Trying to make more posts

I am trying to make more posts but it won't let me post any pictures at the moment. So I will be making a vlog post pretty soon and post it to YouTube. I'm going to describe the differences I saw between the UK, Ireland, and U.S

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Trim, Co. Meath, Ireland

I was living in this small town about an hour away from Dublin for 5 weeks. I am going to have to make a couple posts about this town. To begin County Meath is the heritage capital of Ireland, within the county there are so many historical sites and you can find/ see ruins everywhere amongst the modern buildings.

To begin I was in an archaeological dig in Trim excavating the Blackfriary built in 1263.

But some sights around town were Trim Castle, St. Patrick's Cathedral, Simon de Rocheforts Cathedral, St John's Priory, Yellow Steeple, Medieval bridge.

Trim Castle

Building began in 1172 by Hugh de Lacy who was granted the lands from the English King Henry II. It is the largest Anglo-Norman Castle in Ireland. It sits in the middle of town which still maintains its medieval street layout. The town was at the height of power during the middle ages and was the place to be. When discussion of where to place Trinity College began, the other option was Trim. Imagine if things had been different how Trim would be currently. Also an interesting tidbit about the castle, Braveheart was filmed here and was used as the castle double for York castle. Anyways here are some pictures of the castle.

Within the gatehouse

 Where the sacraments were kept in the castle chapel

The view from the window where the Prince's lover was thrown from in the movie Braveheart

At the top of the castle

The River Boyne and view from the top of the castle

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Hydration

OH MY GOODNESS! This heat wave in London is horrible. Most of the buses, trains, stores, restaurants don't have AC. There is also no breeze from the sea that you can feel. It is just plain hot. I am sweating the amount of water I drink.

Keep hydrated my readers!

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Cornwall and Wales

As some of you know I am making a journey around the UK, but somethings I have noticed that would make your life easier.

So far I can give tidbits on Cornwall and Wales.

In Wales, specifically Cardiff check out your hostel online. Since I was on study abroad for 5 weeks all I did was check price and proximity to city centre. I didn't take into account that I would have to lug my luggage up 5 flights of stairs. My hostel though was amazing and I would recommend it for anyone looking for a decent stay at a decent price.

Housing

• It was called Riverhouse Backpackers, it was extremely close to city centre and the train station, very convienent. Wifi was availiable in all the rooms, not just downstairs. The female only dorms are in the attic and you have skylights (Amazing). Good price (22 pounds a night). Breakfast: not your regular hostel breakfast, they went all out. It was worth the price. Although next time I am in Cardiff I am going to make sure I travel light.
• In Cornwall I stayed in Bodmin because it is in the middle of the county and it is a 1 hour bus ride to everything. So I just used that as my starting and ending point. I stayed with a lovely family I found on Airbnb.com. If you're ever in a rut trying to find a place to stay and there is no hostel around I would recommend this. It was significantly cheaper than staying in a regular bnb.

Food

• For me, I went to the food stands or I went to a take out place. These tend to be cheaper and offer cheaper prices if you want to eat out instead of in. Also bring snacks with you, for me I have a jar of peanut butter and bread with me. Bread and cheese is good too but I haven't done much carrying of that because I don't want the cheese to spoil.

Traveling

• If you want to save on housing but want to travel at the same time, try and get train tickets that are during the night so you can sleep on the train and save money on a place to sleep.

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Hill of Tara

This hill was the royal seat for the high king of Ireland, which meant that you were the ultimate king. Although before the time of the high kings this site was considered sacred has visible activity dating back to 3000BC. Its increase in importance began in the Iron Age and continued into the Early Christian period. This site has great importance to Christians because in 433 St. Patrick lit the paschal fire in the nearby Hill of Slane that is 16km away but you can see clearly from Hill of Tara. This fire was in defiance to the High King Laoghaire (pronounced Leera) and the pagan druid ritual. They couldn't put the fire out so after some fight with magic and in the end were defeated. Eventually the King and his followers converted to Christianity. Only one of the Kings followers paid homage to Patrick and he is known as St. Erc, he founded a monastery on Hill of Slane.

From any direction on Hill of Tara you can see 1/3 of Ireland.

Royal Enclosure: Mound of Hostages

From on top of the hill

This is a stone that 5000 years old and which sadly was recently vandalized. It's the Stone of Destiny and according to legend it would roar if the rightful ruler of Ireland touched it.

A statue of St. Patrick 

A view of the hill of Slane, if you can see that structure pointing towards the sky in the center that is where it is.

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Glendalough

Pronounced Glen-da-lock, written in Irish as Gleann dá Loch meaning the Glen of 2 lakes. Situated in Wicklow county among the Wicklow mountains. It is absolutely beautiful and serene if you walk the mountain paths and stay away from the popular trails. To arrive there I took a bus called the St. Kevin's bus service and it costs 20 euros to go, the bus picks up at 1130 daily in front of the Mansion House in Dublin. Since you have to buy your ticket on the bus and it isn't available for purchase online, you MUST ARRIVE 30 mins EARLY. This is important because once the bus fills up then there isn't another one until the next day. 

If you aren't aware St.Kevin founded a monastery in this location in the 500's. He was known for his closeness to nature with his companions being animals when he was a hermit. Overtime people would visit and it became a spot for a monastery.

The Round Tower

The Monastic Area

Mountain hiking

Upper Lake

Reefert's Church

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St.Kevin's Cell

View from St. Kevin's Cell

St. Kevin

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Exciting News!

I am excited to announce that I have been reassigned to Cutting 3 which means I get to excavate a burial now. The burial is a man who is  a little taller than me, and he might have been from the friary's heyday and was buried within the church. This could mean that he was of wealth, he also has a perfect set of teeth with lack of decay but one of the molars has wear.

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