Around the world with Garth

Dublin is located on the island of Ireland. It is located west of United Kingdom, southeast of Iceland and northwest of France. I decided to go to the city of Dublin because in school I took a class about Ireland and read a portion of a book that was set in Dublin. Because of this class I have a lot of background information about Ireland. When I arrived in Dublin I was pretty excited to see the land. Back when America was the "promise land" Irish immigrants migrated to America hoping to leave behind their poverty and bad living conditions. The first place I visited was the National Gallery of Ireland because it is free of charge to enter.. It is located in the centre of Dublin with one entrance on Merrion Square, beside Leinster House, and the other on Clare Street. It has not only Irish art but European and Dutch master paintings as well. The paintings were very beautiful with carefully selected colors and precise placement of them. On the way out I saw a sign that said the gallery was founded in 1845 and opened it's doors 10 years later. While departing from the gallery we walked by the Irish House of Parliament, today called the Bank of Ireland. So I decided to stop in and give it a look. When I got in the building the first thing that caught my eye was a huge glass chandelier hanging in the House of Lords. In a way the building reminds me of the monuments that I saw in Washington D.C. I talked to a bank clerk and I was told that it was the world's first purpose-built two-chamber parliament house. After the Parliament House I walked around the city more and admired the old-style buildings, along with the newly renovated ones. Tired of the city, I took a leisurely walk out to the countryside where there were huge grasslands as far as I could see. The air was fresh and clean, it refreshed my lungs from all of the pollution from my hometown of Denver, which I look forward to getting back to. While walking back in town I saw an old man who was herding his goats. It was definitely the picture for Ireland and it's countryside. Before I retired to bed I ate some local food at a nice small diner that had a lovely old women who had a very thick Irish accent that made me chuckle. She talked of how Ireland use to be and I spoke of how I am familiar with it because of the class I took in school. We exchanged good-byes and I headed to bed. Ireland was a good place to visit.

Population- 4,622,917
Total Land Area- 70,273 sq km
GDP (ppp)- $37,700
Language- English/Irish
Currency- Euro in Republic of Ireland and the Sterling in Northern Ireland

My next destination is Amsterdam. Amsterdam is located north of Switzerland, southwest of Denmark and east of the United Kingdom. Amsterdam is the capital and largest city of the Netherlands. The first place we started out in was Dam Plaza. I was hungry so I stopped into Dam Diner and had a few local danishes that made me feel pretty good. After the lunch I decided to head down to the University of Amsterdam to ask some college kids where they thought I should go in this place. I couldn't find any that really spoke good English so I just started walking. I hit a Oosterpark where I sat on a bench and enjoyed the scenery of people mingling and talking. I really didn't feel like I fit in in this place. Mostly because I can't understand anyone. On my way walk back to where I came from a man who wreaked of alcohol and booze started yelling at me for being American yelling all kinds of remarks that I wont bother to put on here. It was pretty uncomfortable. When I got back to Dam Plaza I decided to get something to drink. While in the diner I actually found some locals that spoke English I could understand. They were pretty awesome telling me how great this place is and all. They were so cool that we were in the diner all night just talking and having a good time till I noticed it was really late and called it a night. The beginning of the trip wasn't so promising but the ending was quite pleasant. Not what I expected for Amsterdam but overall a good place to visit.

Population-16,783,092
Total Land Area-41,543 sq km
GDP (ppp)-$39,400
Language-Dutch
Currency-Dutch Guilder

My last and final place that I visited is in my hometown of the United States is Washington D.C. Washington D.C. is located in between Virginia and Maryland. The first place I had to visit was the White House. I found out that it was designed by an Irish-born James Hoban and it was built between 1792-1801 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the late Georgian style. Seeing the house where the president himself stays was pretty cool. After leaving the White House we went to the Lincoln Memorial. It's a huge statue of Abraham Lincoln sitting on a chair. The memorial was dedicated to Mr.Lincoln on May 30th, 1922. Kids use to be able to climb on the statue but due to damages and chips in the rocks you can no longer do that. After seeing the Lincoln Memorial we went across the way to the National World War II Memorial which is dedicated to Americans who served in the armed forces and as civilians in WWII. It consists of 56 pillars and a pair of arches surrounding a plaza and fountain. The memorial opened to the public on April 29th, 2004 dedicated by President George W. Bush. This state is full of Americas history with great symbols to prove it. It's been a long trip and I'm finally glad that it has come to an end. I can't wait to get home and sleep in my own bed. I'll never forget this trip and all of the wonderful places I visited.

Population- 310,231,863
Total Land Area- 9,826,675 sq km
GDP (ppp)- $46,000
Language- English
Currency- United States Dollar

Sydney is located on the great continent of Australia. Sydney is located northeast of the island Tasmania and north of the Royal Heathcote National Park. When we first arrived I was thinking of something new to do when I saw an advertisement about Sydney's Aquarium. So that's where I went. The aquarium is located inland on a bay that is connected to the ocean. The aquarium was awesome I saw so much different species of life from sea turtles, whales, eels, sharks, seals, and all kinds of fish. On the way out I asked how many different species the aquarium actually has and I was told over 650. Unbelievable. After leaving there I walked the boardwalk there and saw that Sydney Wildlife World (zoo) is attached to the aquarium and I didn't even notice it. I was getting hungry so we ate some delicious alligator and snake from a local diner, and after decided to check out the Sydney Opera House a multi-venue performing arts centre. The building has three tremendous opening that are doorways. The architecture I've seen so far on my trip has been sensational. I left the town of Sydney and set off for Katoomba because my technology teacher Chris told me about his visit there and said it was pretty cool. Katoomba is the chief town of the City of Blue Mountains in New South Wales. It's no doubt a beautiful place with very nice scenery. All I did was walk around and talk to the locals who are very nice and cordial. They told me that Ka-toom-ba is an Aboriginal term for "shining falling water" and takes its name from a waterfall that drops into the Jamison Valley. After a few hours and probably a good couple of miles of walking I was beat and called it a day in Australia. I would have no complaints on visiting this continent again.

Population- 21,515,754
Total Land Area- 7,741,220
GDP (ppp)- $39,000
Language- English
Currency- Australian Dollar

Beijing is located west of North Korea, north of the Yellow Sea and southeast of Mongolia. When I got into the city of Beijing and took a cab to our first destination, the 2010 Summer Olympic Games Stadium, I was surprised on how much pictures and statues there were of their "great leader" Mao. Although I guess I shouldn't be because I've seen it on the news, but it sure is more surreal in person. When we got to the 2010 Olympic Stadium the architecture was amazing! Truly a wonderful piece of mans success in building. I walked around the stadium and saw all of the other stadiums where the games took place like the volleyball, swimming, diving and the horse riding competitions. I bought some souvenir's and mingled with locals asking them what they thought of the stadium. All of them said its a marvel that will be remembered in all of the Olympics past stadiums. After leaving the stadium we went to the Forbidden Cities, Hall of Supreme Harmony located at its central axis, behind the Gate of Supreme Harmony. While there I got a tour and found out that it was built above three levels of marble stone. And that the gate was originally built during the Ming Dynasty. After the tour was over I was exhausted and decided to call it in Beijing. This city is full of culture and history and is a place I'll never forget.

Population- 1,330,141,295
Total Land Area- 9,596,961
GDP (ppp)- $6,000
Language- Chinese
Currency- Yuan