Francis Court Hotel Newry

Went shopping in Belfast (cheaper in the north) and was surprised to find an Auntie Anne's pretzel store in a Westfield Mall. I must admit I was so excited about having a pretzel but no one who really knows me would not be surprised since pretzels are one ...

We hit Giants Causeway and Dunluce Castle today, which is a huge castle
that literally fell of the side of the cliff while people were in it
waiting for their meal. It was pretty cool to see, then we drove the
entire Coastline which was unreal. It was soooo cold and rainy and
windier than ever today, yet still there were a million ...

... company signed a 9000 year lease when they first commenced brewing all those years ago, so i guess they have a bit of time to worry about rent increases! The storehouse itself is magnificent - the museum, complete with interactive displays weaves up 6 levels, culminating at the Gravity Bar, completely encircled with glass, complete with a complimentary Guiness for everyone. OK so i admit, i cheated and only had a pot of Guiness, but for a non beer ...

... t think. Cut Copy are playing at Stiff Kitten tomorrow night plus it's a friends 21st so its shaping up to a above standard night. Dad sent over my british passport yesterday, and him and Dylan filled the bag with extra random suprises which got me all excited and missing home. Like always, hope everyones good and well. Until next time... P.S - I've added a few random pictures for your viewing pleasure. Prease enjoy.

... supported the peace deal between the warring factions, or if it signified that someone in the home died during The Troubles. It was incredibly sad and moving to see how these literal neighbors next door hated one another so much that it came down to killing each other. I couldn't imagine how terrifying it must have been to be out walking through town for your daily produce, and not know if you would make it home that day because of violence.

... escaped. The escape stories were great - one guy just got up on the huge high brick fence, walked along it and climbed down at a corner. Another managed to escape from the court house on the other side. Three escaped from the shower area (under law all prisoners must be showered and disinfected upon entry to prison) by pulling a gun, dressing themselves as guards and walking straight out the front door. My favourite was the guy who climbed over a fence and escaped all the way ...

I saw the Queen from a great distance today. I was walking from my room to the archives when I noticed that the closer I got to Queen's University, the more I was outnumbered by police officers. There were helicopters hovering in the air and rows of riot vehicles parked along the street, which is not a good sight in Belfast. But I remembered that the Queen was in Northern Ireland for the weekend and I ...

... and after ten minutes she came back out. Now RyanAir as a company are notorious for ****ing up and charging you more, so my wallet was ready, ready to buy three tickets back to London, and then came the hit, RyanAir would give us three free tickets on the first flight back to London the next morning. Yes it was going to cost us a night in a hotel, but we did get something out of it. Yes we kind of ****ed up, but it won't happen again, trust me, I learn from my mistakes !!!

... a really great day. It was well worth the 18 quid for the tour. Today, I went on the famous Black Taxi Tour of Belfast. Normally I'm not much interested in politics and such but the history was really fascinating. We went past the "peace wall". Think the Berlin wall except there are gates that open and close on a part-time basis separating the Catholic and Protestant areas of Belfast. They open from I think it was 8 am to ...

... particular Protestant areas seemed poorer in comparison to the Falls Road, the terraced houses were generally not as well looked after, some of the shops were boarded up and there was a lot of litter piling up in the streets. The murals were much more foreboding too, almost exclusively glorifying Loyalist paramilitary groups with paintings of balaclava-clad men pointing machine guns in a show of strength for the Loyalist cause.

I found these places just as ...