Sorry for the lack of blogging lately. I do not know where my days go anymore. Last weekend (the last weekend in February) I went to Northern Ireland with the International Student Society at NUIG. I am one of the officers of the club so I got to go free of charge. My hostels, some of the tours, and transportation were all paid for. After weeks of planning the trip and making sure we had all the details figured out, it was finally time to go! The buses left from NUIG at 7a.m. on Friday which meant I had to be up around 5:30a.m. so that I could get ready and walk to campus bright and early. I did not go out the night before because I know myself well enough to know that I am not a morning person and waking up that early would be hard enough without having drank the night before. Once I got to campus I found some of the other officers and we waited for the buses to arrive. We went through a company called Paddy Wagons and the buses are huge and green. There were two buses and about 100 students and we had to check off everyone's names as they got on the buses. We left a little later than anticipated and not everyone was able to make it (apparently some partied too hard the night before) but eventually we left the parking lot. I knew no one on the trip (or at least none of my friends were on the trip) so I was nervous to say the least. The bus ride was about 5 hours and we finally arrived in Belfast at about 12:30p.m. The bus dropped us off right at our hostel (The Linen House) and of course all 100 or so of us walked right into the hostel. The officers had to figure out how to put everyone in the rooms and how to split everyone up. This was more difficult than we would have thought because no one wanted to leave their friends. I decided that I could sleep anywhere because it was just for sleeping. I put myself in a room with 24 beds and hoped for the best.
Once the rooms were situated we went sightseeing. I hung out with one of the other officers and her friends. It was a lot of fun and I was able to make a lot of new friends. We went to Victoria Square which has shopping but we went because it is a clear dome that if you walk to the top allows you to see all of Belfast. It was really pretty up there and the building itself is pretty also. After Victoria Square we headed back to the hostel because it was time for our bus tour of Belfast. We got two double-decker buses and I was able to sit on the top of one of them. The tour brought us to the Protestant and Catholic sides of town and even showed us the peace wall. Belfast went through troubles that only ended in recent years. The Troubles were so bad between the Protestants and Catholics that a wall had to be built to separate the two sides. You can still see bullet holes in some of the buildings. Our tour guide actually told us that the Troubles were not really about religion but were actually political. When the Troubles started Britain still had some control of Ireland so the Protestants were British and also loyalist and the people who still viewed themselves as Irish were Republicans and Roman-Catholics. I could not believe how much history was in the town. There were also lots of murals in Belfast that have been made throughout the years. Belfast is also the town where the Titanic was built. The tour guide even mentioned how the Titanic was fine when it left Belfast and that it was the people who took it out of Belfast that caused it to wreck. Another saying they have in Belfast is about the mountains that are located in the city. "If you can see mountains it will rain in 10 minutes and if you cannot see the mountains it is already raining."
When the tour was over we got dinner and then got ready to go out. Devin had told me to go to Whites when I was in Belfast and my tour guide also told us about the pub. It is the oldest bar in Belfast and was the only one that survived all of the Troubles. The pub was so cool and I was amazed at how long it had been there. It took us awhile to find Whites though because it is tucked behind some buildings. We also went to the Crown Bar which was really neat. When you walked in there were individual sections that people could sit in. Each one had a table and places for people to sit and if you wanted you could close the door and have your own private area in the pub.
The next morning we had to be up early to start the touring. I got up and ate breakfast (free with the hostel), which was only toast and butter. After breakfast we all got on the buses and headed to Carrick-a-rede rope bridge. The rope bridge links the mainland to a tiny Carrick Island. We had to pay to walk on the bridge but it was worth it. After the rope bridge we headed to Giant's Causeway. Giant's Causeway was the most beautiful spot I have ever been in my life. It was gorgeous and beyond words. Giant's Causeway has a bunch of interlocking basalt columns that formed because of an ancient volcanic eruption. It was declared a World Heritage site by UNESCO in 1986.
Giant's Causeway.
Me at Giant's Causeway.
Me on top of the rocks at Giant's Causeway.
A beautiful mountain in Giant's Causeway.
Double rainbow in Giant's Causeway.
The next morning I woke up early and went on a walking tour of Derry. Derry has just as much history as Belfast and is very similar to it. Seeing the walls of the city was cool and many of the buildings also had gun shot holes that were still noticeable. The walls around the Church and the bank were very high and thick to keep out bombs. There were cannons everywhere. At the end of the tour, our guide brought us to the memorial site of where Bloody Sunday took place. After the walking tour we all got back on the bus and headed to Sligo to see Yeat's grave and the town of Sligo. After Sligo it was time to head home after a very interesting and action packed weekend.
Fun Fact: Northern Ireland's currency is Pounds or Sterling instead of Euros. One of the things they kept from when Britain ruled them.
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