Back to my homeland

Writing from my hostel here in Dublin...according to my dad, home of my ancestors. I spent the last two days in and around London...which has most definitely captured my heart. I arrived in London early Monday morning. Jenny, my friend from Barone's, picked me up at the airport and took me back to where she lives in Chesham. It's a cute little town in the country. I was pretty jetlagged, so we took it easy Monday. Jenny took me Whipsnade Zoo near where she lives. It was a great place. It was HUGE with lots of room for the animals to roam around, and there were even a few animals free to wander around the park. It was really great, and thankfully the weather was beautiful for walking around outside. After the zoo, I was exhausted, so I took a short nap back at the Shaw residence. The rest of the night we just laid low and watched good British television.



Tuesday was "London in a Day." Jenny and I left the house in the morning and headed out for London. We took the train in and then got on the Tube to Picadilly Circus. It's a pretty happening area of the city with good shopping. The city is BEAUTIFUL. We shopped for a while in an area called Covent Garden and then walked over to where all of the Parliament buildings are. We walked down to Big Ben and Westminster Abbey. All of the buildings are so gorgeous in London, there was too much to look at. After meeting Brian Haw, a famous protestor of the war in Iraq, we went over to the River Thames. There we got on a boat that went down the river to Tower Bridge. It was a great way to see the city.

We got off the boat and went over to the Tower of London. That was a lot of fun...not only did I get to learn a lot about some of England's darker past, but I got to see a real castle! It was very cool...and educational. The weather was fitting too, since it rained on and off almost all day. Definitely adding to my London experience.

Arrived here today in Dublin via Ryanair from London. My roommate from Chicago Katie met me at the airport. We spent the afternoon and evening walking around the city and seeing some sites. I'm pretty tired, though, so I'll probably go to bed early tonite. Tomorrow I will definitely explore more of this town. While it's not as big as London, it is pretty cool.

I'm looking forward to my future European adventures. I'm taking lots of pictures so check them out. I'll try to get them on here ASAP.

Cheers!