Northern Ireland

• Janellh's Profile
• About this blog
• Entry from Belfast

Trip Start Unknown Previous
Entry Trip End Ongoing Next
Entry

  Belfast, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom
Thursday, April 10, 2008

Belfast.
04/04/08
I had to take a ferry as it was the cheapest option at such a late notice.  I had to first cross the river through an underground train to get to the actual coast.  Then I walked 20 minutes to the ferry docks.  Turns out I was one of a whopping 2 people that were foot passengers; everyone else had a car with them on the ferry.  The ride was 5 hours long so I had plenty of time to sleep.  Which is what I did.  The ferry was nice.  We got a complimentary lunch.  There were also a few bars and a cinema, but both of those things cost money so I didn't bother with them.  Instead I slept, and watched a little league rugby on the tely.    When we got close to the shore you could see the high and hilly land by the sea.  It was patched into different sized squares of rich green divided by dark green bushes or fence.  It was really pretty.  We eventually docked in Belfast and as I got off the shuttle to the terminal my friend was waiting for me outside.  David was so nice to take me in for a few days and become my tour guide (although he wasn't the best at it, he was still fun to hang out with) 
            We didn't go straight to Belfast first.  Instead we drove to the northern coast and stopped for the night in Portstewart in County Derry, or Doire (Gaelic spelling).  We stayed in a hostel that was more like a bed and breakfast because it felt like you were in somebody's home.  It was a very friendly atmosphere.  As soon as you walk out the door and turn to your left, BAM!  There's the sea!  It was right there.  And it was gorgeous.  Cold though, and very windy, but brilliant.  We arrived around dusk so we walked along some large rocks not far from other rocks where the waves were crashing.  I tried to take pictures but a lot didn't come out because it was getting dark.  I noticed the air right away.  It was so crisp and clear with the scent of sea salt.  I took deep breath after deep breath to try and savor it.  We then walked down to the main street with restaurants and pubs and ate some fish and chips and enjoyed a couple pints in a low key pub.  It was interesting because David explained to me a lot of Northern Irish history.  (The majority of my trip would end up being a huge lesson in history and politics) which made it very interesting and made me glad I had a local friend. 
 
05/04/08
The next morning David and I headed off eastward down the coast towards Portrush.  The road we were on for most of the ride followed the coast and you could always look out and see the rocky shore with the crashing waves, and there was always something interesting in the green between the road and the shore.  I had David pull over a few times so I could get a good look and some pictures!  After a while he started teasing me for being so amazed by grass and rocks.  I took a lot of pictures of rocks.  He didn't get it.  That's okay.  The grass was really long and cushy, it was almost springy when you walked on it.  There weren't really many bugs at all so you could lay on it and it would feel like a mattress, but green and tan.  It looked amazing on the hill sides when the sun would hit it at different angles and make it look like glowing waves of grass.
            Another place I had him stop at was the Bushmills Whiskey Distillery in County Antrim.  We didn't go on a tour inside but we walked around a bit outside and went into the gift shop.  I just got a chocolate bar with alcohol in it.  It was a nice place.
            We eventually made it to our main destination- Giants Causeway. (I didn't realize it was called this until we got there, for a while before that I thought it was called Jane's Causeway because of their accent).  It was a beautiful natural structure of old volcanic rock that had formed hexagon shapes and cracks and made it look like honeycomb. The rocks come out of the ground and can be short or tall.  There is a section that forms a little hill and you can climb to the top.  After taking pictures and climbing a bit, we followed a trail around to another formation called the Organ.  The hexagon rocks were set at the side of cliff and towered to the very top.  It was really cool.  There is a myth that goes along with the rocks:  long ago Ireland was full of giants.  They were always fighting to prove who was the stronger giant.  And Finn McCool (or something?!) was the largest and strongest giant... until he heard that there was a stronger and bigger giant on the opposite shore in Scotland.  He decided he was going to build a bridge out of rocks to try and get to that other giant and challenge him to a fight.  He worked so hard and put all of the rock that are there down to make a bridge.  He eventually got really tired, and the other giants in Ireland noticed their chance to conquer him, so they threw him into the sea and he drowned.
In between the Giants causeway and the organ, was a small rock island that was all flat except for one large round rock that sat on top of it.  According to David that was the Giants Foot (going along with the Myth).  I was looking at the giants foot as he told me the story of the giant.   As we walked down a path though I noticed a cool looking rock but didn't say anything.  It turns out later that when we were in the gift shop I found a postcard of the Giants boot, and it wasn't what David pointed out at all, it was actually the interesting rock that I saw on our walk!   I couldn't help but tease him for that, and its still a joke between us about how he is such an accurate tour guide.  I forgave him though because he hadn't been there in 4 years and was having trouble remembering details.
ANYWAY after we viewed the organ we took a path up the cliffs towards inland.  It was a nice walk but it was really windy.  Nearly at the top we stopped and turned around to take a look at the cliff we had just trekked.  Right over the sea near some rocks was a rainbow!  I wanted to go find my pot of gold.  It was made just from the spray from crashing waves so it was faint but amazing.  After staring at it for a while we continued to the top  and stood at a peak and enjoyed the fabulous view of the sea and rocky shore, but we couldn't stay there for long because I would have gotten blown off the cliff!
At the top, with our backs to the sea we could see miles of patchwork green and white dots grazing around.  One of my favorite animals now is a sheep. They are so cute!  We walked down to one of the fields and trespassed through the gate so we could go get some pictures with the sheep.  We ended up sitting down on the cushiony grass in the sun and relaxing for a bit.  The sheep were so funny.  They would look at us with really curious but stupid looking faces and run away, then stop, turn around, and stare some more.  It was a comfortable moment in the grass in the sun surrounded by green fields and crisp sea salt air.     Unfortunately this is the moment that my camera ran out of battery, so I don't have any pictures of the rest of the day.  If I do have any its because David took some with his camera phone.
When we got back up to walk to the car we could feel the spray of the waves all the way up there!  It was something I had never felt before so it was really neat. 
When we made it back to the car we continued on driving towards Ballintoy Harbour.  It was a nice drive along the coast and then down this curvy road through houses.  One of the houses was built by an artist and he had a lot of windows put in all over the house in really strange places so that he could look out at the perfect view and capture it in his paintings.  At the bottom of the curvy road was a pier that you could walk along into the sea.  At that point we were cold tired and hungry so we were fine with just viewing everything from the car. 
After that short stop we went to the Carrick-A-Rede Rope Bridge on Larrybane Island.  It was a rope bridge connecting the main land to a small island.  It was quite scarry going across and looking down to see sharp rocks and cold crashing waves.  It was a light bridge on a windy day and was rocking back and forth more than I would have liked.  But I made it across!  On the small island was a little house on the edge that an old fisherman would live in during the day time while he was fishing.  On the Island you got to view the shore from the other point of view, and I appreciated the sunlight and shadows and the contrast they made on the patchwork land and the waves of grass.  It was beautiful. 
After safely returning to the main land, we made our way back to the car and were starving.  So we drove along the coast some more and into Ballycastle.  It was a nice little town along the shore and had some nice beaches and restaurants.  We went to a place called the Promenade Cafe and I had Irish Stew.  It was good but I didn't think it was any different from pot roast.  After we ate we walked along Ballycastle beach or Fairhead beach.  It was cold and we were being hit with a crisp wind so we didn't stay for long.  Just long enough to get a good look, hear some stories, and pick up some pretty polished rocks to take home as souvenirs (because im still a kid and love to collect pretty rocks). 
            We got back into the car then and started driving towards Belfast.  On the way though I made David stop one more time at what looked like old castle ruins.  There were things like that everywhere but I wanted to get a good look at it.  We just walked right up and were able to explore everything.   It wasn't a castle but maybe a fort or an old church?  It was surrounded by grave stones but the inside seemed like it was prison cells.  It had a courtyard in the middle that also had some grave stones in it./There were slits in the walls for shooting arrows.  It was amazing to get to just drive up to it and explore it as much as we wanted to.  YAY!
            After that we finally made it into Belfast and went to David's friends house where I would be staying for the night.  His friend had a lot of people over that night who were all really nice.  After drinking for a while and singing karaoke we went out to a club called M club.  It was there that I learned all kinds of Northern Irish dance moves.  My favorite and their staple move is Big fish Little fish Cardboard box.  It makes no sense but its fun to do.  Then there is change the light bulb, dig the garden, stack the shelves, and others.  And I was able to teach them some Illinois moves like the shopping cart, the lawn mower, the sprinkler (but they already knew that one)  and others.  It was great.  I also learned how to say SLANSHA when you cheers someone, because it means cheers everyone in Irish.  It was a really fun night and I was well welcomed by David's group of friends.
 
06/04/08
On this day I slept in, it was easy to do because the guys that lived there and everyone else that slept there couldn't move until late afternoon.  We took our time and they explained to me all of the political history of Ireland, Northern Ireland and Belfast.  It was very interesting but a lot to take in.  Eventually David and I got out of the house and into city center.  We spent a lot of time wandering to different shops trying to find me a disposable camera.  While we were doing this we noticed a lot of boys dressed in uniforms getting into groups in the street, and then they started marching.  It was the junior members of the orange party marching through the streets of city centre.  It was a really interesting event to just happen upon.  Pretty cool.  All the shops had closed down during it also, so we had nothing to do but stand and watch them.  It didn't last very long and within 10 minutes we could continue running around in circles trying to find a camera.
    After we FINALLY found a camera, we got on a tour bus and had a guided tour through Belfast.  The tour guide was really funny.  I got to get a grasp on the main areas of Belfast and they were all interesting to hear the story about that area. 
After the tour we met up with some of Davids friends at a pub to play pool, but all the pool tables were taken so we just sat and had a Guiness.  Oh the Guiness was so smooth and delicious! 
After that I went to a hostel and got myself settled in.  I was really tired and ready for a fine nights sleep.

07/04/08
The next day David had to work so I was on my own to explore the city.  I made it down to the hostel café that was cheap and really good and met two kiwi girls.  They were really nice.  After breakfast I headed out for some wandering around city centre.  On my way I recognized I had met in my hostel and noticed she was struggling with her luggage, so I stopped to help her but turns out she wasn't going to the airport like I thought she was, she was actually going to tour the city by herself too.  (She didn't know you could leave your luggage in the hostel luggage room).  So we ended up walking around together.  Her name is Jen and she is from Taiwan but studying in Newcastle England.  She was spending her spring break in Ireland and had been staying with a host family for a week in Newcastle Ireland before coming to Belfast.  She was really nice and really funny.  We walked to city centre to the town hall and farris wheel and took a lot of pictures.  We walked to the river that goes through Belfast called the Lagan River and appreciated the art and giant fish displayed there.  Then we walked and went into some churches.  Even the small ones looked amazing.  We then stopped into a café and ordered an Irish coffee.  Because we just had to try it once while we were there.  Then we went into an old theatre but didn't get a very good look.  After that we walked towards the Albert Clock which is a clock tower that actually has a 6 meter lean and leans like the tower of pisa.  Next we went to the University of Ulster art gallery to view an exhibit.  By then David was done with work and was able to meet up with us.  When we met up we went to St. Annes Cathedral (Belfast Cathedral) .  It was huge and had a giant steel needle that hung through a sun roof in the ceiling, so it looked like it was piercing the sky and could crash to the floor at any second.  It was different.  There were different rooms in the cathedral and one specific room was the chapel of unity.  It is meant for people of different religions to come and congregate in a peaceful setting.  David is really involved with the peace movement going on in Belfast and has held some music sessions and special events there.  (He is also a musician).  Once again it was nice to have a local guide that was a friend and could fully explain everything. 
            After the Cathedral we had to drop Jen off at the bus station and say our goodbyes.  Then is was just David and I again and he took me to his gorgeous University that he went to.  He studied law while at Queens University.  It is a beautiful old castle like building surrounded by other buildings that look like flats but are actually classrooms and lecture halls.  It was really pretty to walk through the area, and right behind it was the botanical gardens, but by the time we got there it was closed.
After that we headed towards his house.  I met his mom and his brothers and ate dinner with David and his mom.  She is a very sweet woman.  I got to try soda bread and potato bread, which is waaaay different than the American version of those things.  They were very good.  After dinner David and I went out to an old Irish pub with live traditional Irish music.  It was very touristy, but it was fun none the less.  I wanted to go out there and start Irish dancing!  For the most part I managed to keep myself from doing that, but there were other girls out there that were doing it but not really because they didn't know how, they were just throwing their legs around.  David and I did dance though.  Guys here are much more willing to dance than in the states!  It was a really fun time and once again the Guiness was wonderful.
Pretty soon though the night came to an end and the pub closed and it was time for me to end my last night in Ireland.  A good time I had!
 
08/04/08
I woke up in the morning in time to hurry and pack, grab some cereal, say goodbye to David's mom and run out the door.  I made it to the ferry just in time and hurried on, only to find out just as I got on the Ferry that I had left my phone at David's house.  OH NO.  So that was the end of that phone.  The ferry ride was long and I slept through most of it.  I got back into Liverpool, took the train back to the main land and walked to Emily's.  She opened the door as I came up the steps and we gave each other a big hug.  It felt like we hadn't seen each other forever.  She had been in Scotland with her parents and I was in Ireland.  So we had a lot to share and we just hung out for the rest of the night.  It was a very good trip.

Print this entry Share Belfast hotels

Previous Entry Next Entry