Belfast and Northern Ireland

Ok, so it's been a few days since we managed to make a post - not only are things kind of busy, but we've had little chance to get on to the 'net. Also, we were hoping to get onto a computer that allows us to plug in the camera, so that we can put the odd photo up... so this is going to be quite the extensive update (I'll try to keep it brief, but we're trying to cover a whole week!!)

July 1st - Happy Canada Day!!! We did a walking tour of the city (self-guided), following a popular bus tour route. Mostly saw murals, but walked through Shankill Road and Falls Road, as well as a quick jaunt up Sandy Row (amongst other places). Here's an example of one of the murals we saw. We also checked out St. Anne's Cathedral, Belfast Castle, and had a traditional "fry" at a small place at the top of Shankill Road with Great Aunt Betty (soda bread, pancakes, eggs, and potato bread ... mmmmmm).

July 2nd - Let me see... Carrick-a-rede (you can see Kelly here crossing the rope bridge, this was the return trip), Giant's Causeway (it rained too much, dulled the excitement), Dunluce Castle (here we have Kelly, her cousin Pamela, and Betty again), tea at Morelli's in Portstewart, drove the Antrim Coastal route back between Torr Head and Ballyvoy (Google Map it!), and it was all simply INCREDIBLE!! Kelly's cousin was awesome, driving us everywhere we wanted to go - all told we were out for about 12 hours!!

July 3rd - The next day Kelly's cousins Elaine and Gary took us for a tour of the areas to the south east of Belfast. Here we saw some pretty cool things - Carrickfergus castle (what, I'm not quite away in this picture, ok??), Scrabo Tower (my future ancestral home - it was small, but quite heavy), Grey Abbey (one of the most peaceful places I've ever been to), along the coast of Strangford Loagh, took a ferry from Portaferry to Strangford, then saw Inch Abbey, the St. Patrick monument near Downpatrick, a quick look at Killyleagh Castle (which is still inhabited), and then we had dinner at the Shields' family farm near Saintfield. There are buildings on the farm that date back to the 1600s, including the old family house which was occupied until about 1998 (I think), which itself was built around 1750.

One thing that has completely blown me away on this trip is the hospitality of Kelly's family. They have done virtually everything for us! All of them are wonderful, warm, and welcoming. I am definitely coming back just to see them, and spend time here!! And while it has rained here and there, for the most part, it's been quite nice and even almost warm (high teens most of the time).

Aside: On the left here you'll see Scrabo Tower. It's not quite as small as it appears... we have a video which we'll try to post sometime that has a panoramic shot of the hill just beside where the tower sits. I've decided I'm going to move in here some day, perhaps get a dragon for protection. Good idea? I think so!!

July 4th - This was our first day out on our own. We took a bus out to Londonderry, the famous walled city - it was somewhat reminiscent of Quebec, but without any French signs :D We wandered around the city, took in the cathedral in the town, learned much of its history and involvement in the "Glorious Revolution" in 1690 - the town survived a 105 day siege from King James II!! The city outside the walls was also the site of Bloody Sunday (Jan 30th, 1972). The highlight of our trip was a happenstance tour of the Apprentice Boys of Derry building, wherein not only did we get an excellent walk and guide of the place for free, but the tourguide (nice gentleman by the name of Philip) took us up to the very top of the building for an off-the-beaten-path tour, where we got quite the view of the city and its surroundings. Philip told us quite a bit about both the historical city, and how it has changed since The Troubles.

July 5th - today was a much quieter day, after several very long days of travel, walking, sight-seeing, and delicious food and fun. We actually slept in (shock, eh?), then a little later Elaine picked us up to just drive around the city to see some of the other places where murals are, aside from the more touristy ones. Tonight we're going to hit the Crown Pub for a taste of Guinness, where I will finally (hopefully) learn what people mean when they say "it doesn't travel well"

Next stop: Dublin, Ireland