A taste of Ireland…and haggis Posted on November 10th, 2005 by Bridget Traut

Amazingly enough, I managed to survive last week. I got both of my essays in on time, and I guess I’m about as happy with them as possible. It was definitely a challenge trying to change my writing style to meet the virtually undefined expectations for essays here. I have another essay due in two and a half weeks, so hopefully I’ll find out if I’m doing these right by then.

Mid-semester break ran from October 21-26. I took full advantage of the time off and traveled to Ireland with a fellow Gustie for four days. We’d booked plane tickets about a month in advance, so we were able to find a round-trip flight for less than $50 each. We also booked a hostel in advance in Dublin. The hostel turned out to be in a decent location, but didn’t have any outlets. I could’ve left my hair-dryer at home.

Having not done much research into Dublin before traveling there, I had expected the city to be much like Edinburgh with lots of spectacular old buildings, etc. Needless to say I was shocked to find Dublin comparable to any larger American city. To be fair, Dublin is over twice the size of Edinburgh. But I was still amazed at how modern Dublin looks, at least in comparison to Edinburgh. The first two days in Dublin were our major sight-seeing days. We saw Dublin Castle, Dublinia (a museum), Christ Church Cathedral, St. Patrick’s Cathedral, a Viewing Chimney, St. Stephen’s Green, the Book of Kells at Trinity College, O’Connell Street, Temple Bar, and we walked by the Guinness Storehouse. We walked by so many other significant buildings, but I’d have to dig out my guidebook to remember them all. A highlight was being able to venture down into the crypt below Christ Church and actually attend mass there on Sunday. On our third day there, we took a bus to Galway. The three hours in the bus gave us a chance to catch a glimpse of the gorgeous Irish countryside. Galway is a charming little town and, although it is also becoming more modern, it was nice to be able to experience life in a more traditional Irish town. After discovering that Temple Bar, while very lively and enjoyable, was much too expensive for two poor college students, we spent the remainder of our nights in a traditional Irish pub close to our hostel. The pub, called The Celt, was quite small, but managed to pack in dozens of people for the live Irish music and the unbelievable Guinness. Overall, I really enjoyed my time in Ireland. Next time, however, I will definitely have to spend some more time in the more scenic areas of the country.

Halloween in Edinburgh was fantastic. Practically every club, pub, and bar had special promotions and events just for Halloween. Edinburgh is a bit eerie to begin with at night, and on Halloween, the spookiness was just amplified. I dressed up as Poison Ivy and joined my flatmates at a party in my building before heading over to one of our favorite pubs, The Three Sisters, for the remainder of the night. Unfortunately, I had to call it an early night, since I had an essay due on Wednesday and had already begun to have nightmares about something going wrong.

I spent last weekend relaxing and celebrating the completion of my first two essays. On Saturday, I finally made my way up to Edinburgh Castle. It’s kind of embarrassing that I’ve been in Edinburgh for two months and, up until Saturday, I hadn’t even seen the Castle. The admission was rather expensive, but there are so many things to see and the breathtaking views of the city were worth it. I have so much I need to see yet before I leave, not only in Edinburgh, but in Stirling, Glasgow, and St Andrews as well. I’m starting to feel like my time’s running out, and that’s been good motivation to do more traveling.

Sunday night’s “family dinner” was unique (for lack of a better term) last week. The main course was…drum roll, please…haggis. Up until Sunday, I had never come in counter with the traditional Scottish dish. And now I can say that I have no plans to do so again anytime soon. Granted, it was slightly better than I had expected. Slightly. I also sampled the vegetarian version, which was a bit of an improvement over the real thing. The rest of the meal consisted of “neeps” (mashed turnips) and “tatties” (mashed potatoes). Dessert was plain yogurt with blackcurrant jam. Other than the haggis, I really enjoyed the meal. At least now I can honestly say that I have tried haggis.

While I’m on the topic of food, which I seem to write about a lot, there are plans in motion to have a traditional American Thanksgiving with the two flats. There are a few problems that need to be solved, such as where to find a turkey that will actually fit in these tiny ovens. Even if chicken is the only alternative, a real Thanksgiving meal with 24 people will be quite the feast.

It’s hard to believe that it’s Wednesday already. Only two more days until the weekend! Christmas seems to be on the minds of everyone in Edinburgh already. I suppose it helps that there’s no Thanksgiving between Halloween and Christmas. The stores are beginning to sell Christmas merchandise, and there’s a rumor that there’s some type of winter carnival around Princes Street, the main shopping street in Edinburgh. I only hope that I’ll get to see a snow-covered Edinburgh before I leave, even if it’s only for a day.