Europe 2016, Part IV: From Ireland to Scotland

Goodbye, Galway

The back of Keogh's chips, explaining how
natural their products are.

After saying goodbye to my wonderful hosts Mary and Tom on Saturday morning, I went to the shops to finally buy my Irish sweater and some snacks for my bus ride. I've been trying to sample some different brands of snacks that we can't find in the US. They pretty much have the same types of snacks, candy, etc. and don't taste significantly different, but I have noticed that more of the products here have some kind of health- or environment-related labeling (e.g. organic, all-natural, etc.). I took the CityLink bus back to Dublin at 12:15, arriving around 2:45 or 3 in the afternoon. CityLink is kind of like the Irish version of BoltBus (the UK has MegaBus, just like in some parts of the US). I explored the Temple Bar area that evening, which is mostly just pubs and a few shops. I had dinner at a chain called Boojum, which a Willamette friend described to me as "Irish Chipotle" - an extremely accurate descriptor.

Boojum Restaurant

I thought about doing Airbnb again but I decided to book a hostel room instead to save money. I found a spot in a 12-bed all-female dorm at Jacob's Inn for less than 15 euro. Jacob's Inn had good reviews on Trip Advisor and was close to the route of the only public bus that goes to the ferry port. I was a little worried about staying there on my own, but it ended up being one of my favorite nights of the trip! The hostel was clean and inviting - the walls were brightly colored and there were plenty of open common spaces where people were chatting, playing pool, etc. When I got to my room, I saw that only one of the other beds appeared to be taken for the night. Ultimately, there were two other women around my age - one from Taiwan who had just finished biking through Ireland and one from Australia who was getting toward the end of three months of backpacking through Europe. The Australian woman, and I chatted for several hours and she gave me some great suggestions for my trip. She has also done extensive traveling through the US because she studied abroad in Alaska and used the grace period at the end of her semester to do a road trip in the Southwest. She also told me the place she most wants to visit in the US is Portland, so we may cross paths again. We became friends on Facebook to make that a little more likely. Also, her name is Kirrily, which I didn't find out until we had already talked for a few hours! 

In the morning, I got up early and took the bus to the ferry port. I arrived extremely early because the bus only comes once per hour, so I got to watch some Irish news about "Brexit" (the UK referendum on whether or not they want to remain in the EU). As I mentioned in Part II, the ferry and train rides were all lovely and I'm very glad I got to experience a different type of travel than flying while here.

Hello, Edinburgh (pronounced ed-in-bra)

I arrived into Edinburgh's Waverly Station around 6:20pm (18:20, as they would write here). My friend Robyn and her boyfriend Neil met me at the station and we took a cab (taxi) back to their apartment (flat). For those who don't know, Robyn is a friend from Lincoln - we both did theatre and full IB, so we had lots of classes and after-school time together. She studied abroad for a year at University of Edinburgh during her undergrad, then came back to do her master's and now PhD in English Literature with an emphasis in Book History. She met Neil during her study abroad year and they started dating when she came back to the city.

That night, we ordered pizza and watched the latest Game of Thrones with some of their friends. This is a weekly ritual for them, and I was happy to get to see this piece of their lives. I hadn't seen GoT before, but now I see why everyone is obsessed! It's really engaging and well-done, I definitely want to start watching it. After that, we went to a bar to celebrate Neil passing his comprehensive medical degree exams / officially becoming a doctor with some of his fellow graduates. In the UK, medical degrees are done as an extended undergraduate program, so Neil is now heading into his residency even though he's the same age as Robyn and I are. Neil is also from Scotland, so it's been interesting to hear his take on the National Health Service and Brexit. 

Pear tart from Love Crumbs

Tuesday and Wednesday

On my first full day in Edinburgh, both Robyn and I needed to finish some work for our respective post-graduate degrees. We had breakfast with Neil at a cute cafe called Love Crumbs that specializes in making cakes and pastries. I ate a pear tart, which is sort of a cake with pears on top, and drank Earl Grey tea. After that, Robyn took me on a mini walking tour through the city to the neighborhood of Stockbridge, which is one of her favorite areas. It's kind of on the edge of the city, and there are several prestigious private schools there. I know because we saw lots of students walk past the window in their uniforms when school got out for the afternoon. We sat in a cafe and did our work for several hours, then got Thai food to go (take away) and ate at her apartment. After dinner, we went for a walk through the University of Edinburgh campus and got a drink in an area that I would equate to the Southwest Waterfront in Portland. 

Selfie in Stirling City Centre

On Wednesday, Robyn and I took the train to Stirling. The trains here are really amazing - we made the 35 mile trip in about 50 minutes, roughly the same as it would have been to drive, and it cost less than 10 pounds. After a delicious lunch at an Indian restaurant, we walked up to Stirling Castle. We didn't go into the castle because it was kind of expensive and we still had beautiful views of the city from the grounds (photos below). I don't think I'll ever get enough of these stunning views. We finished our time in Stirling by wandering around the centre and popping in a few shops. On our way back from Stirling, we stopped in Falkirk to see the Sauter family. Josh, the oldest Sauter, and his wife, Kristin, have lived in Scotland for about six years. My mom found out that Robin would be here at the same time as I am because Josh and Kristin were expecting their second baby on the 26th. Lucky for us, little Finley Mason arrived last week! We also got to see their toddler, Cayden. Both are as adorable as you would expect a six-day-old baby and a toddler to be. It was great to chat with Robin, Kristin, and Josh. This trip is giving me so many lovely examples of just how small the world can be. After visiting with the Sauters for a little over an hour, we caught the train back to Edinburgh and had dinner at the University of Edinburgh Student Association building. The restaurant is in an old library, or at least is decorated to look like an old library, and they serve cheap pub food. It seemed surprisingly crowded for a Wednesday evening in the summer, but apparently it's the week before graduation so plenty of students are still around.

Today, I explored Edinburgh Castle on my own, but the stories and photos will have to wait until my next opportunity to write.

Love,
Colleen