Ireland 2.0: More Travels to the Emerald Isle

February 11, 2015February 4, 2015 / katiestringerclary / 3 Comments

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Ireland, December 2013

After last year’s travels to Ireland, Northern Ireland, and London, I’ve had an airport tracker on my email. When a deal popped up last summer, I couldn’t pass it up, and we were off again! We traveled again on St. Stephen’s Day, and spent New Years Eve in Dublin. We stayed only within the Republic of Ireland this trip, so we got to see a lot more of the countryside, the West, and Dublin!

This year, I also had my FitBit, so I was able to track exactly how much we walked. Last year I was obsessed with the maps of everywhere we went, and this time was no different.

Here’s the quick rundown of our trip:

Ireland, December 2014

December 27 – Arrival in Dublin

December 28 – Off to the West – Galway Bay, Quiet Man Bridge, Connemara, Killary Sheep Farm, Connemara National Park and Diamond Hill, Letterfrack, and Clifden

December 29 – Clifden Castle, Kylemore Abbey, Killary Sheep Farm (again!), Galway

December 30 – Dublin Museums – National Archaeology Museum, National Art Gallery, Irish Whiskey Museum

December 31 – Boyne River Valley, Hill of Tara, Bective Abbey, Trim Castle, Loughcrew Passage Tombs, Monasterboice, Drogheda, St. Oliver Plunkett’s Head in a Box, Dublin for New Yeas Eve Shenanigans

January 1 – A quiet day around Dublin and the shops and pubs

January 2 – Out west again to the Cliffs of Moher, Doolin, The Burren for a bit of hurling, Corcomroe Abbey, and Kinvara

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Ireland, January 2015

January 3 – Another day in Dublin for shopping (Penneys!), an adaptive reuse church/pub, and more shopping

January 4 – Glendalough, Wicklow, Kilkenny, and the greatest cultural offering that Dublin has: Sunday night Bingo with Shirley Temple Bar at The George.

January 5 – Back home 😦

Stay tuned for the highlights!

Guest Post: Art and Museums with Charles Clary

February 4, 2015February 4, 2015 / katiestringerclary / 1 Comment

As I’ve detailed before (here, here, and in random snarky comments throughout), I have a lot of feelings about art museums. Luckily, I’m engaged to an artist! I asked him to answer some questions as an artist for my understanding, and for the understanding of my readers.

Charles Clary, Artist Extraordinaire

Learn more about artist Charles Clary on his website and see his most up-to-date work on his instagram feed!

I’m hoping to write more about art museums and interdisciplinary studies more in the future – I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments section below!

Q. Why are art museums important?

A. Art museums are a place in which the people can enjoy the labors of the individuals capturing the feeling and the mood of a society at any particular time in history. Art collections are great and to the extent that one can amass a collection – I’m all for it. But many people lock those pieces into private collections, usually away from the society to which the art was created. Museums allow for the lending of these works to museums that can show case them prominently and within a historical context so that everyone can enjoy these precious objects.

This seems like it might make an art museum more interesting!

Q. What is the difference between a gallery and a museum?

A. A gallery is run much like a business, in many cases for profit. Now, there are non-profit galleries as well as alternative space galleries and pop up galleries that seek to showcase the content of the work for free, but many galleries are set up as for-profit spaces. That’s not to say galleries are only concerned with making money, but it is a part of the art world and the experience. A museum is a place free from the pressure of sales, which allows the artist to delve deeper into their process and content, to go bigger, and to explore their work in a more challenging way.

Q. What is history’s place in art museums?

A. History is forever linked to art. Art speaks to the time in which it was created; it’s a moment captured in paint, or chisled into marble. Art has the ability to become a time capsule or a snapshot of a moment in time that we would never be able to witness without the work. History influences the creation of art, either through religion or individuals. There was often a patron who bankrolled the work, which also influenced the artist. Every great society or time period – Egyptian, Roman, Greek, European Renaissance, Middle East – is defined by the art work and utilitarian devices they created.

Is it?

Q. What’s with the boring labels that tell me no history?

A. Art is an experience, not a bumper sticker. If the story is all given away in the beginning or in the title, then why spend time with the work? It’s the process of discovering what the work is about through key visuals or clues within the work that forms the narrative; it’s exciting to put two and two together. In most museum exhibitions, the entrance has a description of the artist and what might have been going on at that time in history and where the movement might have been or where it was to go. Museums also have great audio tours that attempt to quantify the work being viewed and situate it into a context that makes it make sense.

Q. Which is your favorite art museum?

A. I’m a big fan of the Pompidou in Paris France it’s a fantastic art museum that explores all aspects of contemporary art: design, sculpture, installation art, furniture design, painting so on and so forth. I also love the Louvre for the rich history of painting and sculpture. As far as galleries I’m a huge fan of Pierogi Gallery in Brooklyn and what they do to advance contemporary art both in their man space as well as in their space called The Boiler meant for large scale sometimes interactive installations.

At Kilmainhaim Gaol

Q. Favorite history museum/site?

A. I really enjoyed the Kilmainham Gaol in Dublin. The stories of people, their lives, and their times had a huge impact on me, and was one of my favorite parts of our first time in Ireland. Belfast was also interesting, as a more modern historical site, and the commemorative murals there do a great job of combining memory, art, and history.

Q. How can art and history museums work together, or history museums with artists?

A. I think both need to realize that one is not more important than the other. History defines society, society defines History through art. The more they can work together to describe the advancements in technology and culture through the images and objects that are left behind the better for all involved.

Thanks, Charles! Now, tell me all about Marcel Duchamp….

What do YOU think about art and art museums? Any other artists interested in answering similar questions or engaging in a dialogue?

My book is out!

August 16, 2014 / katiestringerclary / 2 Comments

How did I let a month go by without posting this immediately? A sign of the life of a museum director, I suppose. In this week’s adventures, my assistant found a squatter set up on the back porch of our secondary historic home. Playing Xbox.

Anyway… without further ado…

That’s my name! On the front of my book!

In case you haven’t followed the story of publication and proposals and writing and so forth, here is a short description:

Programming for People with Special Needs: A Guide for Museums and Historic Sites will help museums and historic sites become truly inclusive educational experiences. The book is unique because it covers education and inclusion for those with both intellectual and learning disabilities.

The book features the seven key components of creating effective programming for people with special needs, especially elementary and secondary students with intellectual disabilities:

Sensitivity and awareness training
Planning and communication
Timing
Engagement and social/life skills
Object-centered and inquiry-based programs
Structure
Flexibility

In addition, this book features and discusses programs such as the Museum of Modern Art‘s Meet Me program and ones for children with autism at the Transit Museum in Brooklyn as models for other organizations to adapt for their use.

Its focus on visitors of all ages who have cognitive or intellectual disabilities or special needs makes this title essential for all museum and historic site professionals, especially educators or administrators, but also for museum studies students and those interested in informal education.

I already have two reviews of the book, too! Here is what my esteemed colleagues had to say about the book:

Programming for People with Special Needs is an invaluable manual with clear, concise examples of how museums benefit when they open their doors, exhibits, and programming to all audiences in a community. A commitment to common-sense universal design principles opens the dialogue about what matters in our history and culture to every citizen, thus enriching our communities through better education and community engagement.
— Carroll Van West, director of the Center for Historic Preservation at Middle Tennessee University, and Tennessee State Historian

Programming for People with Special Needs is an important new resource for any museum or historic site serious about expanding their current audience base and preparing for tomorrow’s visitors. While the ADA already requires us to accommodate visitors’ physical needs, it is equally important that our programs consider the needs of visitors experiencing various forms of learning and intellectual disabilities, including memory loss, especially since their numbers are expected to increase dramatically over the next several decades. This thorough and practical volume can help your institution accomplish this goal and, in turn, become a museum or historic site better prepared for the future.
— Karen Graham Wade, director, Homestead Museum, City of Industry, California

I hope that if you work at a historic site, historic house, history museum, or small museum that you will encourage your supervisor or staff to read this book. I really did approach this topic with real-world implications in mind.

You can purchase the book from the publisher on their website. I suggest hardcover. 😉

Thanks everyone for their support throughout this project, especially my parents, my Charles, Dr. West, and my publisher at R&L Charles.

Travel Wrap-Up and Summary

July 14, 2014July 7, 2014 / katiestringerclary / Leave a comment

I was a geography minor back in the day, and I love a good map! Plus, I really wanted to log all of the Km/Miles we logged on this trip. We were definitely tired, and we are avid fans of walking, so this may not be for everyone. Walking was a perfect solution for us to get exercise, see as much as possible, and get a feel for the cities we were in. My impeccable sense of direction helped, too. Next time I’m taking my FitBit to really log the miles!

Dublin Day 1 – December 26, 2013

Airlink Bus 747 from Dublin Airport to O’Connell Street. An Adult single ticket is only €6, and it is a quick trip to City Center. Worth it!

Trying to stay awake, find coffee, and food:

After a rest, we headed out into Dublin again to do a little exploring:

Dublin Day 1 Totals: 7.2 Miles

Dublin Day 2 – December 27, 2013

*Note – we went to The Beer Club, JW Sweetman’s, not Messrs Maguire, but Google Maps wouldn’t let me choose that as a destination.

Dublin Day 2 Totals: 8 miles

Northern Ireland and Belfast – December 28, 2013

Walked to Old Church to meet bus, and back after a stop for fish and chips! Also spent a lot of time walking trails at the bridge and causeway Total Miles: Approximately 5 miles

Dublin -> Wales -> London – December 29, 2013

We walked to the ferry port, then took the ferry to Holyhead in Wales, then the train into Euston Station London, then to Waterloo:

We got slightly lost coming out of Waterloo, so I estimate our miles for this day at: 3 Miles

I got our tickets and information about this type of travel from The Man in Seat 61 – his website is FANTASTIC for travel in Europe. He posts videos, pictures, maps, time tables, and everything else a true OCD traveler such as myself can enjoy.

London Full Day 1 – December 30, 2013

We saw basically everything. Approximately 7.5 miles

London Day 2 – December 31, 2013

Again, we saw pretty much everything. Including fantastic fireworks and historic stuff and art. I added 1.5 miles to this day for our time spent walking around the tower and Tate and time spent wading through people after the fireworks. Approximately 7 miles

Last Day in London – January 1, 2014

Last Day in London: Approximately 5 miles

January 2, 2014 – another day of ferries, trains, and this time a cab from the ferry to the flat. We only had one small mishap with the cab; our cabbie misheard us and we almost ended up in the opposite end of Dublin from where we were supposed to be. The only time accents were an issue! We walked maybe 1 mile this day, with train switches and a jaunt up the street to get a frozen pizza for dinner #exhausted

Last Day in Dublin – January 3, 2013

This was the day all those miles were felt in my poor short little legs. We worked through another 5.5 miles, and ended with a quiet evening at the flat so we could catch an early flight back to the states in the morning.

Back to the States – January 4, 2014

We woke up with ideas of walking to the Airlink, but this day was the only morning that there was a downpour of rain. We opted for a cab instead, for which our legs thanked us. To the airport, through customs, over the ocean and Canada, to Atlanta, and back to Knoxville – all in a day’s travel. And I got my froyo fix in the ATL airport, which is always my #1 priority at an airport.

TOTAL TRAVEL SUMMARY

Total Estimated Miles Walked: At Least 44.2 Miles

Sites Seen: All of the major ones. Guinness, Christchurch, Kilmainham, Buckingham Palace, The London Eye, The Tower of London, British Museum, Tate Modern, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, and so much MORE.

Costs:
Flights: Knoxville to Dublin, roundtrip $1895.00 total- $947.50/person
Lodging Dublin: $336.00 – 5 nights – $67.20/night – $168/person
Lodging London: $549.00 – 4 nights – $137.25/night – $274.50/person
Rail/Sail Tickets from Dublin->London->Dublin: $254.59 for 2 tickets – $127.30/person
All other costs – Meals, Souvenirs, Admissions, Et al: $1,379.46 – $689.73/person

Total: $4,144.05 – $2,207.02 / person = $220.00 per day per person for everything – not too bad!

But really: PRICELESS

Last Day in Dublin

July 7, 2014 / katiestringerclary / 1 Comment

Walking over roughly 50 miles in 8 days had taken its toll – I was tired and sore and a little grumpy.

Our daily walk

Much to my surprise, ibuprofen isn’t sold in corner shops, and many times you have to go to a chemist to get a prescription in Ireland. Without the assistance of chemicals, and it being a BIT early for a pint, I bravely continued on to see as much of Dublin before we headed back to the states in less than 24 hours.

Charles and I walked along the now-familiar path along the Liffey; past the Famine Memorial and Convention Center, that sushi restaurant that was never open, and across the Samuel Beckett bridge. We were fortunate to have one of our best days of weather for our last day in the city.

Beautiful Cathedral

We decided to walk over to Saint Patrick’s Cathedral and the antiques district. The cathedral was gorgeous, and we weren’t even a little upset to pay a fee towards preservation to enter the cathedral and see the beautiful stained glass, carvings, and graves within. We took several photos which you can see below. The antiques district was a bit disappointing, due to the exorbitant prices. I did find a few Beatrix Potter prints – a fairy for mom, and a cat for me! We also discovered Oxfam, which was rather Goodwill-ish.

Our last day in Dublin is a bit of a blur, which is odd since it was the most recent day spent there. We stopped to buy some last minute souvenirs, stopped at the usual coffee shops, and ate a delicious lunch at Queen of Tarts on Cows Lane. One of the coolest shops we visited was the James Fox Cigar and Whiskey shop, where we picked up some treats for a friend back home, and Charles indulged in a Japanese Whiskey (in Ireland, I know, right?). This store remains the manliest store I’ve been in – fantastic.

Chapel in St. Patrick’s

We stopped again at the Turk’s Head pub, which had become “our” pub in Dublin for a last pint. As we walked back, we decided to take the Luas since we were so tired, and managed to hop on the wrong train – womp womp. It got us a few blocks closer, but we still had to walk another mile back up to the flat. We made it though, and headed to bed to get up for our early flight back to the states the next morning….

Things to See Next Time :

Dublina Experience
Jameson Distillery
u2 Graffiti Wall
Irish Museum of Art
More Pubs and Guinness (can there every be too much??)
More Irish Country!

AND THIS JUST IN – Our next time in Dublin will be in less than 6 months! We’re going back for Christmas/New Years this year for a 9 day Irish adventure (Sorry, Britain, not this time!).

Up next… a summary of the entire trip!

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London Day 2/2.5: New Years Adventures

June 30, 2014June 30, 2014 / katiestringerclary / 4 Comments

After a full day of exploring the city followed by an exciting day at the Tower of London and Tate Museum of Modern Art, our third full day in London was a bit more low key. We slept in a bit to recover from the fireworks the night before…

New Years Eve in London

…is the craziest thing I have ever witnessed in person. Here is the fireworks show, which was amazing in its own right (worth noting it features ELO, 1D (of COURSE), my favorite Coldplay song, and the Queen):

Some bloke getting knicked by the horseback coppers!

For some perspective, we were right behind the Eye, below the building with the countdown, on the south bank of the Thames. Leading up to the show, we met a couple of really nice east enders, and bonded over the ridiculous drunken people camped out behind us. We talked about the Olympics, One Direction, and the weather – they were great!

The real cultural experience began after the fireworks, though… Our usual route from the Southbank to the flat was less than half a mile. Due to the crowds, however, the police had barricaded off all side streets to force the mass of people to go down one street. The tubes all closed at midnight, and it was chaos. We saw: teenagers street fighting, a man who I think was dead on the sidewalk, a lady trying to punch everyone, kids throwing fire crackers into the crowd, people in windows giving everyone a show, a man getting arrested by a policewoman who was on a horse… the list goes on. It. Was. Amazing. We finally gave up, found some high ground, and just watched the show.

Eventually we made it along with the masses to The Cut, where I convinced a policeman that our beds really were just on the other side of his barricade, and that we weren’t up to any mischief. Poor, silly little Americans, he probably thought.

Anyway, we got to bed, slept in, then headed out for our last full day in the greatest city I have visited (sorry Dublin, Toronto, and New York).

New Years Day in London

Sadly, the most interesting looking gallery, at Southbank Centre, was closed. We looked around outside, and continued on to see a bit more of the city, and revisit our new favorites. We caught part of the rainy and windy London New Years Day Parade near Picadilly Circus (lots of American high school marching bands – it felt like home!)

We saw the famous shopping districts, had MORE Cafe Nero of course, and had lunch at St. Martin’s in the Green Cafe in the Crypt. This was the coolest spot for a lunch, and I had a most English lunch of treacle, tea, and a small meat pie. We went up to see the church, where the creepiest baby Jesus statue ever was found outside (picture below). The crypts were really interesting, and I loved the statue of the Pearly King!

Charles and I explored a bit more, saw the horses and military park, and decided to get dinner at the Sherlock Holmes! They were out of a lot of things that night, including fish n chips, but I did get some delicious chicken liver pate, and Charles had yet another delicious meat pie. It was a great atmosphere with the mist outside, a chill in the air, and the warm pub food and delicious pint.

Dinner at the Sherlock Holmes

We continued on to the southbank in the dark, where we saw our last glimpse of Big Ben, the Eye, and the city I grew to love.

The next morning, we got up and caught the tube to Euston, and back to Holyhead to catch our ferry to Dublin. This was probably our roughest day, which an abhorrent man from the Tube harassing us about GMOs and America (like we don’t know there are problems) and a miscommunication with the cab driver in Ireland who spoke a strange Dublinese language. We only had one full day in Dublin left, so we went to bed prepared to make the most of it before heading back to the states!

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So long, London!

I miss you, still!

The Tower of London: Preservation Conundrums

June 25, 2014 / katiestringerclary / 4 Comments

Better late than never on the blog! I’ve had a crazy past month with work, traveling to Utah, and so much more. Back to London:

After a fantastic day traipsing all over London, drooling over David Tennant, and visiting the British Museum, we were out for another day of history and art!

One place in London that I absolutely had to see was the Tower of London – it has so much history! I have to admit, as I walked through, I just touched all of the walls and doors and exposed material possible. People have done that for a thousand years; don’t you judge me. I remember walking down one spiral staircase and just running my hand down the wall the whole way down – I felt up all of the history.

The wibbly wobbly Harry Potter bridge, with St. Paul’s ahead!

We walked along the Thames through the mist, saw the current London Bridge (I lamented the fact that it is totally lame compared to the Elizabethan version), and finally turned the corner to the ticket queues for the Tower. Along our walk we also got to see St. Paul’s in the day light, walk across the wibbly wobbly Harry Potter bridge, the iconic Tower Bridge, lots of giant boats, barges, and bouys, and even the Globe Theater.

From a museum professional perspective, I do have to say their ticket process is ingenious – the cost of the ticket was, say £17.99; the ticket person asks if you would like to round up to and even £20 with the rest as a donation towards preservation. Duh! We did, of course, and I’m trying to implement the same among my staff.

my favorite monarch!

Moving on, we walked through the gates, past the yeomen warders, and into the heart of 1,000 years of English history. You can read about the entire history elsewhere, but historical highlights for me were: William the Conqueror, Richard III (allegedly) murdering the princes, and Anne Boleyn.

It was a bit crowded while we were there, but it didn’t dampen my excitement. Charles loved the armor and weapons displays, I loved the animal displays and Traitors Gate, and we both loved the cooking demonstration, even though the stag’s head sat there and watched itself being butchered. We didn’t bother with the crown jewels since the line was long, and I had promised Charles time to visit the Tate Modern across the river. Another disappointment was the lack of info torture chamber – the yeoman laughed at me when I asked where it was; something about Americans and their love of violence. The interactives, living history, and touch stations really made a difference, though. Charles and I both tried our arms at the long bow – we weren’t too shabby at it!

yummy. It really did smell delicious!

Reading about the Tower, I was a bit surprised to find out that sections were torn off that didn’t look “old” or “new” enough. I don’t know why I was surprised since this is a common practice, but it did still hurt my heart a bit. I deal with the same type of things (on a MUCH smaller scale) at my own site, where the historic house has undergone MANY renovations, changes, and owners in its 200 years. What period do you interpret? Can you tell all the stories? What color do you paint the walls – the color from 1200, 1500, or 1850? Should you tear down a building from 1700 in favor of the view from a 1300 building? I don’t have the answers, and I don’t know if there is a right answer. Preservationists – what are your thoughts?

My general demeanor throughout the Tate

We left the tower to head to the Tate Modern. I originally thought I would write a blog about that, but I enjoyed it so little that I don’t even really want to think about it that much. I saw a Dali, which was ok, and I ate an ok muffin from the cafe. Charles saw a couple things he liked, but over all, it just wasn’t that great. As you know if I read this blog, I have feelings about art museums anyway, so this shouldn’t be a surprise. I have nothing against art, obviously, since I’m engaged to an artist. I like a lot of contemporary art and old art; something about modern art just irks me, though, in general. I like van Gogh? And now I’ve dedicated a whole paragraph to that place. Fin.

From the Tate, we tried to find a place for dinner, which we hadn’t anticipated as a problem, until we realized it was New Years Eve. We went to the Sainsbury’s by the flat, watched the premier of Sherlock on the BBC online, and then headed out to Southbank for the fireworks….

Our day in review

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The British Museum: Elgin Marbles, Cabinet of Curiosities, and Overwhelming Spaces

May 12, 2014May 11, 2014 / katiestringerclary / 1 Comment

British Museum front facade

On the best day in London ever, I had a chance to visit the British Museum, which was a dream come true. For years, I’ve read about the museum, longed to see the Elgin Marbles and Rosetta Stone, and I even used the museum in my dissertation as an example of the old paradigm of museums.

Old paradigm, indeed.

In the entryway

I’ve recently come to realize that I just don’t love huge museums. I didn’t really like the Met, I really didn’t like the Tate (next blog coming soon), and the Natural History Museum in NYC was just ok for me. Why is this? I’m a museum person! I’m still thinking it all out, but I think it might have to do with the exhaustion of vacation, the sheer size of the places, my feeling that I NEED to see everything, and the amount of people there. Also, they seem like spaces for rich, old, white people most of the time. It’s kind of like that feeling I get sometimes at big parties, where I’d rather talk to the wait staff. Maybe I’ve just built them up so big for so many years that they couldn’t possibly live up to the hype in my mind.

Regardless, the British Museum was still impressive, and again, the Day of the Feels continued.

We walked up Drury Lane to Museum Lane, and rounded the corner to find the great British Museum. I got really excited about what was going to come next – I mean, this is THE place! Home of the Rosetta Stone, countless Egyptian and Middle Eastern artifacts, and bane of every museum professionals’ ethical and reasoning mind powers – the Elgin Marbles. I had a bit of the vapors as we went in, saw the entrance, and walked through some of the Egyptian rooms – but the real feels didn’t come until…

EMOTIONS!

We got to the room filled with the Elgin Marbles. They were huge, and beautiful, and amazing… and I was so sad that here they were in the middle of London, instead of in Greece still on the Parthenon. Of course, there are many pros and cons to this situation, which is why its a perfect Museums Studies class discussion. But the current ethnic Greeks aren’t the same ones who are there now – but the Turks sold them to that British guy – but otherwise they would be destroyed – but but but – I really can’t decide what is right or wrong in this case. All of that aside, they were astounding to see.

Elgin Marbles!

Charles dragged me along, I saw the Rosetta Stone and felt/got felt by a ton of people trying to do the same thing, and the rest of the museum is kind of a blur. I remember seeing some goat mosaics, and the large library-esque room.

I have many leather-bound books and my apartment smells of rich mahogany.

The British Museum also seemed a bit, like most huge museums, to be a Cabinet of Curiosities gone wild. There is a hodge-podge of anything and everything there. Some of it was thrilling to see, and some of it seemed to be a testament to colonial conquests.

We saw all the things and stuff, as you can see in the pictures below, but by the time we got to the more modern exhibit of watches and timepieces, I grabbed a small stool and sat in a hall while Charles explored some more.

Final thoughts – I am an expert spotter of goats, both in the wild, and especially in museums.

Also, I can’t decide if I have memory fatigue from that day because of the sheer size of the collection and space, or if it was because of the reasons raised in this fantastic article on the Huffington Post called “Why Taking Photos At Museums Is Hindering Your Memory. “When people rely on technology to remember for them — counting on the camera to record the event and thus not needing to attend to it fully themselves — it can have a negative impact on how well they remember their experiences,” Henkel explains in a description of the study.”

It was nice to get back into the fresh air as we walked on to the Richard II performance. I’m still processing the whole visit to the British Museum, but I wouldn’t say I DIDN’T like it. It was just a little overwhelming. I also can’t say I’d particularly want to go back to it, either.

Hopefully someday, I’ll think some more about the visit and update this blog with more thoughts and feels…

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London: A Walk Through History and Modernity

May 5, 2014May 2, 2014 / katiestringerclary / 4 Comments

We woke up the next morning, December 30, after a pleasant night full of chicken curry and great sleep, ready to take on the streets of London.

We started the day with Cafe Nero (thanks for the suggestion, Kelsey!) hot chocolate and espresso. Cafe Nero quickly became a twice-daily part of our time in London. There was one right across the street from the flat, and the public restrooms in the cafes throughout the city were an added bonus. We also stopped by a little bookstore to buy a pocket map of the city. Luckily, I have an impeccable sense of direction, AND I was a geography minor, so we didn’t even come close be being lost (not that we could have been, since we were just wandering!).

Having the feelings

The day started out perfectly misty and damp, just how London should be. We crossed the mighty (brown) Thames to the Embankment where we saw a beautiful World War II memorial, a great view of the Eye, and Parliament and Big Ben. This is a great intersection of the modern and historical sides of London. The Thames has been the center of life in London from the time of Henry VIII, William the Conqueror, and even earlier. The Millennium Wheel, or London Eye, is a once controversial sign of modern London. The timelessness (ha!) of Big Ben is iconic, and the history made in and around Parliament is also impressive. Needless to say, I was overwhelmed with all the feelings about history.

An accurate depiction of me outside Westminster Abbey. Thanks, Sherlock.

By the time we turned the corner and saw Westminster Abbey, I was having even more feelings. Let’s just take a second here to recount just a few of the things that have happened here.

Construction on the present church began in 1245 by Henry III (he’s also buried there)
Before that, William the Conqueror and his successors were coronated on the same site
Survives the Tudor era and all the there and back again of Catholic/Protestant rule
Weddings: Henry I of England to Matilda of Scotland, Queen Elizabeth II to Phillip, and Will and Kate of course!
People buried there: kings and queens (excluding 2 of my favs: Henry VIII and Richard II), Geoffrey Chaucer, Isaac Newton, and Charles Darwin

Charles and the Arch

We didn’t pay the fee to go in, but I did fangirl appropriately outside, and buy a tiny gargoyle and some tea in the giftshop.

Next, we decided to go ahead and see Buckingham Palace and see where the day took us from there. The weather cleared up, and the sun even showed itself! We walked through the park, saw some geese, then turned the corner to the iconic palace. I didn’t have as many feelings here, but I did try to keep an eye out for the queen! We walked along the royal apartments, took a picture with the changing guards, saw Charles’ favorite spot up to this point, Admiralty Arch, and then continued on to Trafalgar Square.

and we’ll never be royals.. that kinda lux just ain’t for us.

In Trafalgar, we stopped at yet another Cafe Nero, saw the lions and Napoleon, and a big blue chicken. Since we were already out and about, we made the quickest of stop at a McDonalds (reminiscent of our first morning in Dublin) for a cheeseburger on the go – no stopping for real food on this day of site-seeing! At this point, we figured why not go on and go all out – we walked up Drury Lane (of muffin Man fame!) to the British museum (where I again had all the feels – but that’s a topic for another blog, coming next week!). – Spoiler alert – I got emotional about the Elgin Marbles.

From the British Museum, we walked on to the Barbican Centre for one of the many highlights of the trip: David Tennant, the 10th Doctor himself, starring in the Royal Shakespeare Company’s performance of Richard II. Seriously – what a day of emotions, and I am not an emotional person (it’s the Britishness I inherited – stiff upper lip!). I mentioned in a recent blog that he is my dream guest blogger – still waiting on that call, Davy! The performance was great, we loved it, then we waited out by the back stage door for him to emerge in all of his hair-extension-ponytailed glory. I was so close, that had I not been so polite, I could have touched him. The ponytail served as a great repellent.

Instead of a tackle or full contact hug, I just did a weak little wave. Safe, but lame.

Walking on air, we went over to the Jugged Hare for the best dinner of all time. Charles had the slow roasted rump of a Hertfordshire Fallow Deer, and I had a meat pie. I don’t think this one was cooked by Mrs. Mooney or Mrs. Lovett, but it was certainly deserving of a song of how great it was. The deer rump was the most delicious piece of meat I have ever tasted.

We started back to the flat around midnight, and passed Saint Paul’s Cathedral along the way. This was one of the (if not THE) most impressive sights we saw on the trip – and we saw an awful lot of stuff. We had seen it in the distance earlier in the day, and it is an iconic part of the London skyline. Seeing it in person, bigger than life, was something else. None of the pictures can do it justice.

St. Paul’s at Night

We continued along the Thames, which was the only time I was slightly uncomfortable in London – along the river, at midnight, under bridges. Maybe we should have taken a different route. Things were a wee bit confusing as the city was preparing to set up for the fireworks on New Years Eve. Regardless, we made it back to the flat and passed out from a day full of excitement.

To sum it up, looking back on the day’s events, this was possibly one of the very best days of my life (surpassed by the day before when I got engaged in northern Ireland and that time I graduated with a PhD).

Next time:

Actually go in Westminster Abbey
Climb to the top of St. Paul’s
Ride the London Eye
Museum of London
Go back to the Jugged Hare

Day 1 in London

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Wales, Snowdonia, and Entering London

April 28, 2014April 28, 2014 / katiestringerclary / 1 Comment

After our full day in Northern Ireland, we returned to Dublin. We grabbed some quick fish n chips, then rested up for our full day of travel to Wales and London.

Rather than take a cab to the port, we decided to walk from the apartment. It wasn’t a terribly long walk, but it was early, and we hadn’t had our coffee or tea yet. Dragging our backpacks, we finally entered the gangplank to board the Ulysses and cross the Irish Sea to Holyhead. We booked our rail and sail tickets thanks very much to the advice of The Man in Seat 61. I was a little apprehensive at traveling by boat, train, and tube all in one day, but we did it successfully!

After boarding the ferry, we grabbed some seats and a quick breakfast. We had all the best intentions to go out on deck and see the sea and the approach to Wales… but we took Dramamine and promptly fell asleep in our seats. I woke up just in time to see the British Isles from the window, and watch the boat maneuver into Holyhead Port in Wales. We had a little bit of time to look around Wales, but being neurotic and worried about missing our train, we limited our selves to a quick view off the bridge and a jaunt around the giftshop (dragon key chain and ALL the tangfastics, wine gummies, and galaxy minstrels!).

The train from Holyhead to London was PACKED. Apparently Virgin Trains overbooked, and we felt lucky to have seats, even if we weren’t next to each other. People were standing in the aisles, and we didn’t even get trolley service (I really wanted some Harry Potter style roving snack cart action – so this was a huge disappointment). Luckily we had stocked up on candy in the giftshop so we got all sugared up as we rode along the coast, through the mountains, and across the beautiful countryside.

The Man in Seat 61 posted this video, which shows the journey from beginning to end (only in the opposite direction that we went in):

As you can see in the video, it is a gorgeous way to travel, with castles, seas, and TONS of sheep along the way. The Snowdonia Mountains were particularly gorgeous, and occasionally we would spot a ruined castle atop a hill – perfect. Snowdonia National Park is the largest in Wales, and one of the original 3 National Parks established there. Wales is arguably one of the most beautiful places we saw in our travels, and I’d love to spend more time there off the train.

The weirdest part of the trip was definitely Will Ferrell/Ron Burgundy narrating the bathroom experience. We also passed what seemed like the world’s biggest trailer park. We also heard some of the dumbest words ever uttered on the train: American Man: “What language do you think that is out there on that sign?” American Man’s Girlfriend: “ummm, Welsh?”

I navigated this ish like a boss

Finally, we pulled into Euston Station, changed some Euros to Sterling Pounds, and headed down to the famous Tube stations to catch a ride to Waterloo Station in Southbank… we had no trouble navigating (or staying on the standing side of the escalators so as not to incur the wrath of angry Londoners) and made it to our home neighborhood for the next several days. By this time, we were exhausted from travel, hungry, and not thinking terribly clearly. Our host’s instructions were fantastic, but we managed to come out the wrong exit and get turned around. Luckily, a kind Liverpudlian walked us to the correct street and virtually patted us on the head as he sent us on the correct path to the Cut (everyone was SO NICE there – if a bit snarky).

We got in the flat, threw our stuff down, and headed to the closest pub, the Windmill Tavern for some pints and chicken curry. Rather than explore, we settled in to prepare for a full day of London the next day…

Something Old, Something New

Public History, Museums, & the World Today

history

Ireland 2.0: More Travels to the Emerald Isle

Guest Post: Art and Museums with Charles Clary

Travel Wrap-Up and Summary

Last Day in Dublin

London Day 2/2.5: New Years Adventures

The Tower of London: Preservation Conundrums

The British Museum: Elgin Marbles, Cabinet of Curiosities, and Overwhelming Spaces

London: A Walk Through History and Modernity

Wales, Snowdonia, and Entering London

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