Blog #18: 124

This was my last week in the UK and it was filled with memories, laughter, and many emotions!

We started the week still in Dublin with the hop-on hop-off bus. Throughout the day we did three main stops.

• #1: Nancy Hand’s Pub & The Natural Bakery
  • WE got off here because we got a free glass of Guinness at Nancy Hands Pub with our ticket, but when we got off they didn’t open for a bit still so we went to The Natural Bakery and had some lemonade and a cheesecake.

• #2: Cemetery and Bar
  • Our next stop was at Glasnevin Cemetery and The Gravediggers/John Kavanagh Bar. The cemetery was beautiful with some headstones dating back to the 17^th The bar wasn’t as creepy as I thought it was going to be, but the food was still delicious and the atmosphere was very friendly.

• #3: St. Stephen’s Green
  • We decided to stop here because it looked prettier than Phoenix Park and the Botanic Gardens, and it was. The park was filled with people relaxing and enjoying the nice day in the grass and by the ponds.
  • Right around the park there were many stores and restaurants so we decided to stop at 37 Dawson St. Bar. This place reminded me of a class ruin bar. It was very fun inside and the food was delicious even though it was pricey.

The next day we walked back to St. Stephan’s Green to get another day for the hop-on hop-off bus and get breakfast before heading to the Teeling Distillery which Is the only working distillery in Dublin.

• We didn’t do an actual tour, but we went up to the bar/gift stop and did a tasting there.

After the tasting we went to The Brazen Head which is the oldest pub in Dublin. Here we got some food which was not terrible, but I probably wouldn’t go back there for food.

Once we were done eating we got on the bus again and just rode it for a bit, before deciding to get off in The Temple Bar district and wander there for a while.

• We ended up finding The Temple Bar and went in for a bit, but after looking at prices we decided to leave.
  • Most of the drinks were starting at £8 which is about $10.50.

Wednesday, we got up early and flew to London.

Upon arriving in London we took the bus to Victoria Coach Station which was right by our hotel. Once we were a bit settled in we went to Marquis for some food which was delicious before catching the underground to Westminster.

• Since it was getting later in the day all we saw was Big Ben, London Eye, Westminster Palace and Abbey before walking back to the hostel.

The next morning we went and bought hop-on hop-off tickets.

• We ended up buying tickets with London City Tours which was a huge mistake! Every time we wanted to get on the bus it would either not show up, or we would end up waiting for 45 minutes. And when/if we actually did catch the bus the route would not be what the map said, they had a voice record telling us about the town, and the stops were not clearly marked.
• Long story short this company is not a good one to work with. If you ever go to London use the Big Bus tours. They have many more stops, more bussed and are nicer and more punctual.

Throughout the day we didn’t really get to see much because we were just waiting for the bus.

After a disappointing day we headed back to the hotel for a bit before I went to the city again to do some night photography.

Friday morning we tried one more time to get on the bus, but ended up waiting 45 minutes for it to not show up, so we just took a cab to the Tower Bridge.

• It was on my mom’s bucket list to ride in the classic black cab so it was nice to check that off.

Once we got to the bridge we bought tickets and went up to the walkway that had a part with glass floor. It was a bit pricy for the tour but totally worth it! After we were done we went under the bridge to a restaurant called The Vault which had okay food nothing special.

When we were done eating we got some caramelized nuts and ice cream and enjoyed it by sitting on the grass with many other people on their lunch break.

After soaking up some sun we did a bit of souvenir shopping while making our way back to the hostel to pack and relax for a bit. Once we did some packing we went to The Constitution Pub for one last drink before calling it a night.

Saturday 27^th May 2017 was my last day in the UK. We got up early to talk the bus to the airport and we on our way back to the states.

• We had a layover in DC and ended up eating in a British Pub by coincidence before getting on our connecting flight to Minneapolis.

When we landed in MN we got picked up by EcoTran and headed to Northfield. After putting our stuff in the house we went over to the neighbors for a bit, and then I went to pick up my dog and visit my grandpa before crawling into bed and calling it a night!

I hope you enjoyed following me on my semester abroad.

Talk to you soon & thank you for reading!

The Title:

There isn’t anything too special about the title it is just how many days I spent abroad.