Malahide Castle

One of the first places that we went to as a group was Malahide Castle. We landed in Ireland, got on a bus and drove to the castle. So I don't have a whole lot written down on it, I have lots of photos but this is mostly from memory.

Malahide Castle is listed as one of the most haunted castles in Europe! It is known for its Oak room, Great Room and the gardens. You can visit on a small fee and you are provided a tour of the castle. It is a lovely building with beautiful grounds. The gift shop there is magnificent and the cafe is splendid.

Parts of the castle date back to the 12th century. It lies on over 260 acres and is 9 miles north of Dublin, Ireland.

"The estate began in 1185, when Richard Talbot, a knight who accompanied Henry II to Ireland in 1174, was granted the "lands and harbour of Malahide". The oldest parts of the castle date back to the 12th century and it was home to the Talbot  family for 791 years. The building was notably enlarged during the reign of Edward IV, and the towers were added in 1765.
The estate survived such losses as the Battle of the Boyne, when fourteen members of the owner's family sat down to breakfast in the Great Hall, and all were dead by evening, and the Penal Laws, even though the family remained Roman Catholic until 1774.

Malahide Castle and Demesne was eventually inherited by the 7th Baron Talbot and on his death in 1973, passed to his sister, Rose. In 1975, Rose sold the castle to the Irish State, partly to fund inheritance taxes. Many of the contents, notably furnishings, of the castle had been sold in advance leading to considerable public controversy, but private and governmental parties were able to retrieve some. Rose Talbot, one of the last surviving members of the Talbot family died at Malahide House, Tasmania in 2009. Her closest relatives, who married into the German surname Dietsch, travelled to Canada and the United States of America. Members of the Dietsch family still live in the USA and Canada today." (reference)

When our tour guide was telling us the main ghost story (basically the doors will open on their own and there is a lot of knocking when no one is there) another tour guide opened a hidden door! Needless to say we were all pretty spooked!

It was amazing and I really loved visiting there! It was a great way to be introduced to Ireland! Before I post my photos, here is the link to the official site of Malahide Castle: https://www.malahidecastleandgardens.ie/

The Stonehenge

One of the earth's biggest mysteries is the Stonehenge. Located just 8 miles outside of Salisbury, England lies the magnificent ring of stones. Each of the stones is roughly 45 tons, which is about 3 elephants!

There are many myths surrounding these ancient stones including but not limited to, Merlin placing the stones there by magic, giants building them, and the devil flying them there. It was also believed to be the burial site of King Uther Pendragon. The Druids have had a heavy history with the Stonehenge. It is believed to be a very sacred place in the Pagan religion and the Druids are included in that worship system.

During the solstices it is believed that the rocks have healing powers. Like the structures at New Grange and Knowth, they follow a linear pattern along rifts in the ground. The people of the past believed that there was a slaughter stone among the others. There is a stone there that does look like an alter and when it gets wet it looks like it is bleeding. This is what lead to the belief of  a slaughter stone. However the reason that the stone turns red is because of the type of lichen that grows on the stone. 

After your audio self tour is over, and you have taken all the pictures you wish to take you can visit the gift shop and buy prints of the stones, jewlery inspired by the Henge, books on the history of the structure and after you purchase your presents you can snack on some ice cream or scones with the spotted little birds, but beware those large ravens, they will try to snatch your goodies from you.

For me personally seeing the Stonehenge was a dream come true, but not only that, it was a very spiritual experience for me. As I walked around these ancient stones I was reminded of how much God cares for us. He created this gorgeous natural monument, or rather inspired our ancestors to do so, so that we could bask in its glory for years to come. The surrounding area was also very beautiful and very quite for the most part. We got there early in the morning so there weren't a lot of people there yet, the sun was just coming over the hills on the other side of the rive and I felt like I was in a myth or a painting. It is kind of difficult to explain just how beautiful it truly was, but to give you some idea here are some more photos. All of these photos have been left unedited.

Here is the link to the official website for the Stonehenge:
http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/daysout/properties/stonehenge/

English Study Abroad

Over the first have of my Fall 2013-14 semester at Brigham Young University- Idaho, I attended what they call the English Study Abroad or the ESA. We had several meetings on campus and through skype before we left to plan and perpare for our trip.

We met in the Salt Lake City airport at 7 in the morning on September 11th, and we flew to Chicago. After a few hours of waiting in Chicago we flew to Dublin, Ireland. When we arrived our wonderful bus driver Bart drove us to a little town called Ennis that we stayed at for two days. While we were staying in Ennis, we had the opportunity to visit Malahide Castle which is one of the most haunted castles in Europe, The Cliffs of Moher which are better known as the Cliffs of Insanity from The Princess Bride, we took a ferry to Inis-Mor and the Aran Islands and we took a bike ride around the island.  On the island there is an old fortress of some sort; it is called Dun Aengus. They don't know if it was a living space or a watch tower, or a battle spot, but the cliffs there are right on the ocean and when the waves beat on the walls it sounds like thunder. It was absolutely breath taking. 

We then moved onto Dublin, Ireland. While we were there we got to attended church, (we are all LDS or Mormon.) we also went to the Bru Na Boyne valley and saw the "Mound Tombs" Knoweth and New Grange.

After all of this excietment, Bart drove us to the Ferry. We all boarded and we were off to England!
We arrived on the coast of Wales and Bart drove us in his Coach (bus) through Wales. We stopped in Chester, Wales and explored a bit of the town. There my friend Shelley bought two first edition Harry Potter novels for 8 pounds!!! What a steal! Then we were back on the bus and we arrived in Bradford, England. We stayed there for three nights. While we were in Bradford we got to see the home of the Bronte sisters, The moors that inspired Jane Eyre, and the Chatsworth house.

Chatsworth is where they filmed Pemberley for the 2005 Pride and Prejudice film. The house itself is absolutely gorgeous and the grounds are amazing! We also got to visit York. While we were there we got to explore the York Minster and the town. York is one of the most haunted cities in Britain, and there are a lot of haunted tours. Unfortunately I didn't get to go on one. While we were there we attended Evensong, which is a worship service where they sing songs and prayers and give a sermon. It was very interesting and very beautiful.

We then moved onto Salisbury, England. We saw the Cahterdral there and we visited Jane Austen's home. While we were there we also saw Stonehenge. I really want to go in depth about what I learned there but I will save that for another post! But my goodness it was such a sight to see. Those huge stones that came from miles away and no one really knows what they were used for or why they are there. It was a very interesting experience. We also saw the Glastonbury city and Abbey.

We then moved onto LONDON!!! We actually stayed in Hounslow, which was about a 30 minute tube ride out of London. While we were there we did so many amazing things. We went to church in London and then explored the city a bit. The next day we went to the Harry Potter Warner Brothers London Studio.

Let me tell you, that was a dream come true. I LOVE Harry Potter. It was so amazing! As we were leaving we saw part of the pirate ship they were using to film the newest (they really should stop) Pirates of the Caribbean movie. We saw Windsor Castle, which is the official residence of the Queen of England. I saw The Phantom of the Opera, A Doll's House play, and Les Miserables. I saw The London Tour, The National Gallery, The Cartoon Museum, St. Paul's Cathedral, Trafalgar Square, Westminster Abbey (I have a funny story I will post about this), I saw the London Eye, but never got to ride on it (I'm still bitter about this), We went to Camden Market which is a huge flea market! We attended The Globe Theater and got to see MacBeth performed there. ( I will post about this separately as well).

We then traveled to Stratford-upon-Avon. Upon our arrival we saw the Royal Shakespeare Company perform Hamlet. That was such an amazing experience. We then moved into our B&B and it was so nice to be in a home setting rather than a hostel. We attended church in Oxford, England. While we were there we got a tour of the Universities that are there and the city. We also saw Einstein's chalkboard. We went back to Stratford and saw Anne Hathaway's Cottage (she is Shakespeare's wife), the River Avon trail, The birth place of William Shakespeare, his burial site and his and Anne's eldest daughter's home, Holscroft.

After this we took the coach back through Wales, then boarded the ferry back to Dublin. We stayed there for two more nights. While we were there we got to see the Book of Kells which is in Trinity College. The library there is my absolute favorite library of all time and I got to be in it! It is just so amazing, I was there and I still can't believe it's real! We then got to explore Dublin a little bit more and then we were back on the plane to Chicago and then to Salt Lake.

I learned so much about myself and my love for the Emerald Isles was strengthened and I love the people so much. I love the culture there and I am so grateful that I had this opportunity!

- Sydney