Post #10 London part 2

My favorite part of our trip to London was, without a doubt, going to see 'Wicked'. Jeff and i stood in a, surprisingly, very short line at 8:00am and got center, front row tickets for only 25 pounds a person! It was such a deal! i had heard all sorts or reviews about the show but non of them were bad. Some people weren't huge fans of the show, but no one hated it, and most loved it. I could not have been more excited going into that night. The sets were amazing! They were so intricate and being that close to the stage we got to see all the details in the costumes. This is my new favorite musical and i would love to see it again here in D.C.. We met some great people at the hotel in London. All of the staff was really great and we actually became friends with them. We must have spent at least four nights partying with them in lobby. They loved learning all of our American drinking games. Getting to know the staff so well made it harder to leave. J hugged us all good by and stood by the bus until it pulled away. We truly had a great time in London and i would love to go back for a third time in the future!

Post #9 London part 1

I think we may have seen every single tourist attraction there is in London. I got to see things that i did last time i was there and i also got to experience a couple of new things. The first night we went to an amazing Mexican restaurant. Weirdly enough, England actually has some pretty good Mexican food. It's not quite as good as the stuff in the sates but it holds its own and they definitely know how to do the drinks. We had one of the best sangrias i've ever had! After dinner a group of us headed off to try and get into the ultra exclusive Mahiki night club. We got all the way there, with our names on this list, only to realize that you had to be 21 to get in and half of our group wasn't. oh well it was still a good experience. A couple days later we did the changing of the guard. I got to do this last time i was in London but i really didn't remember it. It was definitely a unique and very touristy experience. Another fun day was when we spontaneously decided to venture to Greenwich. We actually stumbled on the movie set for Guliver's Travels. We talked to one of the guards who said that Jack Black was starring in it but we didn't get to see him. It was still a really neat experience though! Next we hiked up the hill to the Royal Observatory to see the Prime Meridian. We got to straddle it and took all kinds of pictures. This turned out to be a great day even though we didn't have any plans originally.

My Advice for Next Year's Trip

1) what you enjoyed most about the trip
I really like having the Britrail pass and being able to take little trips on our own. I also really like the themed parties that we had and would definitely suggest that as a cheap alternative to going out. I really liked our trip to Scotland. I wish we had more time in Edinburgh and that we had the chance to explore the countryside a bit more.

2) what you enjoyed the least
I wasn't crazy about taking the bus to Edinburgh. If you can take the train next year i think that might be a little easier and faster. Other than that i really can't say that i have disliked anything on the trip.

3) suggestions for next year
Maybe next year you could try Paris again? i know the class before us didn't have a good experience but i would have really loved to go. Also having maybe 2 more Britrail passes would have been helpful. A couple of people have already run out and i know there are a couple of trips i would still like to do the week we are in London.

4) advice for next year's students about what to do, not do, what to bring, etc.
*Bring clothes that you would wear for a Florida winter. It's cold and wet here.
*Bring lots of rain gear. Umbrellas are useful but only if they are super durable otherwise you might as well just not bring it. The winds are really strong so they break easily. Bring a warm waterproof coat of you can.
*Cash is way more important to have than credit cards. A lot of the little castles and cathedrals that you tour only take cash so i would make sure that you have access to a good amount of it. *Bank of America is definitely the bank to have over here. Barklays are everywhere and you don't get charged to take out money.
*When in Grantham use Can Cabs at night because they do a low flat rate to get back to the manor
*In the manor, avoid spaghetti and sweet and sour chicken. They both taste like chef boyardee gone bad.
*Try everything once! whether it's new experiences or new food in the manor, everything is worth a shot and it makes the trip a lot more fun
*meet as many new people as you can. sometimes they surprise you.
*Videotape everything you can! We have some videos from are trip that abosultely hysterical.

Post #8 Beer Festival Hopping

On Friday we decided to go explore the local beer festivals. A group of 10 of us went. We started out in Lincoln. This was the smaller of the 2 festivals that we went to but i liked it because you could order 1/3 pints if you wanted to. This turned out to be a blessing because if you got a gross beer you could choke it down no problem since there was only a small amount in your glass. This actually happened to me once. I don't remember the name of the beer but it smelled absolutely rank. I almost couldn't get it up to my mouth it smelled so bad. Ironically, it actually tasted pretty good. It was still hard to drink thought because you almost can't drink it without smelling it too. After Lincoln we moved on to Newark. This festival was a little bigger and had live entertainment. we even ended up saving money because we got to use our wristbands from the first festival to get in. This festival i stuck to ciders. I was feeling a little motion sick from the train so i couldn't quite stomach beers. It was at this festival that i learned how good a Perry could be. I'm not much of a pear person but they make some really good cider! While there, we also sampled olives and listen to a terrible, but very entertaining band. After the festival we went to Zizzis, and Italian restaurant recommended by one of the cops working the door. It was so good and fairly inexpensive!! Sarah ordered 2 bottles of champagne for the table to celebrate her graduating and Wes's birthday. We had a great time just relaxing and enjoying our meals. Eating out turned out to be a great idea too. When we got home we learned that the dinner that night was absolutely disgusting. I almost felt bad for having such a great meal. In the future i would love to go to more festivals. Even if you don't like the beer that much it's still a great time!

Post #7 Bedtime at the Bistro

This week was fairly uneventful. I stayed at the manor Monday and Wednesday. Tuesday we took a class trip to Lincoln to take pictures. Thursday, however, was a little more excited. We all dressed up in our PJ's and went to the bistro for our themed party sequel 'Bedtime at the Bistro'. By the time i made it downstairs the party had already started. To my surprise there was a very interesting game of beerpong going on. Paul and Fenner were beating Jeff and James. The night only got better with more games and more people showing up in their PJ's!! We even met 2 more ZTA's and taught them the line dance. It was a rather rough attempt but we made it through it. We also met Zack's, the autograph boy from the toga party, sister. What a small world. The night was topped off by the fact that not only did Bivens play a game, but he was actually pretty good. I personally think he's been trying to trick us this whole trip by saying he doesn't drink. This was our second themed party and definitely a success! Themed parties in the bistro are the way to go to say money and still have a good time!

Post #6 Edinburgh, Scotland Day 2

Our second day in Edinburgh started out with a bang! Meghan and Emily decided to try blood pudding for break fast! Surprisingly they both actually didn't hate it. After our 'Fear Factor' breakfast, the whole group headed over to Edinburgh Castle. What a view!! From the top of the castle you could see the whole town! After wandering around the castle for a little while we made our way down High street. This is the main shopping area in the city. I have never seen so many wool shops in my life! every store we went in had an overwhelming amount of wool and cashmere scarves accompanied by an array of Scottish trinkets. At the first store we went into Cory was the brave one that sampled haggis. Dakota and i almost gagged just watching him but he loved it and continued to eat it throughout the trip. The shopping experience was topped off by the large selection of funny hats to try on. My person favorite was a highland cow hat that i posed for many pictures in. After shopping we went to a Chinese buffet for lunch. I don't ever remember eating so much food at a buffet before. After lunch we went for a walk up to the top of this giant hill to see the 1/8 replica of the Parthenon. This walk however turned into a mini jackass movie. Bivens was dared to roll down the giant hill and in trying to help him, Jeff accidentally fell down the hill and actually ended up rolling father. he even still had the video camera rolling so we got the funniest angle of the little endeavor. After a quick picture on the 1/8 Parthenon, we went to check out the mall for a little bit. Here i discovered my love for Guinness flavored gummies. After the mall we all went back to the hotel to rest before our ghost tour that night. At around 8 we headed out to get a ghost tour or Mary King's Close. This was the remains of the old city that had been built over. The tour itself wasn't all the scary but everyone being on edge made it a little unnerving. After the tour a small group of us that wanted diner went on a hunt for food. This reminded me of our first night in Dublin when we learned food isn't really served past 9. Eventually we ended up eating at the Italian place that the boys had eaten at the night before. It was sooo good and actually very cheap since they did student discounts. After dinner the same smaller group of us went to a pub for a drink. we all only ended up having one drink though because the pub that we chose turned into a 90's club type place and we all kept dozing off because we were so tired. Overall i really liked Edinburgh but i wish we had more time in Scotland to see more of the city and to go exploring around the country.

Post #5 Edinburgh, Scotland day 1

For our second weekend here, took a group trip to Edinburgh. We started off early and spent a total of about 6 hours on the bus. On the way there, we stopped to see Durham Castle. The second half of the bus ride was probably the the most painful. I say 'painful' because not only did we have a violent war movie playing, but the winds coming off the north sea were so strong that the bus was rocking back and forth like a boat. I have never felt so sick on a bus in my life! When we finally made it to Edinburgh, we decided to venture out and try to find dinner in what felt like a hurricane. We were the only ones walking around with umbrellas and we soon found out that on one else had them because they would turn inside out and break very quickly. We lost 3 umbrellas total. After about an hour of battling cold rain and wind we finally settled in at the filling station for dinner. Never has a beer tasted so good. By that point we were all so cold, tired, hungry, and wet it didn't really matter what we ate which is why i think the food there tasted so good. After dinner we made our way back to the hotel. A group of people went out that night. i was not one of them. i was so exhausted that Courtney and i just stayed in and passed out watching tv. A great way to end the night if i do say so my self.

Post #4 Toga party!!

Thursday night of our second week here was probably one of my favorite nights so far. We decided that Grantham was getting a bit dull so we had a toga party in the bistro!! this was the best decision ever!! We all got really into it and used our sheets to make togas. While we were partying it up at the bistro, we met a bunch of really nice people from University of Evansville. One of them, Zack, turned into our human autograph board when we all decided to start signing his arms so he could find us on facebook. All in all the night was pretty much amazing!! We played beerpong, danced, and just had a great time all around. Not to mention i think the teachers and all of the other students in the manor got a kick out of seeing us all dressed up.

Photo Story #6 - Taking the Morning Train

Response Essay #3

The article by Steve Garlick was not what I expected it was going to be. After reading the Abstract I thought it would be very difficult to make it entirely though the article. I was actually proven wrong. Around about the second page I started to be able to look past the obscurities of the article. In the first few pages some of the assertions made are completely absurd. I did not understand how Garlick could come to the conclusion that “Touristic photography is problematic” through the examples that he provided. I did not see a problem with using touristic photography merely as a form of cataloguing a journey. I understand that he wants tourists to take more artistic pictures but I do not see how cataloguing a trip through photography is a problem. The only time that touristic photography seemed to present a problem was on the last page of the article when Garlick referred to Nepal saying that “tourists receive literature encouraging them to respect the privacy of local people, and to ask permission before photographing them.” The only problem that I see presented by touristic photography is the privacy issue presented. Another assertion that Garlick makes is that touristic photography can be art if ‘performed’ correctly. I would argue that all photography is art but that some photographers take better, more artistic, photos than others. In that same sense, I agree with Gadamer’s argument that “the camera does not necessarily have to be considered as an instrument of modern technology that enframes the world. Rather, it can instead add new dimensions to our experience, photography, as art, can serve to open new ‘worlds’.” I agree that the way a person takes a picture can change how they view a subject, but I do not agree with Garlick in saying that just because a person does not take an artistic photo the photo is therefore not art. Overall, I ended up somewhat enjoying the article. It had an interesting, although in my opinion somewhat false, take on the act of touristic photography.

In my own life, I usually take pictures to document a moment in time. I am completely guilty of one of being one of the ‘bad’ types of touristic photographers. Until I took this class, I did not really focus much of my attention on trying to photograph different angles of sights. I would usually just snap a picture to document it and remind me of my trip when I review the photos later. I also like to take pictures document moments in time, not just sights we saw. I love taking pictures of the people I’m with enjoying the trip. These photos are usually the ones that I look at the most and get the most joy out of after the trip.

When I am on vacation I tend to focus most of my pictures around sights. I am not usually one of the people that jump in front of a sight and has someone take a picture of me standing in front of said sight. To me those pictures merely say “Here’s a picture of me standing in front of a building, and here’s a picture of me standing in front of another building.” I would much rather simply photograph the sight as is. I’m not saying that I have never taken a picture in front of a sight; I’m merely saying that I tend to shy away from the practice.

I don’t think that the pictures I take at school or at home are extremely different from the ones I take on vacation. In my mind they serve the same purpose of documenting and reminding me of things that happened in the past. They only thing I would say that differs is that at school, and especially and home, I tend to take almost all of my pictures of people. You will rarely find pictures of buildings or sights in my albums taken while at home or school. I believe this is because school and home are my familiar surroundings. I see the sights everyday so I don’t need to be reminded of them. The people on the other hand, are constantly changing and doing different things so documenting them is documenting a moment in my life.

After I take pictures the first thing I do is save them on my computer. Honestly, I don’t do this so much as a storage technique as much as I enjoy seeing them on my slideshow screensaver. After they are on my computer I pick and choose the pictures that I want to post on Facebook. I don’t post them all because I assume that the people viewing an album, say of the redwood forest, don’t want to see the 50 pictures of really tall trees that I took but rather the pictures of my journey through the forest with my family. I post pictures on Facebook because I want people to be able to have a glimpse into my life and what I’m doing. I enjoy seeing the pictures that other people post so why wouldn’t they enjoy mine? It also helps because a good amount of my firends on Facebook I don’t get to see very often so posting the pictures helps keep us up to speed with each others life.

I believe that touristic photography, artistic or not, is a very vital part of our human culture. We not only use it as a memory aide but as a way to share our lives and experience other cultures. I use photography frequently in my everyday life and I find it very hard to imagine someone alive in today’s society that does not. To me, photography is art that gives a glimpse into our everyday lives.

Response Essay #2

Changing the content of photographs that are published is morally wrong. By doctoring a picture you deceive the reader and drastically decrease the credibility of your publication. In the case of the altered Martha Stewart photo, I agree with NPPA president Bob Gould’s quote that altering the photo is “a total breach of ethics and completely misleading to the public.” By publishing these altered photos, the publications are altering what the readers view and therefore deceiving them and decreasing trust. Credibility in journalism is already depleting and doctoring these pictures only gives the public one more reason to distrust them. The purpose of the media is to inform the public. By intentionally altering photos they are still informing the public, just not of the truth.

I was very disturbed by the article “Pictures May Lie but Doctored Photos Change History.” The fact that the simple act of altering a photo can change the way a person remembers an event is extremely scary. This gives the media the power to manipulate how we remember things. The study mentioned in the article proves that this manipulation works. As Franca Agnoli says in the study, “One major result was that modified images affected not only the way people remember past public events, but also their attitudes and behavioural intentions.” No one group of individuals should have this power. Changing an image is a very dangerous thing that only brings mistrust, dishonesty, and deceit to one’s publication. There is no single reason out there that could justify that altering an image is the only way to improve a story. If the image doesn’t work for a story that you are writing you should go back and find an image that does. Enhancing an image to enhance your story does just the opposite. By enhancing the image the story loses all credibility. One of the things that caught my attention most about this article was what was most affected in the minds of the viewers. The fact that the viewers who were shown the doctored images had a more violent recollection of the events pictured says a lot about what stuck out most to them in the images. Only a few things were changed in each image yet it completely changed how the group remembered the events.

I personally believe that photos should not be edited from their original form if it changes the meaning of the picture. The only types of editing that I think are acceptable are such things as making a photo clearer, red eye reduction, and changing the lighting to enhance the subject. Changing the appearance of people or altering what is happening in the photo is completely unacceptable and morally wrong no matter the circumstances. The TIME magazine cover that changed the shadows and shade of O.J. Simpson’s face made him look more menacing and inferred his guilt. This cover alone had the ability to change opinions about the, then ongoing trial. Nothing gives the media the right to do this. Time and time again, publications have apologized for doctoring images yet they still persist to publish these altered images. I agreed with Zibluk in that “I find it very disconcerting that Newsweek’s editors see ‘labelling’ as the answer to the issue. It’s not. The real answer to rebuilding the trust of the audience is to commit to true and accurate photojournalism.” In this quote he was referring to the Martha Stewart cover and the fact that Newsweek’s response to the outrage generated was to label altered covers as illustrations directly on the cover. In my opinion anything, the only illustration that should be on the cover of any publication is a caricature. We have the right to see prominent figures in a real state and form our own opinions about events.

In conclusion I believe that altering the meaning of an image is completely deceptive and morally wrong. By altering these images the media is manipulating what the public views and the opinions generated. It is because of these doctored photos that young men and women are constantly seeking the perfect, unachievable, photoshopped bodies of celebrities pictured on the covers of magazines. These altered images also have the power to change how we remember things and what opinions we form. No one group of individuals should use such a power even if they have access to it. The media needs to be much more responsible with the images they publish and show people and events in their true lights.

Response Essay #1

After reading the articles provided, I believe that disturbing images are a necessary evil. I completely agree with the author, Pitts, that “challenging images sometimes describe reality in a way that words can’t”. I believe that for the most part disturbing images should be published. There are certain boundaries that should never be crossed, but those boundaries are very narrow and minimal. Only the most disturbing and graphic images that would be detrimental to a third party, related or not to the subject pictured, should never be published. I don’t believe that there should be laws to regulate the publication of disturbing images. Reporters and editors should have enough morality to know what is appropriate to publish, what might need special permission, and what should never be seen by the public.

I believe that people should be exposed to these disturbing images in order to convey the magnitude of a world issue. Sometimes words alone are just not enough. Reading a description of a catastrophe and seeing it for yourself on the front page of a news paper produce two completely different reactions. As McBride said, “It’s impossible to tell a story about death and destruction on the scale of the tsunami without showing some pictures that include death and destruction”. As I said above, I do however believe that there are certain things that never need to be shown to convey a story to the reader. One of these fine lines that I believe should never be crossed is pictures of dead children that are close enough to see faces and specific details. I found the picture of the tsunami victims and their mother the most disturbing of the images. I think it is a very powerful image but I believe that other photos can convey the same message without showing dead bodies of children. The tsunami picture that we saw in class is a perfect example of this. In the photo you still get death and destruction you just don’t have to bare the sight of dead children while drinking your morning coffee. I believe photos of dead children, especially ones showing faces, is one of the few types of images that should be censored by editors and their morals.

I do agree with Wally Rayl’s statement that “Not being able to face reality is a major problem in our society today.” If we are willing to support a war or a cause we need to be willing to accept and view the consequences. I believe that pictures, such as the flag draped coffins, show the consequences of our actions in going to war. The public can hear about casualties and what’s going on overseas, but seeing a picture of the coffins evokes a whole new emotion and shows the magnitude and the costs of us being at war. I believe that by supporting a cause, the supporters in essence sign an unwritten contract that they are willing to accept and therefore view the consequences of something they are supporting. In that same light, I agree with author Robert Steele in saying, “Journalists have a duty to help the public wrestle with tough societal issues and thorny national policy questions.” I interpret this to mean that it is the responsibility of the journalists to not only show disturbing photos to the readers supporting a cause, but also to readers that are indecisive about a cause. The public should have full access to all of the facts when fulfilling their civic duty or deciding what causes they would like support.

I do believe that there are certain images that should be censored by news organizations. In the APME survey article, Kelly McBride said “Dead bodies are one thing, bloated, decaying bodies are another.” I completely agree with this statement. If a reporter thinks that an image could possibly cause the reader to lose their breakfast because of the amount of blood and gore, then generally that is an image that does not belong in the newspaper. Nine times out of ten there is a less gory image that is just as powerful and will convey the same emotion without the risk of the reader getting sick. Another line that I believe should not be crossed is publishing photos of dead children, especially close up. This is one of those fine lines that there are many substitutes for. You can have an equally powerful image that is not as zoomed in or is of an over all disaster showing adults and children and still convey death and destruction. I believe the final thing that should be censored are photos of dead soldiers. These photos should be seen by the public, especially in national publications, but I do not believe that they should be seen without the permission of the family. I agree with the quote from Kathryn Martin that for someone who was close to the deceased soldier to see a picture of their loved one in publications day after day makes it harder for the family and friends to heal. If the family agrees to the printing of a photo there should be no objections to publishing it. On the other hand, if no face is visible in the photo or the body is not identifiable, the news organizations should not need permission to publish it.

In conclusion, I believe that disturbing images are something that the public needs to see but there are certain exceptions that should never be allowed in publications. Without disturbing images the public could not make fully informed decisions and they would not feel connected to issues across the globe. We need these images in our lives to convey the true impact of event and forever ingrain them in history. After all, if we did not publish disturbing images we would have never seen all of those photos that have changed the world.

Post #3 Day in London

After a very exhausting night of bar hopping and dancing, Wednesday we all piled on the train to London for the day. We were headed there to see 'Romeo and Juliet' at Shakespeare's Globe Theater. When we go into town Jeff immediately got us lost on the wrong side of London Bridge. After wandering around for an hour, and a slight detour to take pictures in from of the Tower of London, we finally made our way back to the correct side of the bridge near the globe. Hear we found a cute little inexpensive pub. I ordered my new usual of fish and chips but got a little more fish then i was expecting. This was my first, but not last, experience with 'skin-on' fish and chips. while i was in the process of dissecting my lunch to avoid the skin, a very drunk, confused man wandered over to our table. He kept mumbling nonsense and getting increasingly closer to our table. Eventually Dr. Bradford made him cry like she apparently does to most grown men. After our very eventful lunch we headed over to the Globe where we stood in the cold to watch a very congested and annoying Juliet. Needless to say our entire class left at intermission. Meghan, Dani, and I went over to a nearby Starbucks to warm up and decided to start to make our way back to Grantham early. On our way back we stopped and say platform 9 3/4 at Kings Cross. A very exciting moment if i do say so myself. We then ran to catch our train back to Grantham. This was were we had our first experience with rush hour in London. Not only were all of the seats on the train booked ahead of time, but the train was one cart short as well. we ended up standing practically the entire trip in between two of the cars. When we finally got back to Grantham we wandered around the after 6pm ghost town and found a nice little Italian place to eat dinner. After dinner we headed back to the manor and fell asleep very very early. Long cold days and camped train rides really take it out of you.

Post #2 Monday and Tuesday of week 2

Driven by a lack of things to do in Grantham, we decided it was time to spice things up a bit. Monday night we were all exhausted from travels over the weekend so we decided to stay in. Little did we know that this would turn into a "Space Jam" pajama party. We ordered pizza while the boys played the not so exciting game of risk and proceeded to watch Space Jam while singing along to all of the jock jam songs. Tuesday turned into a bar-hopping night. A total of 15 of us decided to go out that night so we needed 4 taxis to take us into town. The line of taxis reminded me of some kind of American tourist motorcade. We made quite an entrance at "Goose at the Bank" if I do say so myself. After about an hour or so at Goose we moved on to Inferno were we met up with a couple of people from the group that had headed over there. Unfortunately Inferno was closing though so we went off in search of a new watering hole. This was when we discovered our new favorite place, Gravity. It reminded me of a slightly better Kaus with much better drinks and drink deals. I don't think any single group of Brits have ever been more entertained by a group of Americans. Even when all we were doing was sitting at out table they could help but people watch us. As the night continued it turned into an all out FSC student dance party with 2 we-think-gay Brits. At one point things got so crazy that Meghan spilled a completely full drink right on Jeff's lap.... it made for some really corny jokes. As the night ended we all got into our separate taxis and went back to the manor; all of us except Jeff. He decided to be Mr. Emo as we are now calling him and walk the 6 miles back to the manor... way to go Jeff.

Photo Story #5 - Rolling with the Homies

Photo Story #4 - The Street Performers of Grafton Street

Photo Stoy #3 A Night at the Ha'Penny

Photo Story #2 The Guinness Factory - The boys learning how to pour the perfect Guinness

Post #1 Ireland

Ireland was absolutely amazing! We left on Friday, and through planes trains and automobiles, literally, we made it to our hotel in Dublin alive. i say "alive" because i swear we almost died on our extremely turbulent RyanAir flight. After we got to the hotel we relaxed for a little bit. The boys took a quick nap while i watched some very strange Irish television. After our down time, we took the bus into town to find some dinner. This was where we learned our first lesson about Dublin; most pubs don't serve food. Who knew? After we wandered around temple bar for about an hour we found what would become our favorite pub, the Auld Dubliner. For dinner i had my first ever fish and chips! It tasted better than i could have ever imagined. We hung around in the pub until close to 11 just soaking in the entertainment and pub life. We then proceeded to try to find the bus stop. This only took about a half an hour of us running around asking people if they knew where to catch the 69 bus to Rathcole. Apparently no one rides that bus because no one knew where it was and it was impossible to find. That was our second lesson learned; the bus home picks us up right in front of the Ha'Penny bridge. On Saturday we woke up nice and early and head off to see the Kilmainham Gaol. This was a lot more than we expected it to be. We had a great tour guide and learned all about the Irish Revolution and the men and woman that were unjustly imprisoned and killed during it. After the Gaol, we made the long trek to the Guinness Factory. This was my absolute favorite thing we saw. The storehouse was huge! It took us close to three hours to see the whole thing. We learned everything a person could possible want to know about Guinness from they ingredients and the process, the the advertising and the origins of the Guinness Book of World Records. we also got to sample the roasted hops and a fresh taste of the beer it self. At the end, Jeff and Cory got a lesson in how to pour the perfect Guinness while James and I, being picky, went up to the Sky Tower and had the professionals pour ours. Not only does Guinness taste better in Ireland than anywhere else, but it taste even better in the factory. If you're not a fan before you visit, you sure are when you leave. After lunch and a quaint "Take-Away" place, we headed over to Grafton street to see the shops and street performers. Along the way we rand into the statue of Molly Malone. On Grafton street we got to see all kinds of acts. My personal favorite was a circus like performer in a leopard jump suit. He jumped through hoops and limboed underneath a pole lit on fire that was the only the height of a wine bottle off the ground. After Grafton street we headed to find dinner again, this time being smarter about looking for pubs. We ended up at Farrington's and i, after the amazing experience the night before, got fish and chips again. Cory and Jeff tried something new and got Guinness and beef stew which was worlds better than any stew in the states. Once we were stuffed to the gills (This was a reoccurring thing), we headed back to the Auld Dubliner for some entertainment and of course, Guinness!. We had planned to make it a late night but once we got to the pub and the music was playing we all hit a wall and started falling asleep at the table. We ended up calling it a night early and headed back to the hotel around 10:30. On our last day in Dublin we visited Trinity Church and Christ Church Cathedral. I was actually very surprised by Christ Church. We was very elaborate and had an entire crypt for us to explore including a mummified cat and rat. After exploring the churches we went off on our usual hunt for food. This time we found the Queen of Tarts. This was a cute little pastry shop with some of the best, if not the best, soup-salad-sandwich i have ever had! Unfortunately after lunch it was time to head home. This turned out to be an experience in and of it self. We got to the airport and on the plane no problems what so ever. The problems started when we got to the train station only to learn that the train that we had planned to take back to Grantham didn't exist. The next train didn't leave until 1:00 am and wouldn't have gotten in until 6:00 am. This would have meant four hours in the airport plus 5 on a train ride that should only take an hour and a half. So we decided to suck it up and pay for taxi. After bartering, we found one that would take us from Manchester back to Grantham for £115. Once in the Taxi, everything seemed to be fine again until we hit stand still traffic at 12:30 am. Only a few cars up there was a two car pile up. We ended up sitting, stranded on the only highway back to Grantham for two hours while crews cleaned things up. Once we got moving again we discovered that the whole time we were sitting there, we were only twenty miles from the manor. So close and yet so far. Eventually we made it back and ended up having to tip the cab driver a little too generously. At least we made it home though! I can't wait for the next adventure!

This is my first photo essay assignment. Exploring Stratford-Upon-Avon