The Massive Fall Break Entry (Read at your discretion...)

The first week of November was my fall break. Planning all of my traveling for the break was stressful, and I half-expected something to go awry while traveling, but I was relieved to find how smoothly everything went! Hannah and I embarked for our fall break journey Friday, October 29th. We got to London via the Chunnel, which is probably the weirdest mode of transportation I’ve ever used. I still don’t really understand how I got to London. Hannah and I met our friends Ali, Kristin, and Fiona that night. Ali and Kristin are both juniors at Colby. Ali is a Colby junior studying abroad in London and heavily involved in a fantastic theatre program there. Kristin is also a Colby junior who’s currently studying abroad in Cork, Ireland. Fiona (who I saw in Paris earlier this semester) is a recent Colby grad now working in London. It was fantastic exploring London with so many Colby friends. In short, we crammed most of the major London tourist sites in 2 days: Big Ben, London Eye, Parliament, Westminster Abbey, Buckingham Palace (and the Changing of the Guard!), St. James Park, Notting Hill (Portabello Road Market), St. Paul’s Cathedral, London Bridge, London Tower, Harrods, Chinatown, Trafalgar Square, Globe Theatre, Piccadilly Circus, and of course Platform 9 ¾ at King’s Cross Station. I’d say my favorite parts were walking through St. James Park (absolutely beautiful) as well as the Portabello Road market (super crowded but enjoyable all the same), experiencing Harrods for the first time (the most enormous department store), and catching up with friends over several delicious meals. Least favorite part of London: the expense! The dollar-pound ratio is terrible. Also the tube was frustratingly complex at first, but I think I was just used to the Paris metro. Needless to say we quickly learned how to use it effectively since we had so many sightseeing plans! Despite being slightly overwhelmed by the splendor of London, I felt very comfortable. I felt like my wardrobe was actually acceptable and I have to admit it was nice being in an English-speaking country once again…more importantly, one with a great accent! Halloween night was (unfortunately) spent in the airport, but at least we didn’t have any more children coming into bars to ask us for money (not candy), nor did we have to face the grotesque, bloody costumes that the English are so fond of.

Houses of Parliament.

Westminster Abbey.

Changing of the Guards at Buckingham Palace.

The cheap Ryan air flight to Cork at 6:00 am Monday morning was, thankfully, a success; however the 3 drowsy Colby juniors (Hannah, Kristin, and I) got very little sleep spending the night in the airport, and consequently had a very long nap after arriving at Kristin’s dorm. Later that afternoon, Kristin showed us around the lovely city of Cork as well as around her campus at University College Cork. One of the best places in Cork: the English market, where we got food for dinner. It was fun being in a dorm-room setting again. Of course I love living with my host family, and I would not want it any other way, but it’s kind of weird living in a home-setting again after getting used to dorm life when you’re surrounded by friends literally 24/7.

Kristin and Hannah at the English Market in Cork.

On Tuesday, while Kristin was in class, Hannah and I went to Cobh, which is a famous harbor town right near Cork. As soon as we got off the train we saw the Annie Moore statue (Annie Moore was the first immigrant processed at Ellis Island in NY, 1892). Cobh is an adorable town with lots of brightly colored houses, notably the “pack of cards” houses built in an ascending stack leading up from the harbor. Cobh also has a lot of history, famous for being Titanic’s “last port of call on her maiden and final voyage, April 11, 1912.” Cobh, which has also been referred to as “Queenstown” in the past, was a heavily used port during the time of mass emigration in Ireland. Apparently from 1815-1970, over three million people emigrated from Cobh! I found the Cobh museum to be really fascinating, and I learned a lot about the failure of the potato crop, its impact on the Irish people, the mass emigration that followed, and they even had an exhibit on the Titanic. I also learned about several of the largest liners that served as the mode of transatlantic transportation until air travel became popular in the 1960s. After an enjoyable morning in Cobh, on our way back to Cork, Hannah and I stopped at the Fota Wildlife Park, which is probably the closest I’ll ever get to seeing real wildlife. We saw so many animals – monkeys, penguins, wallabies, cheetahs, emus, ostriches, zebras, giraffes, kangaroos, lemurs, and more! The lemurs were especially friendly, I literally could have pet one if I wanted to. After getting back to Cork, Hannah and I had dinner with Kristin, and later that night, Chelsea (another Colby junior studying abroad in Cork) joined us for a drink at a really cool bar in town. Kristin and I tried two different types of Cork-brewed beer, which were pretty good despite the fact that neither of us are big beer fans.

Annie Moore Statue in Cobh.

Pack of Cards.

Lemurs at the Fota Wildlife Park!

The next day, Kristin, Hannah, and I took a day trip to Dublin! We saw lots of sheep and green fields on our long bus ride there. When we got there we witnessed a student strike due to the rising college tuition. Granted, it is doubling, but only from 1500 euro to 3000 euro. What would they think about college (or even high school) tuition in the United States? I understood their reasons for striking but couldn’t help but feel that it was a little absurd to refuse to pay 3000 euro for their college tuition. Notable sightseeing in Dublin: Molly Malone statue, Trinity College, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, Christ Church Cathedral and its ruins, the Temple Bar area, Dublin Castle, Abbey Theatre, and the Millennium Bridge. I must add that some of these places I didn’t get to explore in full, but at least saw from the outside. We went through Dublin at a fast pace since we didn’t have much time there, but we did get to sit in the Oliver St. John Gogarty Bar and enjoy a drink while listening to live music. After one of the best lunches of my life, I concluded that my favorite place in Dublin is the Queen of Tarts restaurant, which is utterly adorable, and of course has tarts that are to die for.

Students striking in Dublin.

St. Patrick's Cathedral.


Temple Bar.

For our last day in Cork, Hannah and I went to the famous Blarney Castle, which was built in the 15th century and holds the famous Blarney stone, which apparently gives the lips that kiss it the gift of eloquence. Before it became a tourist attraction, kissing the Blarney Stone was a great feat which required one to get into the castle and literally bend over backwards to reach the stone. As we climbed up the tiny stairs of the old castle we had beautiful views of the town below in the midst of fall foliage. We learned the important distinction between baloney and blarney: “baloney is flattery laid on with a trowel. Blarney is flattery laid on with the lips; that is why you have to kiss a stone to get it.” Hannah and I both kissed the Blarney stone (I have a ridiculously touristy picture to prove it) and I am still waiting to see if I have indeed become more eloquent – it definitely hasn’t happened in French. The castle also featured a really interesting Poison Garden, full of poisonous plants, such as the European Mandrake (Harry Potter reference). The castle also had really beautiful grounds that Hannah and I didn’t have that much time to explore. Too soon, it was time to say goodbye to Kristin and Cork, and Hannah and I flew to the last destination of our fall break– Amsterdam!


Blarney Castle.

We met my Baltimore friend, Megan (who went to Garrison, now at Occidental) at Centraal Station and she warmly welcomed us to the city of Amsterdam. Having known nothing about Amsterdam beforehand, Hannah and I found that the city had a lot to offer and we had a wonderful couple days there. While I could never navigate it myself, I love the set-up of the city and found all the channels to be very picturesque. Also, everyone bikes there, which is so eco-friendly and awesome, but as I soon learned, semi-dangerous for the pedestrians! If you’re not paying attention while you’re walking, you will be nearly run over by an agitated Dutch biker. The first night we were there, we went to a great Thai restaurant right by Megan’s dorm. Apparently in Amsterdam (as well as in other European countries) it is looked down upon if you just ask for tap water – you always have to buy a separate drink. So I order a jonge jenever (a drink special to Amsterdam) with tonic. I really have no idea what I’m ordering and even though our waiter told us it’s not the same as gin and tonic, I order it anyway, and he proceeds to call me “Thrill Seeker” for the rest of the night! The drink was actually really good; I just couldn’t get over my new nickname. Thrill Seeker’s adventures in Amsterdam! It has a nice ring, doesn’t it? (Just kidding. Please do not worry, parents and grandparents, I was well-behaved). Highlights of Amsterdam include: walking along Prinsengracht (one of the major streets), the Pancake Bakery (most delicious pancakes of my life), the Tulip market, STROOPWAFELS, the Van Gogh museum, and the Anne Frank House. There are so many wonderful museums to visit in Amsterdam, and I wish I could have seen more of them, but I was really happy seeing the Van Gogh museum. I really loved looking at his artwork particularly his impressionist and pointillist paintings. Two of my favorite paintings were Seascape near Les Saintes-Maries-de-la-Mer and Courting couples in the Voyer d’Argenson Park. The Anne Frank House, where Anne Frank lived in hiding until she was discovered, had a really moving exhibit and I couldn’t believe I was walking the same steps that Anne Frank did 70 years ago. Our time in Amsterdam concluded with Museum Nacht, an annual celebration when many of Amsterdam’s museums are open late at night, with food, drinks, music, and dancing. What a fantastic way to spend an evening! Hannah and I joined Megan and her Amsterdam friends and we ended up making it to 4 museums: the FOAM photography museum, the Hermitage (Alexander the Great) museum, the Botanical gardens, and lastly NEMO (the science museum). After a long night in Amsterdam, Hannah and I got some much-needed sleep in preparation for our day of traveling back to Dijon. I was so happy I had the opportunity to see Megan and see Amsterdam through her eyes. I might have never dared to explore Amsterdam if it wasn’t for her great enthusiasm for the city.


Megan and me in Amsterdam!

Whew…if you have read all of this, I’m impressed! Overall, as you might have guessed from my very positive recount of my travels, I had a truly enjoyable fall break. I can’t tell you my absolute favorite part of the trip, because I had so many wonderful experiences, but I will say that I definitely want to visit Ireland again. I’m glad I got to see Kristin’s life in Cork, but I would still like to experience the real Irish countryside – perhaps a trip to Galway is in order, sometime in the future. It was really nice going to countries where they speak English (though people automatically spoke to me in Dutch in Amsterdam before seeing my hopelessly confused look). However, a week of English was terrible for my French! I came back into classes a little rusty, which was unfortunate. At the same time, going away made me appreciate my study abroad experience in Dijon even more. I was surprised at how content I felt to be re-immersed in the French language. I really felt like I came back to my home here in Dijon, and I was once again in a familiar place where I understood the lay of the land. Je t’aime, Dijon!

You can check out my fall break pictures on Facebook or here: http://picasaweb.google.com/cariina27/FallBreakLondonIrelandAmsterdam. Enjoy!

Love,
Caroline