Newsletter #6
Merry Christmas Ya Filthy Animals?
Dia duith ó Bhaile Átha Cliath! Hello from Dublin!
I’m coming to you live from an airplane (sort of – I got off the plane 2 days ago)! Well, not live, I guess, but whatever. Holy moly, time flies when you’re abroad for a semester (no pun intended). I have so much to tell all of you, and I fear I will only fit one more newsletter in about abroad (she will be long, though. Very. Very. Long.)! But fret not. The newsletters WILL continue when I am stateside; they will just be MUCH more music-related. So, if that is not something you want to receive monthly emails about, I promise I won’t be offended. You can just shoot me an email after this and let me know. I do not want to clog your inboxes; I hate that.
I have one more housekeeping announcement before I get into the meat and potatoes (no pun intended) of this past month and some days. I’m making a website! I know, so exciting!! I know you’re all wondering what the subject matter will be, but unfortunately, you will just have to wait (hopefully not that long) and see. Regardless, you should get very excited. Anyway, your long-awaited newsletter #6 will commence shortly.
I sent the last newsletter on November 22nd. My family arrived that same day! It was fantastic timing because I had them read the newsletter at least three times before I sent it out. But our recap doesn’t start there! It begins on November 11th. There is not much to say about the week after my aunt and uncle visited me, mostly because I was just in classes and packing for my trip to London to see my other aunt and uncle! I fear I am becoming predictable. Oh well!
My trip to London was only a weekend, but I had a great time. I’m sure you’re all wondering what exactly I did that made the trip great. You’re in such luck! I’m about to tell you!! But first, a little context. I was headed to London because my aunt and uncle were leading a theater trip there. What is a theater trip, you ask? Well, I’m not entirely sure, but from what I gathered, it is a group of people who love both the Weston Playhouse and my aunt and uncle, so they come to London to see shows and other exclusive content that the Weston Playhouse plans ahead of time. Anyway, my experience was as follows:
Day 0:
I flew to London on Friday at 6 pm and landed around 7:30
The Dublin Airport was not my friend that day
They made me throw out half of my toiletries (including my toothpaste)
Getting from Gatwick to the city was remarkably easy, and I had a wonderful time on the train (I LOVE a train).
Then I checked into my hotel (I felt so grown-up it was ridiculous)
I was staying in a “single traveler room,” and so it was built like a shoebox, but it was SO NICE (they did not provide me with toothpaste, though, so I had to steal from Aunt Susanna)
While stealing toothpaste from Aunt Susanna, she let me know that Vicky was on the trip and also downstairs drinking with my uncle (I was on my way to join them)
This was important information because the last time I saw Vicky, she gave me a beer stein and told me to return it to Germany. I did not do that.
Perhaps you remember the story if you’ve been here since the first newsletter.
All this to say, I needed to have a concrete story of Dad and I returning the beer stein to Hofbrauhaus (which I created and then never had to use)
Day 1:
The next day, we had two shows to see, but the morning was empty, so I found one of the two Batesies in London – Grace LaFountain!
Grace and I went to a lovely little brunch spot and ate outside
We got shakshuka and pancakes because we couldn’t decide on sweet or savory
After that, we walked around, and she showed me some of her favorite spots (Buckingham Palace was included)
Then it was time to find my aunt and uncle who were shopping! (I was told that I was slow, which is NOT true. I just have bad time management)
I was also told that if I had shown up earlier, I might have been able to get Aunt Susanna to buy me shoes, but alas, we will never know.
We made our way to the Almeida Theater and saw Roots, a matinee that I thought was fantastic.
Then we went shopping!
Shopping with Uncle Scott is incredibly helpful if you’re trying not to spend money because I was able to find a reason not to buy most things.
After shopping, we went to dinner at Otto Lenghi (I ate way too much)
After dinner, we went to the second show, Looking Back in Anger, which was also very good. It was performed in the same theater by essentially the same cast.
Following the shows, we returned to the hotel, and many people stayed downstairs in the hotel bar to discuss the shows we had seen.
Day 2:
The following day, we went to a classical music concert, which was also lovely.
The rest of the day was free, so I found the other Batesie in London – Denzel!!
Denzel and I walked and talked all day long. There was so much to catch up on, and boy, oh boy, did we chat.
We hit a coffee shop where we met an American with lots to say about being an expat.
Then we went to Borough Market and got yummy dosas, where we did the silliest check dance known to men, women, or children (I won).
After our dosa excursion, we returned to the hotel bar and had a very long conversation about philosophy, growing up, and being different people than we used to be.
Aunt Susanna joined the conversation towards the end and was surprised and impressed by Denzel’s use of Foucault's Pendulum in casual conversation.
The day ended at a lovely natural wine bar near Covent Garden
Aunt Susanna and I walked through Covent Garden first but then came to the realization that it was equivalent to Times Square on Christmas, so we promptly left.
The natural wine bar was delicious, and I tried mead for the first time!
Lemme tell you, mead is a slept-on alcohol. I highly recommend.
Day 3:
I woke up, met Finley at King’s Cross Station, and traveled back to Dublin together!
After my London excursion, it was time to go to school again, so I did that. That Thursday, Finley and I went to the Dublin Zoo Lights, which was super cool (and chilly). Unfortunately, they put all the animals away at night, which I did not know, but we saw a bunch of lit-up dinosaurs! After the zoo, we went to the Ginger Man Pub, allegedly the most Christmas-y pub in Dublin. Let me tell you, this pub took that title remarkably seriously. There are pictures attached. I recommend you take a look.
The following weekend, Mom, Dad, and Kylor came to Dublin! I tried to fit everything into their trip so we could visit every tourist attraction.
A quick, comprehensive list:
Guinness Storehouse Tour (they were really weird about carding Kylor)
Roe & Co Distillery Tour and Tasting (they did not care about Kylor’s age and fed him lots of whiskey)
A show at the Abbey Theater based on the Jane Austen novel Emma (they put HOT TO GO in the play. It was beautiful.)
We walked everywhere, which was fun, but Mom, Dad, and Kylor chose the windiest, coldest weekend I had in Dublin. So that was a little less fun.
They left on Monday, which was the same day I had a Buddhism test worth 75% of my grade, so I had to leave them in the morning to study (big news – I passed)
The week after the family visit was the last week of classes, and I had heard a great many whispers about a holiday called UCD Christmas (Batesies – think Newman Day but Christmas-themed and Irish). I did not partake, mostly because I knew if I started drinking with the Irish in the morning, I would be out of commission by lunch. Finley and I also had plans to go out that night because our favorite DJ was playing a set at a club we liked. Spoiler alert: Finley’s ex was there, and it was a crazy mindfuck of a night. But all is well; we made it through and had a good time!
That Friday, I flew to Paris to see Quinn and Trinity! This was my last trip out of Ireland before I left, and funnily enough, it was the first trip I planned when I got to Ireland. As a result, I forgot where I was flying into and managed to get myself as far from Paris as I could while flying into Paris. It was remarkable. So after my lovely RyanAir flight into Paris Beauvais, I took a lovely 2-hour bus ride into the OUTSKIRTS of Paris. Then I took the Metro into Paris proper. Altogether, it was a 3-hour journey. But it was all worth it to show up at the Airbnb and see Trinity and Quinn’s lovely faces.
Paris was a very quick trip – Friday to Sunday – but we made the most of it:
Day 0:
Friday night, we all got in pretty late (except for Trinity. who got dinner with Verina,) so Quinn and I got French McDonald’s, which was pretty fire tbh
Then we went out and got 3 euro bottles of wine. And it was GOOD.
It made me rethink my choice to go abroad on an island where everything has to be imported.
After we had food and drink, we went back to the Airbnb and just chatted for hours.
Day 1 (buckle up):
We woke up bright and early on Saturday morning to get to the Louvre at 9:30
On our way, we stopped at a boulangerie, and Trinity ordered for all of us (thanks, mom)
We got the most fantastic chocolate croissants I have ever eaten there. I would go back to Paris just for this croissant.
The Louvre was fantastic and also massive.
We got lost quite a bit.
We saw all the hits (Mona Lisa, Statue of Venus, Liberty leading the people, etc.), but they were so crowded.
We found the Art of Islam exhibit right before we left, which was empty.
The difference in the population of exhibits was fascinating to me.
After the Louvre, we needed food and to sit for a while, so we stopped at a lunch spot and ate.
Quinn and I got pasta, and Trinity got a burger (but it said it was a French burger in the name, so it’s ok).
After lunch, Quinn said he wanted to walk forever, so we walked forever.
We walked through the Louvre Garden and a somewhat underwhelming Christmas market.
Then we made our way to Notre Dame and worked through a MASS of people taking pictures of the building from about 100 yards away because it was still under construction.
We went thrifting
Trinity convinced me to buy a leather jacket, and it’s so cool
We went to a bakery and literally just bought bread
Quinn bought a baguette for a euro, and I got a brioche bun (they were both DELICIOUS)
We walked back through the Notre Dame crowd (it was painful)
We found another Christmas market, but it was so crowded we immediately left.
Then we sat in a park to rest because we had just walked 5 miles.
Then it was time for dinner, and we decided on Sichuan noodles
We were ordering, and they asked what spice level we wanted from 1-5, so I said 2, expecting it to be moderate because we’re in Europ,e and I am convinced Europeans don’t know how to spice anything
I was wrong. It was spicy as fuck.
Quinn ordered a level 3 and was actively sweating while trying to finish his plate.
After dinner, we had to go to the Eiffel Tower because Quinn had never been
It was foggy, but fun to see and take pictures of
Then we decided to find a bar, so Trinity took us to the Rhino Bar
They had lovely cocktails, and we got a pizza
We just sat and chatted and worked on Trinity’s Hinge profile (it was great fun)
After all that, it was finally time to return to our Airbnb
Trinity sat us down and made us watch An Idiot Abroad, which was hilarious, and I highly recommend it to all of you
Then it was bedtime
Day 2:
This was mostly a travel day, but first, I had to say goodbye to Trinity for another 6 months, which was devastating.
But, the trip was a success and not one I’ll forget for a long time.
Then I was back in Dublin for reading week! And guess who showed up! Elizabeth (my cousin)! She was here for a week, so we went on many an adventure.
We met up for brunch and did a whole lot of window shopping
Did more shopping
We went to a couple of museums
We found some fantastic Korean food
We took a trip to Galway
And then we dealt with the strongest winds I’ve ever experienced on a walk to a lighthouse we couldn’t even go up to
We got some pretty good fish and chips
I put Elizabeth on to Smithwick’s, and she loves it now
After Elizabeth left, I had to study. I had an Irish final on Tuesday, December 10th, and I am not very good at learning languages. There was a lot of studying and only a little time, but the final came and went. I wish I could say it went well, but hey you win some, you lose some. In this case I fear I lost some. BUT let me tell you about the exam experience because that was something else.
My exam started at 4:30, and I had wanted to get there early, but the bus was late, so I showed up about 5 minutes before the test started.
They made us check our bags.
Then I had to find my seat number
It was 1012. There were over 1,012 people in the exam hall with me.
The exam hall was massive, and there were so many people in it
Safe to say I like my little Bates final exams
Anyway, I got the test, finished it, turned it in and left.
The rest of my time in Dublin was spent packing, shopping, getting attacked by seagulls in St. Stephen’s Green with Finley, and doing a 12 pubs of Christmas pub crawl (we got to 7).
And that’s pretty much the whole thing! I have LOVED writing these newsletters, and I hope you enjoyed reading them! Thank you all so very much for your engagement and support. I will see you in the next newsletter that will be about being in America, so uh… we’ll see how that goes! I will miss Dublin so very much, but if you ever find yourself there, let me know because I now have a comprehensive list of everything you need to see/do.
Happy holidays!! I hope you’re all doing well, and I’d love to hear from you if you’re not too busy. I love you!!
With all my love and a candy cane or two,
Tamrin
Timmy Two Shoes
