Week four has come and gone already! The round the world trip is nearly complete, but not without a few more adventures around the corner.
My itinerary for week four was:
Week 4: “Travel” to Ireland and Russia
Challenges:
- Virtually visit one tourist attraction/interesting spot each day!
- Virtually find the perfect spot to have a picnic in Ireland!
- Virtually find the most interesting-looking building in Russia!
Unfortunately, the visiting one tourist attraction/interesting spot each day became more of a “visit seven tourist attraction in one day” sort of excursion. (Thankfully this is a virtual trip, otherwise I would be exhausted!)
The first place I decided to visit virtually was Russia. In fact, I “headed” straight to Moscow, where I “visited” the stunning Saint Basil’s Cathedral. This beautifully unique building was commissioned to be built by Ivan the Terrible in 1555 to 1561. The architecture of this building is quite interesting. There really are not any other buildings like this bonfire-shaped cathedral.
Next I “travelled” to Hermitage Museum in Saint Petersburg, Russia. As soon as I found out that Hermitage Museum was in Saint Petersburg, I was so excited, because one of the composers (Igor Stravinsky) I had studied for my music class last year lived there for a time. I was really drawn to this museum because of the beautiful exterior of the building. It is so ornate, and the colour is so unique that I instantly wanted to know more about it! The Hermitage Museum actually has a website that offers virtual visits, which I thought was very useful considering that one cannot easily travel right now. (If you are interested in seeing more of the Hermitage Museum, use the link provided to take a virtual tour of the museum: https://www.hermitagemuseum.org/wps/portal/hermitage/panorama/virtual_visit/panoramas-m-1/?lng=en)
The Valley of Geysers in Russia was next on the tour. This Russian natural wonder is the second largest geyser field in the world. The valley contains around ninety geysers and is about six kilometres in length. While “visiting”, I looked at many pictures of the valley, and enjoyed the amazing-looking geysers. The Valley of Geysers was definitely worth the “visit”!
Next, I visited The Cliffs of Moher in Ireland. These awe-inspiring cliffs are a popular tourist attraction, and some of these amazing rock formations rise 214 meters into the air! Again, similar to the Hermitage Museum, this tourist attraction has a virtual tour available on their website, which can be found by using the following link: https://www.cliffsofmoher.ie/google-360-inside-tour/.
From the Cliffs of Moher, I decided to explore some of the ruins of Ireland. I skimmed past several ruins, until I finally found some that caught my eye – the ruins in Skellig Michael, County Kerry. This stunning island has some fascinating ruins on it, which are definitely worth a visit! The vibrant green of the grass is a magnificently stark contrast to the rock of the island and the ruins that are built on the island. A fun fact about this island is that it is the very island that was used as a film site in Star Wars Episode VII “The Force Awakens”. In fact, as I was virtually exploring the island, I thought it looked very similar to the island depicted in the Star Wars movie, so I looked it up, and sure enough, it was the island!
As an adventurous and exploration-loving extrovert, this next location is right up my alley! Grafton Street, Dublin is a busy spot full of different shops and streets to explore. From watching street performances to shopping to simply grabbing a coffee, Grafton Street has no shortage of adventures to offer!
Of course, what would a trip to Ireland be without visiting a castle or two? I decided to “visit” Bunratty Castle. Bunratty Castle is a medieval castle which was built in the fifteenth century. This beautiful castle now hosts themed banquets, which sounds like so much fun, and a great way to bring history to life in a fun way!
As for the finding perfect picnic spot in Ireland for the “travel challenge”, I decided on Glendalough. Not only is this spot rich in history and beauty, but it is said to be a good picnic spot, having lots of lovely country/forest areas to enjoy. There are many fascinating spots to enjoy and explore in Glendalough.
For the most interesting-looking building in Russia, I was torn between the Hermitage Museum and Saint Basil’s Cathedral. I personally find the Hermitage Museum more stunning, but the architecture of Saint Basil’s Cathedral is so unique and incredible! In the end, I decided to choose Saint Basil’s Cathedral, but it is a hard choice!
I thoroughly enjoyed my “travels” this week! In fact, this was one of my favourite travelling weeks so far. I saw so many stunning sites as I virtually travelled through Russia and Ireland. I am so excited to see what surprises and adventures the fifth and final week of my world travels holds!