Well it has been a very long time since I've posted so first of all, sorry! I still haven't stopped moving and it's been almost two and half months! For the past two weekends I have crossed borders and the Irish Sea to see a few great cities and one incredible natural wonder of the world, Giants Causeway. Two weekends ago was Belfast and Northern Ireland, and I just returned from Scotland on Sunday afternoon. There was a lot of activity and sightseeing so get your seat belts on, this could be a long one! First up: Northern Ireland.
Our trip to Belfast and Giants Causeway was a trip sponsored by our program from Arcadia University. We paid 40 euro for the whole weekend which included almost all meals, transportation, and a hostel for the weekend; it was a great deal. Upon our arrival at the Belfast Youth Hostel, we were given one piece of rather frightening advice. Eileen, one of the chaperones from Arcadia stated, "One piece of advice that must be followed: Do not go into The Royal Pub. It is potentially unsafe and dangerous." So after those comforting first words in Belfast, we exited the bus and of course, our hostel was across the street from The Royal. Good thing they let us know before some of us naive Americans wandered in there unknowingly. So once we were settled in our hostel rooms we explored the city a little bit. Queens University Belfast was really nice and the area surrounding the university was very cool. When we got down to the city center, it was pretty underwhelming. In all honesty, Belfast was kind of a boring city. It was nice, and City Hall is a really cool building, but other than that, there's not much to see. We did stumble on a cupcake cafe that made amazing cupcakes though, so that was a good find.
Saturday morning, we boarded the buses early and headed even further north to Giants Causeway. In fact, it's as north as you can get in Ireland. As we climbed up some hills and winding roads, I caught my first glimpse of the coastline with the sun shining down and not a cloud in sight. It was the perfect day for this trip. We got a tour guide and headed down along the coast. She told us all the stories of Finn McCool and his family and adventures as a giant. She pointed out his house, his giants pet camel, and even his massive boot which he must've left behind. Finally, she showed us his most prized creation: Giants Causeway. We ventured up onto the hexagonal stones, perfectly shaped and stuck to one another. It was really a fascinating sight. After several pictures and some time staring out at the Atlantic pondering life's big questions, we continued the tour underneath the cliffs. Then came the fun part, climbing the winding staircase up those cliffs back to the buses. Once we reached the top, the panorama was breathtaking.
After a night out on Saturday at a few pubs, we went to bed and woke up Sunday for the last part of our weekend. First, we went to a presentation on the political murals around Belfast, given by a sociology professor at Queens University Belfast. The talk was really interesting and opened my eyes to further details of the longtime struggles in N. Ireland. After the talk we hopped on our buses once again and took a tour of the city. We traveled into "loyalist" territory and took pictures of some murals, and also spent some time in "nationalist" territory for some more photo-ops. One very special stop on the tour was the Belfast shipyards where we saw the Titanic's final resting place before she departed for her fateful journey. The dock in which she was built and designed is absolutely massive. It was incredible to think that 100 years ago, Titanic was sitting only feet from where I stood.
Overall it was another great experience. It seems I've been having only good experiences since I've been here so I can't complain at all. While Belfast wasn't my favorite city, the sights we saw were pretty fascinating and I don't think I will ever forget overlooking the ocean atop the cliffs at Giants Causeway. Just another memorable time in my semester here. I can't believe how lucky I am to be on this incredible journey.
Thanks to everyone for reading. Hope all is well across the pond!
Conor
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