Harbani Kohli Blog #3

Haigh from Dublin, Ireland! 🇮🇪 Hi all, hope you enjoyed that hi in Irish😃 👋 Starting off the month of April with some travel, this past weekend (April 6th-9th), I made a trip to Ireland with my fellow Cornerstone friend, Emily! Emily’s brother is studying abroad in Dublin at the Dublin Business School, so we made a trip to go visit him for Easter weekend (considering Dublin is just an hour away…the proximity makes it even more convenient!) Anyways, we really wanted to get out and explore, and one of the countries we really didn’t think of prior to coming abroad, but after all our coursework on Irish/British relationships we were convinced, we had to visit was Ireland! Certainly, a lovely change of scenery, and the sun made its way out every day we were there☀️ (we were lucky in the land of the lucky!🍀) 

Thursday, we got in late but Friday we made our way to the first place on our bucket list, Butlers Chocolate Cafe, the most famous Irish hot chocolate in all of Ireland. The Irish hot chocolate ☕️ lived up to the craze and started off our day with the sweet tooth we needed (cause of course when you’re in Europe the sweet overload just never stops)! Following that, we visited the Dublin Business School (DBS) and Trinity College 📚, went shopping at our favorite store (H&M🤭), picked up a bite at a Korean BBQ 🍗 😋 stand, and did some sightseeing around the city ⛲️ before we called it an evening and headed back to our hotel for our fall course registration (haha AU duties call)! That night we went out to a pub near the DBS campus with college students all around - it was a great night! 😄

The next day, we made our way to a popular Irish breakfast spot near DBS, Lemon Jelly! The cafe is known for its traditional styled Irish breakfast (grilled tomatoes are one unique breakfast item! 🍅🍳) Following breakfast/brunch we headed out to sightsee before we spotted some scrumptious gelato on the street so we got two scoops of fudge gelato. 🍨 Then we picked up our gelato and walked over to the National Gallery of Ireland 🇮🇪 where we were mesmerized in the beauty of art 🖼️ that had some beautiful messages behind them☺️. Following our walk through the gallery and a mini-photoshoot 🤭, we headed to see the Christ Church Cathedral ⛪️, which was on Emily’s bucket list. Then we took the dart (overground subway) to Guru Nanak Darbar, a Sikh gurdwara in the outskirts of Dublin. Being very close to my roots and very involved and invested in my culture, I always make it a point to visit a gurdwara in whichever city I may be in, I think personally it just reminds me to be grateful and humble for all that I have in my fingertips and the world I’m able to travel and see - something I’m so eternally grateful for! Following our trips to these religious sights, we made our way back to the hotel to get some rest before we headed out for the evening. In the evening, we grabbed Indian food 🥘 🍚 from a place near Emily’s brother’s DBS living accommodations and then went out to a bar in the city center area where we got a taste for some Irish music! While we didn’t get much sleep by the time we made our way back to the hotel, we headed to the airport knowing we truly soaked in Dublin and we enjoyed the short getaway!🥰

Enjoy these clicks from Dublin!🤗

See you on the next adventure,

Harbani

Harbani Kohli Blog #4

Hello hello! Can’t believe the semester is coming to a close here in the UK - but I can surely say I’m now looking forward to the days til I’ll be able to say “hi home!” For my last blog, I thought I’d take you all to The King’s Coronation here in London! On May 6th the UK marked an important milestone at Westminster as King Charles was crowned the next heir to the royal throne. Truly a time to be here, it was an all-around immersive experience to witness the coronation as many people described it to be “a once-in-a-lifetime event.” The last coronation in England took place when Queen Elizabeth ascended the throne back in 1952. For my friends and I, being the Americans throughout the festivities of the day was a bit funny given obviously that Britain and the British empire ruled America til our revolution. In that sense, it was ironic thinking my friends and I were present for the Coronation, as we were celebrating the empire that ruled America as we know it. Yet that is not to take away from the fact that the coronation was still something to witness being in England.

My friends and I started the day off right off the tube station in Westminster Abbey, watching the King’s Guards making their way to Westminster where the coronation ceremony was to take place. We then headed to grab a bite for breakfast at around 9am, we started our day at 6am so you can imagine we were starving especially with all the walking! Following breakfast, some of my friends made their way to Trafalgar Square to get a glimpse of the Royal Carriage where King Charles and Queen consort, Camilla were seated on their way to Westminster. My friend and I however ended up heading to Green Park due to limited space at Trafalgar Square, at Green Park we were able to watch the coronation as it was being live-streamed on big TVS. While all the way in London we weren’t able to see the coronation live, it was quite the experience being surrounded by so many Brits and watching the coronation amongst such a big crowd of cheering and screaming Brits. 

Most of the day we were near Green Park, and once the coronation ceremony came to an end, my friends and I headed to Chinatown for some bubble tea and hakka noodles! And then it was time to call it a day!

Thank you all for joining me on blogs and vlogs during my time here in the UK! To any prospective Cornerstone UK students, I hope this provided some insight. :)

Signing out! 

Best Regards,

Harbani