Waterford, London and Wales

Since classes ended a few weeks ago and before my dissertation seminar began today, I was fortunate to be able to travel around both Ireland and the United Kingdom a bit.

Last Wednesday, my friend Vanessa and I grabbed a train from Heuston States and down the Irish coast to the town of Waterford, home to the world famous crystal, for a day trip and to meet up with our friend, Warren.  Waterford is the oldest town in Ireland, founded by Vikings in the the 10th Century, and it is now the 5th largest city in the Republic of Ireland.  We spent the day walking around the city center, visiting the towns two cathedrals, a Viking tower, and we toured the Waterford Crystal Factory.  It was a fun day trip, and a good distraction from the work that has been piling up.

The Cathedral of the Most Holy Trinity, the oldest Catholic Cathedral in Ireland and the UK

Reginald's Tower

City Center, Waterford

blowing glass at Waterford

some of the finished products

Last weekend, I had the opportunity to spend the day in the city of London and travel a bit around Wales.  I had an early morning flight from Dublin on Saturday, getting to the airport at 5:00 am for my flgiht, which took only about twenty minutes longer than my bus journey from Dublin to the airport.  Once I arrived at Stansted Airport, I hopped on a train that took me to London, where I promptly got on a double decker, hop-on, hop-off tour bus to see the sights of the city.  The city itself was still packed from people there for the royal wedding, which was only held the day before.  The first major attraction that I saw was Buckingham Palace, which was crowded with people hoping to get a glimpse of the couple or the Queen (despite the fact that they were not there).

Buckingham Palace, with the iconic guards

From there, I made my way to Westminster, to see Westminster Abbey and Westminster Palace, better known as Parliament.  The line to get into the Abbey was nearly two blocks long, and all the flags, decorations and bleachers for the spectators were still set up, and there were video monitors replaying the ceremony for the people waiting in line.  I took the opportunity, and the much shorter line, to get a tour of the Houses of Parliament.

Westminster Abbey

Me in front of Big Ben and Parliament

Following my tour, I got on a river boat cruise that was part of my original bus tour and saw the city from the River Thames.  We sailed from Westminster, under the London Bridge, and docked again at the  Tower of London and the Tower Bridge.  I took a tour of the Tower Bridge, and was able to climb to the top of the towers and see the original victorian engines that powered the drawbridge on the bridge.

Tower of London

Tower Bridge

After that, it was time to head to Paddington Station and to catch the train to Swansea, Wales, to meet up with my friend Emily, who went to Lycoming with me and who came to visit Dublin last year.  Getting back to the train station was a bit hectic, and after the bus I was on and a train on the Underground that I was on breaking down, and springting through Victoria Station and Paddington Station, I missed the train that I was supposed to get to Wales, which meant that I had to wait in the train station for an hour, which gave me time to sit down for the first time in awhile and get something to eat.  Saturday night, after a three hour train ride, I arrived in Swansea, met up with Emily, and we went out for a pint.

On Sunday morning we got up early and caught a train to Cardiff to explore the city for a day.  While I enjoyed my time in London, I really liked the city of Cardiff.  We took a tour of the Cardiff Castle, which was located right in the middle of the town, completely surround by fortified walls, some of which dated back to the Roman period of Welsh history.  Following that, we grabbed some lunch, and then walked around the city a bit, seeing the downtown, the University of Cardiff, and the National Museum of Wales.  After that, we caught a bus down to Cardiff Bay and saw the Pierhouse, an extremely important building in the history and development of Cardiff as a major port city, and the National Assembly of Wales.  We then headed back into the city center, got coffee, and then went back to Swansea for the night.

The exterior walls of Cardiff Castle

Wartime Bomb Shelter Tunnels in Cardiff Castle

Me and Emily with the Norman Keep in the background 

Saint David's Cathedral

The Pierhouse

Welsh National Assembly

We started Monday morning on the early side because I had to catch a train to Bristol to fly back to Dublin.  We got a quick breakfast, and then walked around the town of Swansea a bit and then we walked along the beach to the University of Swansea, where Emily is getting her Masters degree.

Swansea Castle

Beach in Swansea

I had a great time on my trip, but it went by way to quickly.  It is hard to believe that my time in Dublin is over in three short weeks, but I have a lot to cover in that time.  Today we started our dissertation seminar (I present my work in progress next Thursday), and I have two (and possibly I third I hope) friends coming to visit, and I am going to Stockholm next weekend.  In addition to all of that, I got an article that I wrote published through Rutgers University (http://www.blueraritan.org/resources/Hollander.pdf) and I submitted an article to a student journal here at Trinity, so I am hoping to hear good news about that soon.  I know that I haven't posted in awhile, but I hope to get a few more posts in before I head back to the states.