Scotland & Ireland...

I was greeted by bagpipes on my entrance into Edinburgh castle

...Have I mentioned how much I love Europe!

Mon's Meg - Cannon @ the castle that could shoot over two miles! Also it was a little windy...

Sunset at Edinburgh Castle

Sword of Robert the Bruce - Yes the Guy from Braveheart

View of Edinburgh from Authur's Seat

Scottish Parliament

Clownin' Around at John Knox's House - Edinburgh

St. Stephen's Green - Dublin

Picknick on St. Stephen's Green

Here is Earl Grey...Yes the Tea is named after him...His portrait hangs in Dublin Castle!

The Guinness Factory

My Finnish Friends

The Ha'Penny Bridge - Famous in Dublin History -It used to cost half a penny to cross it...

In front of Christ's Cathedral

Window in St. Patrick's Cathedral

Trinity College

Ah to be in the majority as a red head for once in my life... it felt really good! I fit into Dublin like a glove. I love the people, I love the accents, I love the entire atmosphere! I just wandered the city for a long time. I went to St. Stephen's Green, one of the most beautiful parks I've ever seen. I went to St. Patrick’s Cathedral which was very rich with history. I got to tour the Guinness Factory which was a lot of fun! I had no idea how complicated it was to make Guinness. Oh and I drank lots of tea! When I was in Prague I picked up a copy of James Joyce's Dubliners to read on my trip to Dublin. There is nothing quite as amazing as reading literature of a city and actually being there! When I read about a character crossing the Ha Penny Bridge I knew what is was like cause I'd just done it! It was amazing! When I got really cold I'd just find the nearest tea room and whip out my book! I really enjoyed the freedom of traveling alone. No schedule or worry that someone may not want to do what I want to do. I just went and I did. I also loved it because I blended in so well. It is easy for me to pick up accents if I am surrounded by them. So for the most part I just put on a Dubliner accent and went with it! What is really great is that Dublin is an easily navigable town. Quite a few tourists came up to me and asked me where things were. If I knew I'd just put on an accent and tell them how to get there! I was only there for two days! I can't imagine how incredible it would be to live there for a season. Oh to dream... Anyway I meet up with some fantastic people in my Hostel, some students from Finland. We all went out to the pubs to hear the live music and enjoy the spirit of Dublin. Oh how much fun it was! That’s another fun thing about traveling alone! You never know what fantastic people you're going to meet.
Onto Scotland. I went to Edinburgh next. I think I may have even liked this city more if it hadn't rained the whole time I was there...It was still beautiful even through the downpour and face biting wind. As the Scottish Guard in the Castle told me, "Well you didn't come to Scotland for the weather did you darlin'." I toured the castle which was everything a good castle should be! Huge Walls, cannons, crown jewels, what more could you ask for! They had an incredible audio guide and I listened to the whole thing! I could almost hear the cannons firing off at the English as I walked past them. While in Edinburgh I also saw the house of John Knox, famous Scottish Protestant who was influential in the reformation. It was amazing to see some of his first published works! The Scottish Bible really was in a different language! I couldn't read it at all! I toured the Scottish parliament which was refounded in 1999. The building was very modern and I hated it but it was fascinating to hear about what is going on politically in their country! I also hiked to the top of Arthur's Seat; a massive hill that splits Edinburgh in two. The view of the city is gorgeous from the top! I got to watch the sunset from up there. What a breath taking city and a breath taking day. I finished it off with a spud from a famous Potato Shop on "The Royal Mile." There were two girls there and we shared a table. They were film students from Glasgow. We hit it off great and they told me they were going to a film festival one block away after they ate their spuds. They invited me along! It turned out to be an opening of a short film gallery. It was fantastic! Most of the short films dealt with the topic of African and Turkish immigration to the EU and how that was affecting lives. I had just been studying that I my modern Europe class so I actually had some intelligent comments to make! After an hour or so of watching films the girls had to catch their train and I need to get some sleep so we parted ways. One of the many many reasons I'm glad I traveled alone for this trip. You just don't do things like this otherwise! Safe to say that I absolutely loved Dublin and Edinburgh and I hope with all my might that I get to go back someday!