Day 2 - Dublin, Ireland

Dublin is known for its beautiful cathedrals and churches so we decided to go check out St. Patrick's Cathedral. This is the site, as the story goes, where St. Patrick would baptize Christians on his trip to Dublin. Now the Cathedral for the Church of Ireland (an Anglican Church), St. Patrick's Cathedral was a marvel to look at, especially knowing that it was built in the 1100s.  

More Dublin, Ireland

I truly loved Ireland. So much green, rain, and kind people. Multiple times, old ladies would come up to me whilst I was looking at my map and ask me where I needed to go and direct me there. The Irish were very friendly and helpful, with an air about them that was very personable, unassuming, and approachable. For the most part, I found them very welcoming to me and my friends and were delighted to hear our "American accents from the movies." In return, I marveled at their natural landscape, architecture, and tried not to imitate their accents after every word they said... which was difficult because it's so fun to copy. 

Dublin, Ireland - Being a Tourist

After arriving to Ireland in the pouring rain, we managed to dry up and head out site-seeing all around the city. It was really simple to get around Dublin after buying our Dublin 3-Day Freedom Pass, which allowed us on-and-off access to the city buses and site-seeing bus that stopped at every historical and cultural landmark in Dublin. Our day began walking around the pier in Dublin and admiring the blue skies after the prior evening's storm. 

Neighborhoods - Dublin, Ireland

I am a bit behind on my posts, but two weekends ago, I left London from Thursday until Sunday to check out Dublin, Ireland. The plane ride took a total of 50 minutes, but even in that short flight, I could see a difference in the natural landscape of Ireland and the UK. We arrived in Dublin in the pouring rain which made Ireland look all the more green and found our Airbnb in this quaint little neighborhood with colorful doors and lots of brick. I couldn't help but to take tons of photos just of the doors and buildings on that first evening. 

Natural History Museum - London, England

Full of all kinds of crazy cool skeletons and artifacts that are thousands of years old, the Natural History Museum was a trip! The architecture on the outside is quite impressive while the inside is a menagerie of gems of scientific discovery. Such a cool experience meandering through its halls. I didn't spend much time here, as it was a quick stop on our way to the V&A Museum, but I did spend enough time to appreciate just how quirky and packed it was with ancient artifacts. 

London, England - Color Theme

When first arriving in the UK, multiple things immediately caught my attention - the weather is much different from that of California with its abundance of sporadic rain showers, sunlight looks different here with the sun rising fully by 5 in the morning and setting at around 10:30 pm, and everything that looks old is actually super old and not built to look old (think about that for a moment... buildings that are considered historic and monumental today were once considered modern and new at the original time of their completion... blows my mind). 

Another overarching theme I encountered in London happened to do with color. Being an art history student, I am highly aware of color schemes and their effects and I have come to think of London in terms of color as being exemplified (at least in the city) by the colors red, blue, grey, and black (with the occasional green). This came to my attention as I began editing my photography taken in the city. As I adjusted different color settings in photoshop, I realized that as I altered other colors such as yellow, green, or orange, the picture was hardly changed. This is definitely attributed to the red double-decker buses, red Underground street signs, black taxi cabs, grey buildings and sky, and black road. You can definitely see it in the following photos: 

Plane Ride and Layover in Reykjavik, Iceland

After saying goodbye to my friends in Portland, OR, I got on a plane by myself and took off for 10 hours over the contiguous USA and the Atlantic Ocean for a couple hours of stopover in Reykjavik, Iceland. Although brief in the amount of time spent in the country, I know I would enjoy returning based on what people were telling me who were coming back from vacationing there. I flew Icelandair (which I would highly recommend) and enjoyed hearing all the flight announcements and signs in both English and Icelandish. As we unboarded the plane, we were lucky enough to be able to step outdoors and breathe the air which was the crispest, cleanest, purest air I have ever breathed; virtually unaltered by any sort of pollution. Their water was also amazing, being the cleanest and best tasting water I have ever had. Locals and tourists alike told me about the amazing hiking trails and coastal tours of the island which has a population of merely 323,000 people!! (Note: Greenland has only 56,000 people! That's about the size of my university!) 

Columbia River Gorge Hike, Portland, OR

After finishing up preparing my visa and packing up a suitcase and backpack worth of belongings, I headed out on my around the world adventure beginning in Portland, OR. Visiting my buddy, Ana (yes, same name, different pronunciation haha), we went around the city and natural landscape for a few days and she took me on another amazing Portland hike in the Columbia River Gorge. Covered in green and walking the entire trail in water and ending the hike by swimming at the base of the waterfall, it was the perfect way to embrace my fantastic 5 month long adventure. 

Napa, CA

A city I've visited all my life, Napa holds great memories for me and my family because it is where my mom grew up and my grandma still lives today. Recently, one of my best friends from my childhood moved to Napa and I've been able to have fun day trips visiting both family and friends in this city full of memories past and present.  Hi Grandma Jessie and Liz if you are reading this! 

Monterey, CA

As my summer vacation in California comes to an end, I have done some last minute trips with friends and family to get my fill of my home state before I head abroad to Europe for the next five months. A fitting final outing in the US was going to Monterey with my family for the fourth of July. A quick, cool weekend near the ocean was a relaxing and fun way to spend the holiday weekend as we spent time at the beach and walked in and out of different local shops.