The Belle of Belfast City

Dear Readers,
I hope everyone is doing swell and enjoying the beginning of spring.  The weather in Edinburgh has been absolutely spectacular this weekend! But more on that in the next blog post.  First let me tell you about the weekend I had in Belfast about 3 weeks ago now, with my brother Sambo.
It was a great city.  Very different from other places I have visited because it is really small.  Interestingly, the visit is very proscribed, as in there are only a handful of must-see tourist activities, and once you have finished them, there is really nothing else to do.  That being said, the things to do are really cool! We spent the first day on a bus tour up to the Giant's Causeway.

 On our first night in town, we went out for a walk after dinner to explore the city.  You can imagine our excitement (especially mine, as it has been awhile since I have been in Canada) at finding a Tim Hortons! It isn't a full restaurant, just a convenient store the sells the coffee and donuts. I think the lady who was working there was used to overjoyed Canadians wandering in, as she quickly warned us that it was not as good as the stuff from home.  Still, it was a great moment. Go Canada!

 A very tired Katie in front of the Belfast City Hall.  A beautiful neoBaroque building at the heart of the city.

 The first stop on our bus tour to the Giant's Causeway.  Unfortunately the castle was closed. But we got to see the outside of it.

 Sam was here too!

Since the castle was closed, I decided to storm the castle.  Only managed to capture a couple rocks, I think I need to invest in some bigger siege weapons.

The rope bridge was also closed for repairs.  Probably for the best, I am not sure if my nerves are up for climbing across a rickety bridge high above sharp pointy rocks.  Potential panic attack averted!

Walking down the path to the Giant's Causeway, Sam is looking particularly dashing.  We were lucky to have a beautiful sunny day to explore the Causeway!

The Causeway

We climbed up to the highest point of the Causeway (which I know is not very high, Sam).  But I managed to get stuck at the top, while Sam capered down abandoning me to the elements.  I look a lot like a beached Manatee. Clearly I am not as photogenic as my brother Sam.

I was channeling Golum in this moment.  I think my precious must have fallen into the crevices.

The formation of rocks on the Giant's Causeway is unlike anything else I have ever seen.  The tops are perfect geometrical shapes.  It is so interesting!

Probably my favourite photo, the waves crashing in on the rocks.  The wind picked up the foam from the crest of the waves and send it flying through the air. I was struck in the face more than once with a big whack of foam

 So we headed back up the path and our tour group crowded back into the bus.  Our driver than proceeded to announce that a couple in our group had just gotten engaged on the Causeway.  Beautiful weather, beautiful location, but really.. could you not splurge and rent a car this one time? Maybe I am old fashioned, but if anyone proposed to my while on a tour bus, I would be rather unimpressed.  I don't think the couple really wanted the driver to make the announcement public, it was a very awkward moment.

We have left the Causeway, beginning our journey back to Belfast.  Stopped to peak at a ruined castle.

The next day we explored the Queen's University of Belfast which was steps from our Hostel.  Very beautiful campus.  Sam's thesis adviser actually went to school there back in the day, so it was nice for him to make that connection!

Gate was closed! Cue me trying to break in. As I do. Then Sam pointed out the open door directly beside the gate.  Embarrassing.

Botanical Gardens

Sam and Sam's brand-spanking new hat! I picked it out, so full credit here please.

Statue in front of the Natural History Museum.  All the children of Belfast and of course my self, felt the need to play in it.  I am so mature.

Sam and hat part 2

We took the Tim Horton's cups from the convenient store.  I felt very Canadian in this moment.

Enjoying (well at least Sam was) the national beverage. I will say one thing, I have had Guinness from the tap in Edinburgh and it honestly did not taste as good! I don't know what they do, but it really is better on native soil.

Sam was having a good time.

Dancing with the Guinness. As you do.

 So on our final day in Belfast, we went on the black cab tour.  During the Troubles in Belfast, the government closed down the bus network, so people relied on these black cabs for transportation.  One tourist asked a driver to take him through the troubled areas, and from that moment onwards. They have been taking tourists into the areas and giving a brief history of the Troubles and taking them to see the murals from both the protestant and catholic sides, the large walls put up in the city,  and the streets where the Troubles occurred.  We were with a large group so we actually had two guides, one who was Catholic and the other who was Protestant.  The Troubles happened in living memory of the people in Belfast, so it was fascinating to hear their first-hand accounts.  For example, the Protestant guide told us how when he was a child, he was taught to look out for bombs, and if one went off to run into the nearest house to hide. 

The Catholic murals.  The black and white mural is a copy of a painting by Pablo Picasso.  It was actually painted during the negotiations for peace by the most prominent Catholic and Protestant artist at the time.  Showing how ready the populace was for peace and encouraging the politicians to find a workable solution.

The murals celebrate the heroes of the Troubles.  These one was told the story of how Margaret Thatcher revoked the prisoner's status as political prisoners, and thus changing how they were treated within the facilities.  It began a series of hunger strikes, and the inmates refusing to don the prisoner's garb, thus only wearing their blankets.

 Unfortunately, my camera died at this point, so I don't have photos from the Protestant side, or our last night in Belfast. But it was very informative and sobering tour.

That's all for now! Keep looking back for new updates, I have been having some great adventures in Edinburgh to share later this week.  Also, my 3-week long spring break is coming up where I will be traveling to Berlin, London, Barcelona, Malaga, Vienna, Budapest and Ljubljana.  Definitely will be updating a lot during that time!

love,
The Sheepish Traveler

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