We were originally planning on spending a short time in the UK, but we were slightly trapped due to a missing part in our vehicle that had to be obtained at a certain place on a certain day (and it ended up arriving late). Despite the fact that we will have to cut other sections of our trip short as a result of that, I thought the UK and Ireland was a lot of fun. After heading out of London where we visited Kew Gardens, (see my last post) we stayed for two nights in a village in Oxfordshire called Sulgrave (you can see Raisa’s post for that as well). And finally after leaving Sulgrave, we headed into Wales here we took a ferry into Dublin, Ireland. 

I have to say that the best food I have had has been Irish food. It’s filled with potatoes and perfectly cooked meat and delicious stews that make your mouth water. It’s equivalent if not better than the comfort food your mother made for you in America as a child. I am sure you know what I am talking about. Do you remember having pulled pork sandwiches and perfectly salted mashed-potatoes? Irish food will rival that, and nowhere is better to have the old, Irish pub experience than Dublin, the historic capitol. In case you are interested in some of the places we ate, I’ll suggest some good pubs and restaurants so you can get an authentic experience. One of the first places we went was O’Neil’s, which is quite near Trinity College in downtown Dublin. You can tell it’s very popular because it will be packed if you get there too late. The interior of the place is stunning and you will probably end up staring at the ceiling most of the time because they really know how to decorate. Be prepared to eat a lot of food because it’s set up in a buffet system, and they really just serve you however much they think you will need. Another secret I should tell you is that their deserts are delicious and pretty cheap for what they are, and even better, you can apply your own whipped cream. Another place I would recommend is The Celt, which is more of an old-school sit-down pub. We went there for lunch one day and it was amazing. The last place I have to tell you about is Boxty. They of course serve boxties, which are basically thick, savory, Irish, crêpes. I ordered one of them and I have to say it was in the Top 10 things I have ever tasted. So if you go, make sure to order a boxty.

Enough about food, let’s talk about some sightseeing and history. We were lucky enough to get a nice apartment in Downtown Dublin, which was a nice 7-10 minute walk from Trinity College where The Book Of Kells is held. We took a nice tour there and we learned a lot about the college. In the courtyard in the main entrance, they have Oregon Oaks. This is a very important thing to me, but also to the people of Ireland. Back when many of the Irish people were immigrating to America, the Oaks became a place of pilgrimage for the family members of the people who had gone to the United States. This was because the trees had come from Oregon, hence the name, Oregon Oak. The families who were still in Ireland felt that the Oregon Oaks were the closest they could get to their family members, and so, (as you know) the trees became a place of pilgrimage. Another good piece of history is The Book Of Kells, which dates back to around 800 AD, but was only transferred to Trinity College in the 1660’s. Unfortunately, in 1953, it was split and bound into four separate pieces. This was to represent the four gospels of the New Testament, which The Book Of Kells contains. It was a great experience getting to see the book, because it was of course beautiful, but also because it was a rich piece of religion summed up in one thing. 

I think the whole family loved Dublin, but it was time to move on to Scotland, specifically Edinburgh. It was a long drive from Holyhead to Glasgow. You might be wondering, why were we going to Glasgow? Well, here’s how the story goes. We ended up booking the wrong Ramada Hotel in Glasgow at 9:00 PM at night while driving down the highway. Apparently, they have a no-cancellation after 2:00 PM policy, even though we called back 5 minutes later, explaining that it had been an honest mistake. Their customer service was extremely poor and Booking.com (which we made the reservation with) made nothing better, and in fact, only worsened the situation. We ended up having to check in at midnight and stay there for the night because we didn’t want to pay over £100 and not even stay. 

On a better note, we ended up staying in Edinburgh for two nights at a wonderful new hotel in the New Town. We ended up taking a great free walking tour of Old Town Edinburgh and our guide, Kim, was amazing. If you are interested in getting a great view of the city, I can recommend two places to you. The first is Edinburgh Castle, which is situated on the top of a massive formation of lava rock on the city’s edge. Many tour guides will tell you something different, but Edinburgh Castle surrendered 29 times. This is probably because your tour guide is from Scotland, and they don’t want to admit it :). The castle also has a great prison to explore. A good fact is that during the Revolutionary War, U.S. soldiers were considered pirates, and they were given less food as prisoners.
The second thing I can recommend to you, is a hill that is clearly rising up near New Town Edinburgh. One way to identify it is to see the half-finished replica of the Acropolis, along with a couple of pretty, old buildings. From there, you have a beautiful view of the whole city, as well as the green hills in the other direction. 

For the grand finale, I am going to tell you about the most spooky part of our trip so far, the ghost tour. We took a double ghost tour which includes a tour of the Underground City, and a tour of the Graveyard. We all thought it was an amazing tour because it resembled the Twilight Zone, not too gory, but never the less, very, very scary. The Underground City is a really cool experience, but not a good choice for those who suffer from claustrophobia. The ghost stories are even scarier than at home in this tour, because you are in the very spot they took place. Another disclaimer is that there is some pretty gross stuff on the walls and ceilings that drips on your head sometimes, but it’s all fine. Both parts if the tour were splendid and great for those who are not fans of gory in-your-face horror. Some of the other tours are only interested in people jumping out at you in scary masks. That is really corny and you won’t have the same experience. Let me stop here because I am about to spoil it for you, and I am sure you won’t like that. 

Goodbye for now, and I hope you enjoyed this post. Earlier in the trip, I kept promising posts and stuff like that, but I have learned that it will only bring high expectations followed by disappointment for my readers. That is because I have limited Wi-fi access and most of the time it is poor connection. Or maybe it’s just because I can’t get my act together. Who knows? Anyway, see you later!