Hastings Hotel Everglades 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 ...

... 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 ...

... be part of the republic of Ireland. Derry is also the site of the Bloody Sunday massacres, where peaceful protests were being held, the British Army came in and shot at least 14 people dead, and wounded more. We had a walking tour of Derry and got to check out more beautiful murals. Now i don't have the answers, or the soloution, but i'd like to think that one day people could just get along. <br><br>Off to tea, found a cheap cheap place with jugs of cocktail for £7 and then to bed. <br>

... no trail marked. <br><br>We then drove across the border to Northern Ireland and into the town of Derry (Irish) or Londonderry (Northern Irish or British). The old city of Derry is encompassed by walls that are 18 feet high and 20 inches thick. They were built in 1614 and 1619 and they have never been breached. It&#8217;s possible to walk around the city on the walls, and we started our walk just as a rain cloud passed over. We went into a coffee shop for a while, then John ...

... tomorrow.<br><br>We sorted our laundry in case we found somewhere to wash it, and then packed up the car. We drove past the Bloody Foreland, where a short cliff of red rock runs into the sea. At sunset, the sea reflects the red color. Legend has it that the sea is colored with the blood of the sailors who died in the wrecks of their Spanish galleons.<br><br>We drove again through fields of peat bogs and purple heather. Donegal is incredibly beautiful. It ...

... br> <br><br>I thought I was going to keep up my tremendous habit of being sick whenever we go away as we drove through the winding roads back to Belfast. Fortunately I fell asleep so avoided the dubious honour of chundering yet again. I woke up in Antrim, where we stopped at Tesco to buy goodies to take home - soda and wheaten bread, yey :)<br><br>Then we ...

... It was absolutely jaw dropping hearing all of his stories, and realizing that this isn't ancient past, this is recent past.This is past that this man lived through. It was a little mind boggling for me to have itso blatantly smacked up side my head just how lucky I've had it in Canada growing up insuch relative safety. Can you imagine living in a time where riots were almost daily? Living in a time where you could be thrown into jail justbecause it was ...

... trips/group trips to Blue Mountains etc) Melbourne for 5 days - possibly a week or more back to Sydney for a few days Fly to Carins Port Douglas &amp; Cape Tribulation Fly down to Brisbane Hire a car and come down the Gold Coast A few days in Coff's Harbour Train back to Sydney Phew!!!

... for dinner. I had heard that folks in the North were even friendlier than those in the Republic, and Seamus, the young guy behind the counter in the local fish and chip shop, was proof of that. While cooking up our fish he talked up a storm, chatting to us like we were long-time regulars, and bidding us farewell like we&#8217;d see him again next week. Good luck with the dream of getting to Perth for Christmas 2006 to see your cousins, Seamus!

... Gate to enter the walled city. A short two blocks and we are center city at "The Diamond" and then the hotel. It's a quick check-in. Our keys are being handed to us as we leave the bus. We have 10 minutes to run to our room, freshen up and get down to the Bistro at the Towers dining room for a presentation by the Derry Visitors and Convention Bureau. Then dinner. Derry was one of the sites ...