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Penny’s Worldschooling
  • Amy Irwin
  • Penny Irwin
  • Ryan Irwin

Penny’s Worldschooling

The Irwin’s trip throughout Europe! Read more
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  • Trip start
    August 15, 2023
    Penny’s Worldschooling

    Our adventure begins

    August 14, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 27 °C

    Today, a new chapter begins. It started pretty uneventfully, as we all packed up our respective suitcases and then drove from Albany to Medway. When we arrived, we had a nice dinner with Mom’s family. Afterwards, I hung out with Aiden and Andrew while Mom and Dad stayed up talking with the other adults. Tomorrow we leave from Logan airport to go to London. There’s a lot of nervous energy.Read more

  • Penny’s Worldschooling

    We’re off!

    August 15, 2023 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 20 °C

    This is it! We started the day low key. After breakfast, Mom, Gram, and I went to Kohls, spending all of mom’s Kohls cash before it expires, and Dad photographed about a million pages from his library books, so he doesn’t have to take them with him to Ireland. (He’s sending them back to Albany with Gram and Pop.) Our driver came in the afternoon and took us to Logan, where we checked into security and found our gate. Our plane got here on time. Tomorrow morning, we’ll be in London!Read more

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    London!

    August 16, 2023 in England ⋅ ☁️ 25 °C

    We got to Heathrow around 6:30 am English time and then took the train to drop off our bags. We then walked the length of Hyde park which included seeing Kensington palace, many ponds, and a GIANT statue of queen Victoria’s husband — Albert prince consort. After the park, the fam headed to Buckingham Palace and saw the royal guards marching through the streets. Then we had brunch at a restaurant named Billy’s. Next, we headed to the Westminster Cathedral, Westminster Abbey, the parliament building, and Big Ben. Finally, we trudged onto the Tate Britain museum and took the tube home. For dinner, we had pub food from a restaurant named The Hillgate. What a day!Read more

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    London Vol. 2!

    August 17, 2023 in England ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C

    Our day today was a bit quieter than yesterday, but not by much. We each got 13 hours of sleep which definitely helped with our jet lag. We headed out for coffee/tea at Guillam and croissants at a bakery called Cherry On. Then we took the tube to the British museum where we stayed for about 4 hours (and we didn’t even see everything!!). We stopped for drinks and charcuterie at the Windsor Castle pub, and continued on to Cinquecento for pizza and gnocchi. We started the evening with a walk around Notting Hill and pastries. We’re now finishing the day by watching Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Askaban!Read more

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    London Vol. 3!

    August 18, 2023 in England ⋅ ☁️ 21 °C

    We had a lovely final day in London! My parents let me sleep late, so our day started around 10:30am. It was raining for about an hour, but then cleared up. We walked to a restaurant named Sunday in Brooklyn for brunch. From there, we hopped on a double decker bus that took us from Notting Hill to the London Bridge. We walked to a market and shopped around before stopping at the Somerset house for snacks. We ended up also jumping around the splash pad for a bit of a cool down since it had warmed up since the morning rain. After that we headed to St. Paul’s Cathedral where we got in for free for the evensong service, though we didn’t stay to hear it. We went back to the London Bridge and took a TOOTBus tour home to Notting Hill. For dinner, we got food from M&S Food and ate at our flat. Right now, we’re finishing the day with a little British television.Read more

  • Penny’s Worldschooling

    Norwich!

    August 19, 2023 in England ⋅ 🌙 19 °C

    We started off our day with some strategic packing of our backpacks because we left our suitcases at the London flat. We hopped on the Underground and went to Liverpool Street Station where we caught our train to Norwich, where we’re visiting Dad’s friend David Milne. David picked us up at the station and gave us a quick tour of the city. After arriving at his house around 1:30pm, we had some afternoon snacks with David, his wife Emma + their kids Anna and Ben. We then went on a walk in the park with their dog, Bobby, followed by a delicious dinner at their favorite pub. We did lots of walking today and enjoyed the nice weather!Read more

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    Norwich Vol. 2!

    August 20, 2023 in England ⋅ ⛅ 18 °C

    All of us slept in a little later this morning and had a lovely breakfast of cake. We then got ready for the day and started off by watching the women’s world cup final (c’mon England!). After an unfortunate loss, we had a barbecue of chicken, sausage, corn + bread with assorted dips. That was wonderful, and we walked it off afterwards in the nearby park. We did some more walking through Norwich City, seeing about 5 of the 31 medieval churches. Then we rewarded ourselves with some gelato. When we got home, we had a chill night. David introduced us to Derry Girls in preparation for our trip to Belfast in a few days. We finished off the night with charcuterie remains and a bit of nice conversation.Read more

  • Penny’s Worldschooling

    Cambridge!

    August 21, 2023 in England ⋅ ⛅ 19 °C

    We woke up today and had a great last morning lounging about with David, Emma + Anna. We said goodbye and headed to the train station around 10 for our 11 o’clock train. With one stop along the way and an hour and a half later, we made it to Cambridge! Dad’s friend Andrew picked us up and we arrived at his house where the rest of his family was. We had a wonderful lunch before taking time to walk around a bit of Cambridge with their dog, Olive. And then stopped at The Castle pub for drinks. After some fun conversation, we headed back home for food and had a delicious dinner. We spent more time chatting over tea and dessert afterwards, enjoying each other’s company.Read more

  • Penny’s Worldschooling

    Cambridge Vol. 2!

    August 22, 2023 in England ⋅ 🌙 18 °C

    We all started our day with small pastries for breakfast and then moved onto exercise. Mom joined a bootcamp in the park with Andrew’s wife, Fran, while Dad and I went for a walk with Andrew and Olive. We then all retreated back to the house to drop off Fran and grab our bags. Andrew showed us about a fifth of Cambridge University’s colleges. They had their similarities, but I was surprised by their differences too. The Preston’s daughter Rosie joined us for lunch in a pub named the Eagle. After that we got ice cream and walked Clare College where Andrew teaches. Next we grabbed some drinks and went punting, essentially a less glamorous version of Venetian boating where the raft is propelled by someone repeatedly pushing a long rod. We spent an hour and change on the river before Andrew, Rosie, and Ryan headed back to make dinner while Amy and Penny explored town. By 6:30 we all were back at the house. We chatted before having a lovely bbq dinner.Read more

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    Belfast!

    August 23, 2023 in Northern Ireland ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    Today was a busy travel day for us. We said our goodbyes early in the morning and hopped on the train from Cambridge to London. We took the Underground to our previous flat where we had stored our bags. Next, we got back on the Underground to our Heathrow terminal. (The Elizabeth line is incredibly nice.) After that we checked our bags and had a bit of trouble in security, but proceeded onward. We stopped for some late lunch and then sat in the terminal for just under 2 hours. Once we boarded our flight, it took about an hour and a half to get to Belfast. We took a taxi to our airbnb and explored the town, then finally ended the night with food from Tesco and Derry Girls.Read more

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    Belfast Vol. 2!

    August 24, 2023 in Northern Ireland ⋅ ⛅ 14 °C

    We all woke up early today. Penny and Amy got coffee + pastries from a local cafe and after breakfast Ryan went on a run to the city center. (He and David ran together in Norwich, and he says he wants to keep it up.) We did some laundry and read our books for a while before heading out for the day. We walked for a few miles along the waterfront before stopping for a quick bite to eat at a cafe. Then we went to the Titanic museum which was incredible. Intricate and engaging, the exhibit was totally immersive. We all had a lovely time. After that we stopped at a pub (but Penny wasn’t allowed in), so got some drinks to enjoy outside. Once we walked back to the house, we had some quiet time before going out for a delicious dinner at the Errigle Inn. We shopped for breakfast and lunch for Friday, then came home to retire for the night.Read more

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    Belfast Vol. 3!

    August 25, 2023 in Northern Ireland ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    We had quite the busy day!! We did a black cab tour of the causeway and Belfast. Our tour driver, Paddy, picked us up at 8:30. A quick note on him: a Belfast native, he founded his tour company here. He was lovely to us but not completely unbiased like he claimed to be. When someone lives through something like the troubles here, they tend to have opinions that shine through. Anyway, we started off up at the rope bridge right on the coast about an hour north of the city. From there, we headed towards Giant’s Causeway to climb the rocks. After spending approximately 4 hours up North, we came back to Belfast for our mural tour. Next we got dropped off in the city center for drinks, and then stopped to pick up a pizza at Greens Pizza on the way home. We spent our evening relaxing after our long day. (Author’s note: this post is long but not incredibly detailed because the photos show more than the words.)Read more

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    Dun Laoghaire!

    August 26, 2023 in Ireland ⋅ ☁️ 13 °C

    We spent this morning packing and getting ready for our train ride. After having some coffee + pastries, we walked to the station - it was quite the hike!! Once there, we sat for a while before joining the queue to board. Luckily, mom had already bought tickets and the only ones left were first class, so we had no problems getting seats. Our ride took about 2 hours, and after arriving in Dublin we took the DART to Dun Laoghaire. From there, the woman we’re renting our house from, Gillian, picked us up and brought us to her/our home. She showed us around before heading out to her own holiday. We checked out the town, stopping for drinks in McKenna’s pub and later getting delicious food in Gourmet Food Pantry. After braving the rain home, we ended our day by watching Titanic.Read more

  • Penny’s Worldschooling

    Dun Laoghaire Vol. 2!

    August 27, 2023 in Ireland ⋅ 🌙 13 °C

    We slept in this morning and then spent some time figuring out the coffee + tea machines. Amy and Penny then both showered before going to the farmer’s market and library. While we were out, Ryan did some work and then went running (10 miles!) to check out his soon-to-be campus. Us girls came home to an empty house and decided to get some groceries for our stay. We came back and the three of us chilled for a while before deciding to take some Peloton classes. After that we had dinner and played some cards to finish our evening.Read more

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    Dun Laoghaire Vol. 3!

    August 28, 2023 in Ireland ⋅ 🌙 15 °C

    The highlight of our day was having coffee with our lovely neighbors, Sara and Briggs from Baltimore! We went to their house at 10. Afterwards, we headed home and Penny + Amy left for the Maritime museum, next to the library. It wasn’t as interesting as the Titanic exhibit, understandably. We then went to the library where we stayed for over an hour, reading and exploring. Then we got some public transit cards, and trekked over to the one wine and liquor store in the area to get some drinks. All the while, Ryan was preparing lectures for the upcoming semester. Together, we exercised, cooked, and chilled in the evening and watched some Derry Girls. We’re hooked.Read more

  • Penny’s Worldschooling

    Dun Laoghaire Vol. 4!

    August 29, 2023 in Ireland ⋅ 🌙 13 °C

    Today was really fun! We all slept in and then went our separate ways. Ryan headed to campus for a day of meeting people and Penny + Amy headed south along the coastline. Us girls walked the 2 miles to Dalkey where we stopped for lunch in Finnegan’s pub. We walked around for a bit before going to the James Joyce castle where he got the inspiration for the setting of Ulysses. After exploring the tiny museum we went to the library where we read for about 2 hours. The three of us met back at home where we all chilled before Amy + Ryan went for a walk on the pier. Later, dinner was a team effort and we spent our evening playing more cards.Read more

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    Dun Laoghaire Vol. 5!

    August 30, 2023 in Ireland ⋅ ☁️ 14 °C

    Our day started around 8 o’clock this morning. We got ready for the day and were soon walking either to the bus stop or to the University College of Dublin (guess who was going where). Mom and I were headed to the next house we’ll be staying in. The owners gave us a tour and we all chatted until quarter past 11. After we said our goodbyes, we headed out into the city center for lunch (we got bagels two blocks away at a place called Bretzel). St. Stephen’s park was lovely and we walked around the city for a bit. We then took the bus to the library (ice cream first of course) where we met Dad. I stayed while Mom + Dad went out for a bite and I met them at home. The afternoon to evening was a blur, my parents worked out and we all had some downtime. Eventually, we had dinner and watched Only Murders In The Building.Read more

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    Dun Laoghaire Vol. Too Many!

    August 31, 2023 in Ireland ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    This may have been our rainiest day to date. It started before 7 in the morning when my parents woke up and continued for 13 hours. I woke up around 8:30 and we all lazed about this morning until Mom and I went for a run. We went 1.5 miles (woo!) and walked back to town to get coffee. We came home with chocolates we all loved and the three of us had some more downtime. I headed to Eason for a planner and then the library. Mom met me there while Dad was running. After what I think was 30 minutes, Mom and I went to Tesco for more food. We met Dad at home and spent the afternoon baking a cake/bread hybrid, doing pilates, and eating dinner while watching—take a guess—Derry Girls!Read more

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    Dun Laoghaire Vol. I Forgot!

    September 1, 2023 in Ireland ⋅ ⛅ 15 °C

    Today we checked out another seaside town, Howth! But first, the fam did our daily word games and then Mom and I went running. After showering, we all walked to get coffee. From there we trekked to the pier to catch our ferry. We had amazing views and it only took about an hour. Once in Howth Bay, we got some fish + chips for lunch then headed up to the cliff walk. If the ferry views were good, these were priceless. Having walked the whole path, we hiked down to town for ice cream before catching the DART home. That also only took an hour and before no time, we were back to the house and chilling. Mom and I booked our flights to Lisbon—and Paris, surprise! We had a snack plate for dinner and are now heading to bed.Read more

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    Dun Laoghaire Vol. 8!

    September 2, 2023 in Ireland ⋅ ☁️ 15 °C

    Today we woke up and decided we wanted to go swimming in the sea. So, we did! We hung around all morning before heading to the Forty foot where we all went in! Very, very fun. After a cool swim (ha) we walked to Sandycove and got some toasties and drinks for lunch. From there we walked home and cleaned off. Mom went to pick up some charcuterie. Dad wrote. Our neighbors, Sara and Briggs, who we met for coffee on Monday, came over for a drink before they headed out to dinner. Afterwards, we cooked a pasta dinner for ourselves and settled for a few episodes of Only Murders In The Building.Read more

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    Kilkenny!

    September 3, 2023 in Ireland ⋅ 🌙 15 °C

    We woke up today and all packed our bags for Kilkenny. Dad went running while Mom and I went out. He later met us at the Sunday Market where we all got lunch. We then grabbed our bags at home and took the DART to the city center. The Big Green Bus (an actual name) took us all the way to Kilkenny. Once here, we got the keys to our epic house and next headed to the brewery next door. We sat and watched the Arsenal vs Man United game and went to another pub for dinner. We got ice cream and walked around town for the beautiful sunset. My parents went out for another drink while I stayed home. Once they came back, we all watched… Only Murders In The Building!Read more

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    Kilkenny Vol. 2!

    September 4, 2023 in Ireland ⋅ 🌙 18 °C

    When I woke up today, my parents had already gotten some coffee across the street. Luckily for me, we ended up going out for a big breakfast. From there we walked to Kilkenny Castle + grounds which we then took a tour of. We shopped around town and all ended up getting something wool, a scarf for Dad and sweaters for Mom + I. Then we stopped for drinks in a pub and I got a lovely sticky toffee pudding as a sweet treat. We then went to a cathedral and climbed the neighboring tower for a bit of a breather before escaping back to our house. Mom and I went on a failed shopping trip—apparently they don’t have a lot of sneakers in Kilkenny—before coming back to cool down. We went to dinner at 7 and around 8:30 came back to our block for some more drinks and music. My parents are still out while I’m winding down for the night.Read more

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    Back to Dun Laoghaire!

    September 5, 2023 in Ireland ⋅ 🌙 18 °C

    Today was a lovely example of the not-so-glamorous parts of travel. We woke up in Kilkenny and after packing took two buses and a DART train home. Since that occupied about 4 hours of our day, we decided to just enjoy being home. We had all stayed up late and welcomed the excuse to lounge about. In the afternoon, we all showered and my incredible mother went on a journey to buy us groceries for the week. We made guacamole for a snack, then popped some pot pies in the oven for dinner. They were pretty good! Mom and I vegged out watching Gilmore Girls and Dad did some writing to end our long day.Read more

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    Dun Laoghaire… Again!

    September 6, 2023 in Ireland ⋅ ⛅ 20 °C

    We all had some delicious bagels for breakfast and went out for some exercise. Mom and I went down to the West Pier with a few extra stops, and Dad went running to Booterstown. We met just outside the house at the exact same time (ha) and came in for some lunch. The afternoon was very chill before 3 o’clock when Dad left for a Fulbright meeting. Mom and I caught the 4:42 bus (more like 4:55) to the city and walked the rest of the way to my basketball practice. I had a great time and before I knew it, was heading home. Dad made some great spaghetti for dinner and we ended the night with Derry Girls.Read more

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    Dun Laoghaire… lost count.

    September 7, 2023 in Ireland ⋅ ☁️ 19 °C

    Today was my first day of 7th grade! We all got ready for the day together before Dad headed to UCD for a meeting and a workshop. Mom and I began some schoolwork; math, science, etc. We stayed at home until 2 o’clock just doing our work. We then left for the library and a stroll around town. We spent a few hours out until meeting Dad home. All of us went out for ice cream, then Mom made some dinner. The night was closed with the season 1 finale of Only Murders In The Building!Read more

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