is really really cool.

And finally, I wandered around in the rain after the museum and did some shopping, including picking up a copy of the first Harry Potter book in Irish, a pit stop at the Disney store and purchasing a Dublin Mickey Mouse mug, and some other things. I was delayed looking for the train station by an Irishwoman named Ruth who took it upon herself to complain about the shop behind us which used to be a mortgage broker that refused to give her a loan (or something of the sort) and now has become something else without any customers. She talked to me about half an hour, during which the majority I simply nodded my head and smiled and she chatted about the Scottish and how they had great movies once upon a time and fantastic entertainment and how I should really take the ferry over next time... She was pleasant, but the randomness of the conversation caught me quite off-guard. Nevertheless, afterwards I found the train station and headed back to Bray.

But the night wasn't over! Ramona and I went to Glencullen, up to a pub in the hills called Johnnie Fox's which is quite literally the highest pub in Ireland. It wasn't busy, the food was good, and there was live entertainment by a very friendly and excellent guitarist. I even knew about half of the songs he played! It was a great way to end the night, and have a chat about all sorts of various things. The next morning I headed off bright and early to the airport and then proceeded to collapse on my bed and try and gather my things for the next day...

...during which I took a few trains to go to Liverpool!

The travelling just doesn't stop! Liverpool was very nice; I visited Charlotte and her housemate Lou and we wandered around the docks, many, many museums, and it was relaxing just to hang out with friends and chat about all sorts of things. 

Albert Docks

Looking out over the River

Beatles suits!

So now, it's back in Scotland for a while. The next coming months of 2014 are going to be crazy! I need to start working on dissertation research, figuring out which direction I want to go in, as well as working on three new courses! I am taking GIS (Geographic Information Systems), Early Christian Monuments, and Early Medieval Artefacts, as well as hopefully auditing/sitting in on a few Viking seminars. We've got some solid plans set out for the future months as well!

Alex and Leah come to visit in early March, and then shortly after the Celtic and Viking program is going down to York, England for a weekend for a Viking Conference which should be very good fun! In April, I've signed up to do some excavation field work at Castle Law Forgandenny for two weeks or so, and hopefully at the end of April my brother and dad will be stopping by to visit. Before I know it, it'll be May, and the scary dissertation will rear it's ginormous head.

Of course, there are going to be other trips and surprises in the future as well (dream goals would be to go to Iceland, perhaps Ireland again, Wales, Iona & Mull, Skye, Shetland, Orkney...) but who knows where the path (and the finances) will go.

Until next time!