Best Western White Horse Hotel Derry

... some amazing stories. it was dark by the time we got there but it was very dramatic to see it at night. we walked up onto the walls and then down onto the bogs where all murals and the bloody sunday massacre was. it was quite haunting, just looking at everyones faces while he was talking you could tell that they were all pretty shocked. we went for a very cheap (compared to dublin) dinner with most of the tour group and then got an early night cause of our very early ...

... over to roaming. We arrived in Belfast the morning, and I had Bob Dylan blasting Vision's of Johanna as we rolled across the border. <br><br>Belfast is one of the strangest, and uncomfortable places that I've ever been to. A huge wall--the "peace line"--divides the residential areas of the city in half, with Irish Catholics living on one side and English Protestants on the other. This is where all the IRA violence (the Troubles) took place, and if you've ever had an "Irish Car ...

... 20,000). There are still about 400 Protestant folk who still live on the Catholic side, behind huge barbed wire fences, and they get pelted with rocks and bottles of urine on a daily basis. There continues to be conflict in Derry - it was origionally settled by Catholics, then during the reign of Elizabeth I, the land was given off to Protestant English folk (Derry is technically known as Londonderry). Nowadays, the Protestants are happy to be part of the UK, however the Catholics want ...

... afternoon. Giants Causeway was really neat and you can see the cool rocks in my pictures! That night we hopped on another bus to Balleycastle and we got a amazing room at our B&amp;B. We had 3 large bay windows over looking the ocean and from our window you could see Rathlin Island, Scotland, and some cliffs of Ireland. It was beautiful. That night we out to and eat then went to a pub and watch part of an Ireland ...

An interesting castle ruin. The main castle is on a rock. Part of the old kitchen fell into the sea. They built another block of buildings on the main land. <br><br>Afterwards, I climbed down to the base and saw the natural cave underneath the castle.<br>

... on a double-decker bus, which was also very focussed on the two important historical dates, and the strategic importance of Derry, and the impact it and its descendants have had on the world. The guide was VERY proud of Derry!!<br><br>In the afternoon, we watched Rog beat Andy 16-14 in the fifth. Poor Andy, but it was great to see Rog get his 15th slam, and afterwards, they had Rod Laver, Bjorn Borg, Pete Sampras and Rog, all together chatting &#8211; what a foursome, eh?

... and entertaining as he yelled in Irish. I would have enjoyed the game more if I had understood the announcer, but it was in Irish, although I can't complain too much due to the atmosphere it provided. I ordered some pasta and relaxed for a while. I headed out in search of a hat for the next few hours, but ended up chasing ghosts around town. I did get the layout of the city, but no hat to speak of. The search will continue in Galway next weekend. Love to all, especially MRM, Cait

I hate beginning these entries- I never know what to say to start them off. Anyway, we just left Derry and had a great time. This was our second couchsurfing experience and we went into it thinking no one could hold a candle to Brid for hospitality but Barry and Sionaid gave her a run for her money. We had a lovely room to sleep in, access to a bathtub the size of a pool and breakfast set our for us every morning. It was ...

... a decade before. But once we&#8217;d got to Derry it wasn&#8217;t long before the Nationalist Catholic/Unionist Protestant divide became clearly evident. Even the confusion of what to call the city is proof of that, whether it be Derry (the choice of Nationalists) or Londonderry (the choice of Unionists). From atop the intact early seventeenth century city walls that still surround the very centre of the city we looked down on the less ...

... modes of transportation form the pack horse, conestoga wagon to riverboats and railways used by the new immigrants. Survival &amp; Prosperity The emigrants' experience as they searched for their "New Eden." Contrasts of growing East Coast cities. Impact of the Ulster emigrants on US history. Could have stayed here for another hour, but aswe made our way past life size photos, a Conestoga ...