Edinburgh: My room has a nice ceiling

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I got sick while I was in Edinburgh. Two rounds of antibiotics later, I finally seem to be recovering. I had to go to the health center here on campus after I got back. After getting stabbed in the arm and bombarded by radiation (aka a blood count and a chest x-ray), I found that I did not, in fact, have pneumonia, just bronchitis.

The trip from Dublin to Edinburgh made for a very long day. We flew through London on our way to Edinburgh, so we had to walk a long way through Heathrow to make our connection. The place where we stayed in Edinburgh was at the top of a very long hill, and there were no places open on campus where we could eat. So I walked down the hill and walked quite a long distance to the Tesco to buy some food. I then walked up that hill with several pounds of groceries on my back.

I spent the next few days regretting all that exertion. I knew I wasn't completely well--I'd gotten sick and run a bit of a fever in Dublin. I got out of bed to eat once in awhile, but I missed class and a field trip. Fortunately, I was able to work everything out with my professors.

Going to the doctor is really inconvenient when you're sick. That seems to be a bit of a fatal flaw in the whole system--if you're sick enough to see the doctor, you're sick enough that running around the city's a bit tough. Anyhow, I got some antibiotics and then went back to bed.

Once I'd recovered a bit, I took the bus around to see Edinburgh. I had a bus pass, so I stopped at several different locations to take pictures. Edinburgh is a lovely city--they have a number of parks, old buildings, and monuments. The view of Edinburgh castle is particularly striking, since it's on top of a large rock.

I walked around the park for a bit and watched people feeding the birds. I have never seen such a frenzy in my life. As soon as people started tossing out the bread, hordes of pigeons and seagulls descended on it until the ground was a boiling mass of wings. Oddly, the pigeons seemed to get most of the food while the seagulls stood back and watched. I wonder if the pigeons are more aggressive or better fighters?

At any rate, I did get to see Edinburgh, even if I wasn't able to do as much as I would have liked. I guess I have an excuse to go back!

Dublin: Kilmainham Jail and National Museum

During my last few days in Ireland, I went to Kilmainham Jail and the National Museum of Ireland. I rode a tour bus to get to the jail. The great thing about the tour buses is that they're double-decker and open at the top. I had a great view of everything. I saw a number of interesting landmarks, including St. Patrick's Cathedral and the Guinness Brewery. The latter is absolutely sprawling. There were tubes and pipes and vats all over the place. It reminds me of some chemical manufacturing plants I've seen. I suppose that's pretty much what a brewery is.

A number of famous Irish people have been held in Kilmainham Jail, which today has been refurbished and turned into a museum. I visited as part of the requirements for one of my classes. The leaders of the 1916 Rising were held and executed in Kilmainham. The photo above shows the site of execution, in the stonebreakers' yard outside the jail. I've decolorized the photo except for the flag. The cross marks the actual spot where the men were shot. Kilmainham was a pretty run-down place, with few amenities. Staying there would certainly be no picnic.

The national museum had an exhibit on the 1916 Rising. One of the interesting things in the exhibit was an illuminated book. Illumination is the practice of decorating manuscripts with drawings and flourishes, often with gold leaf. (In this photo from the Museum of London, the pages hanging on the right side of the wall are illuminated.) The book in the museum depicted the people and events of the Rising.