Spring break is finally here! I got to see my mom and dad for a week as we toured through London and Dublin. The week with my parents included lots of sightseeing, picture-taking and, of course, pub crawling!
The week started off cold, snowy, and windy in London. The first day we walked around Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, and Westminster Abbey. The cold weather made us quickly retreat to a nearby pub for a steak and ale pie and a pint of Guinness. After dinner we headed off to bed in preparation for an early morning of sightseeing.
Sunday morning we ate a quick lunch and, much to my father’s dismay, headed over to Harrods for a shopping trip. We didn’t buy anything, but my mom and I did play with the teddy bears and toy helicopters on the children’s floor. The cold weather drove us to stay inside for most of the afternoon. We took a walk along the south side of the Thames River and got a great view of the London Eye. We then walked across the river and headed for some fish and chips at another nearby pub.
Monday morning we all rolled out of bed early to get in line for an indoor tour of Westminster Abbey. I never realized that this church not only was the site of countless royal weddings, but is a huge crypt filled with graves and memorials of so many influential British philosophers, scientists, politicians, artists, and royalty in history. This was definitely one of the highlights of my spring break.
The next day, we decided to take a boat tour across the Thames River and got off at the Tower of London stop. We saw various chambers, chapels, execution sites, armor of kings, and the crown jewels. After both tours, we were exhausted and spent the rest of the day inside a pub relaxing, eating, and catching up.
Next stop on the UK tour: Dublin, Ireland. My dad’s side of the family is predominantly Irish, so this trip was particularly important to learn about our ancestors and roots. As any person of Irish decent would do, we first toured the world-famous Guinness factory and got to ‘pour the perfect pint.’ We drank our free Guinness at a large sky bar with great panoramic views of the city of Dublin. The next day in Ireland was spent on a hop-on-hop-off tour bus where we toured the Jameson Whiskey distillery and Irish prison. To get out of the city for a bit, Friday we took a bus out into the beautiful countryside of Ireland and visited a small village, weaver factory, graveyard, and beach area.
As the week came to a close, it was time to say goodbye to my parents until the summer time. It was hard saying goodbye, but I am so glad and fortunate I got to see them.
The very next day my roommate and I took an hour plane ride to Glasgow, Scotland and spent the day shopping, drinking tea, and riding on a tour bus.
Needless to say, I am exhausted from all the traveling but spring break this year was an absolute blast! I am so lucky I got to see this much of the UK.