Ireland - Day 16 (Friday 4/14/2006)

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From Ballygally it was a nice leisurely drive south along the coast to Belfast. I have to admit, the thought of hanging out alone in Belfast did make me a bit nervous, but looking back, it was a great experience. I made my way into town and tried my best to get as close to the center as possible. After a bit of trying, I gave up and parked.

But hey, guess what? I was right down the street from the bus tour I had signed up for. Lucky me! So I hopped on the bus tour and enjoyed the ride. I’ll say it again: there is no better way to get a feel for a city in such a short time than to take a bus or walking tour.

All in all, Belfast is a great city, even with all the signs of “the Troubles” around. The battle between the Protestants and the Catholics is still going on today, but not anywhere near as badly as in the past, when the “Peace Walls” were truly necessary. These were huge walls that were used to separate the two groups of people, and you’ll see these throughout the city. Strange.

Probably the most impressive thing about Belfast is all the painted murals on the buildings. These paintings vary in content, though most are admittedly about the troubles or are political in nature, but they are pretty much all very well done.

Another cool thing I saw from the bus was this giant fish statue which apparently had the history of the city on it. Of course, trying to find it once I got off the bus was another story. After walking around for quite some time, I was able to find it and snap a few photos. This thing was cool.

What’s the one thing everyone wants to do in Belfast? Have a pint, of course! But I couldn’t. It was Good Friday. Oh well, the food was good, though. So I dropped all my books off at some used book store, hopped in the car, and left for the drive back to the Dublin Airport.

The drive was uneventful, and a lot quicker than I thought, so when I arrived at the airport I was too early to check in. So I waited. And then I was able to check in, but I couldn’t check my bags. What’s up with this place? And then I misplaced my bag of presents. Now I’m really upset. Luckily I found them later at the airline counter.

The VAT places were closed, so I just waited at the terminal for my uneventful flight into Gatwick, where I took the tram to the south terminal, then the Gatwick Express to Victoria Station, and then the tube to Baker Street, where I met a drunken Kelly and Derek. A long walk back to their flat and I was able to deliver to them my old DVD player that I’d been lugging around Ireland for 16 days. How many people can say that their DVD player has seen all of Ireland?