Beech Hill Country House Hotel Derry

... had lunch at a tiny cafe near the tomb, a very nice soup and sandwich! next we went to enniskillen, a town just over the border where we invested in some gumboots and visited the pound atm. we got to derry at about 5:30, dumped our bags at the hostel then walked through town to the diamond - the centre of town with a second hand war memorial statue - for a tour of the city walls and murals. our tour guide was really interesting, he'd lived in derry his whole life and ...

... and thought that if this is how big a baby was, the father and giant he came to fight must be massive. So he hightailed back to Scotland, tearing up the causeway so that he could not be pursued, and Giant's Causeway is all that's left of his bridge.<br><br>Northern Ireland, while on the Irish isle, is politically part of the UK. It's an open border, but at some point on the 2.5 hour bus ride the street signs change to miles, and currency changes to pounds, and your Irish cell phone ...

... out of the way - the hostel was shyte. No hot water, sharing with a squillion people (ok so there was 5 of us in a room), and half the bathroom doors didn't lock. Oh yeah, no toilet paper either - until i went to Tesco this morning and bought a truckload of the stuff, much to the appreciation of BOTH hostels who were out of the white rolls. <br><br>Derry itself is quite pretty. It's divided into two areas, (basically) the Catholic side (about 82,000) and the Prostestant side ...

... they&#8217;re moved apart.<br><br>We drove back to the Inishowen Peninsula and up to Fort Dunree, which is an old fort and military museum. I sat in the car and read while John played tourist. When he came back, we drove north to go through Mamore Gap, another high and winding road through two &#8220;hills&#8221;. There is a pilgrimage well just over the summit that is dedicated to St. Eigne. There was a cup to draw water from it, but the water was down quite a bit. We ...

... clothing. We left the exhibit quite sobered. Hannah was born at the same time as my great-great grandmother, and when I mentioned that to the woman at the center, she said it was a good thing that our Bridget Casey had emigrated. I agreed, because if she had stayed, I wouldn&#8217;t be here!<br><br>We decided to forego the drive out to Horn Head because of the strong winds. When we had stopped in Dunfanaghy, I couldn&#8217;t open the car door against ...

We walked into the old town of Derry, which is the only city in the British Isles which is completely surrounded by walls which are completely intact. And you can walk around them, so we did. Pretty cool, actually, as they have historical information all around them, and you learn as you walk. All the history is about the siege of the city in 1689, and the Troubles, which originated here in 1921, and were declared over a few years ago, as well.<br><br>Then we took a city ...

... errands, is something I won't forget. The pub I ended up in was named Sister Sara's, and it was, hands down, the prettiest pub I have been in yet. There was a giant chandelier over the wraparound, dark wood bar. Paintings hung in the hallways of regal looking figures, and ornate animals were carved into the bar and the benches. I ordered a pint of Guinness and sat down with a menu by a group of Irishmen yelling at the soccor game on TV. One bearded man was especially ...

... Derry at the Independed City Hostel. This was the hostel of awesomeness. We kinda want our house to look that way when we're older. The kitchen was lovely and we cooked ourselves dinner there. At night, we met up with some of the hostel owners and had a few pints. Great people, good craic! Next stop.... Belfast!

(Originally published at http://www.troysgonewalkabout.com)<br>< br>To me the only indication that we had crossed out of the Republic of Ireland and into the United Kingdom was that the speed-limit signs suddenly switched to miles per hour. But, given all the political turmoil over the allegiance of the six of the nine counties of Ulster that make up Northern Ireland, that was some signal that peace is more of a reality now than it has been ...

... in America (New Orleans) Many Young - convict. Failure &amp; Opportunity paintings and exhibits on population growth, religion, and famine. Transportation &amp; Migration The Journey depicts the Irish hardships getting to the pier. Waiting in Port Accommodations and conditions encountered before boarding. Railway Age starting in the 1840's. The Atlantic Passage of Sail and Steam America ...