We found some good craic!

This past weekend was our Belfast-Derry excursion. We made the long drive into Northern Ireland, switched our Euros into pounds, and soaked up the incredible history of a heartache-ridden region.

On Thursday, we stopped on our way at Strokestown Park House in Strokestown. It was designed to be an old farm house, so it wasn't nearly as fancy as the Muckross House we saw last week. It was, however, filled with authentic and original furnishings from the 18th century, which is unusual for a house like that. It is privately owned, so the upkeep was not super, but it was still a cool place to see. They also had a Famine Museum there, so I learned a little bit more about what they call "The Great Hunger." Fittingly, I had a baked potato lunch after that.

The drive to Belfast was a long one. We arrived at our hostel at dinnertime, found a great, cheap place to get food (Spice Island), and then explored the city of Belfast. It was a little sketchy at night, especially since we didn't know where we were going, and all of us knew that it was not the safest of cities. We ended up getting a tip from a guy at a pub that there was an awesome blues concert going on, so six of us went over to "The Empire," an old converted church, and listened to some great blues music.

On Friday, we took a tour of Belfast. Our tour guide filled us in on the history of some of the conflict. We visited both Loyalist and Nationalist areas, walked along one of the Peace Walls that divides the city, saw lots of murals (for which Belfast is famous), visited the dry dock where Titanic was built, and saw some of the now-developing areas of the city. Even 10 years ago, we wouldn't have been able to walk around some of the places we visited. It is incredible to think that people were literally living in war zones, and even more incredible to think that they are now living semi-peacefully.

After the tour, a bunch of us found some lunch at Wetherspoons. Our archaeology professor Jacqui O'Hara gave us a tip-off about this place - she said it was the cheapest food in town. Not only was it cheap, but it was delicious! They had a special two-meal deal: two meals for 6.69 (pounds). We assumed that the two meals would be smaller in portion size - NOT SO! I ate a full-size meal of both fish and chips and lasagna! It was delicious, but I regretted it afterward. How can you go wrong for 6 pounds, though? After lunch, the girls spent the afternoon shopping. I indulged (a little too much!) at H&M. I haven't been shopping in so long because I have been saving up for this trip. My aunts Sheila and Julie know all-too-well how much I love to shop, and Belfast was no exception!

That night, 12 of us met up to see "The Jungle Book" at the Grand Opera House. We saw a big banner for it and decided to check it out. We got a student discount (half price!), but we really didn't know what we were getting ourselves into. We assumed it would be like "Lion King." Turns out, it was actually a children's show, complete with audience involvement! We were definitely the creepy 20-year-olds in the balcony at a children's show. Oops! The funniest part, though, is that they did a song called "Jungle Boy," and it was full-fledged remix of "Soulja Boy." I'm pretty sure we were the only ones in the audience to get it! Needless to say, that provided plenty of joke fodder for the rest of the evening, which consisted of pub-hopping and more Spice Island (gotta take advantage of cheap food on these excursions!).

Saturday, we left Belfast and headed to Derry. On the way, we stopped at the Carrick-a-rede rope bridge, which is erected every year by fisherman to get across to an island. We made our way next to Giant's Causeway. It is a huge geological site with some of the most beautiful scenery we have seen yet. It consists of hexagonal rocks that were supposedly created by giants. For full lore, click here: Giant's Causeway

We didn't get to spend nearly as much time there as I wanted, but I am glad we visited.

Once we made it to Derry, we were supposed to have a tour of the city. Our tour guide never showed up, so instead we got a tour from a former professional tour guide who knew the people running our hostel. He was awesome! His name is Rory O'Hara, and he just happened to be the nephew of our archaeology professor! He took our whole group around the city and gave us a personal (and highly biased) view on the conflict during which he grew up. He is from the Bog Side, an area that was heavily attacked during "The Troubles." Now, like Belfast, Derry is more peaceful, but murals and underlying hostilities still fill the town. He said that people in the North can tell a Protestant from a Catholic just by looking at them. He also said, though, that it was never a Holy War - common misconception. It's about the land and identity between the Irish and the English. Heavy stuff. We went and ate at Wetherspoons in Derry for dinner (burger and drink for 4.40!) and then went to mass. Going to mass in Northern Ireland was pretty sweet! We talked to the priest a little bit afterward and he welcomed us very kindly to the city. We actually met up with our tour guide at a pub later that night, too, and got to talk to him a little bit more. Overall, Derry was a great city.

Yesterday, we made our way back south. It was a long bus ride, but we broke it up nicely by visiting Yeats's grave and Sligo, a town that has made its way to the top of my Favorites list. Funny thing: I heard "High School Musical" at a little French cafe in Sligo. You just can't get away from it! We also visited some more megalithic tombs, and I got this awesome photo that summarizes so much of what this trip has been:

It felt good to go back to Galway, get groceries, make our own dinner, and sleep in our own beds again last night. Today, it is windy outside and I have class in a couple of hours. I hope this long entry kept you at least semi-entertained! There is just so much going on that I want to share with everyone! We only have a 2-day weekend this weekend, and it will be nice to experience a full week of class and at the cottages.

Take care, everyone! As always, I love hearing from you!

P.S. In reference to this entry's title: In Ireland, "craic" (pronounced "crack") means "fun." We American college students kept hearing about "good crack" and were getting a little confused as to what it meant!