Not gonna lie, interwebs, all of the recent dissident IRA activity in the North made me a little anxious/nervous/excited for our trip to the UK today.
The morning started early. Very early. And I think I’ve decided that one of the worst feelings is walking past a good quality cafe that’s closed, only to buy shitty coffee at a Centra and walk back to find the good quality cafe is finally open. That’s right, interwebs -- we had to be on our bus at 8:00AM. AM. That is not kosher.
The ride was good in that we all slept, and I had a moment where I felt like the psycho in Six Shooter and just randomly burst out “SHEEP” in the middle of conversation.
First things first, we went on this epically long mural tour through the Catholic side, then the Protestant side. Not gonna lie, I found it all amazingly fascinating, but it was freaking freezing (there was still snow on the mountains) and wouldn’t have minded staying on the bus. But nooooo ... you get the real experience when you can’t feel your face in the wind.
Then we went to the Transport Museum which was pretty sick because, ya know, the Titanic was made in Belfast. AND there were trains. Lots and lots of trains! We got to play and run around and feel like boxcar children and it was basically amazeballz ... and inside.
Next came lunch in a pub and the subsequent Ireland-England rugby match (of which I only watched the last 13 minutes). In lue of the game, Jaime, Emma, Kerry, Luca, John and I went walking through the City Centre and rode the FERRIS WHEEL! That’s right -- Belfast has a ferris wheel inspired by the London Eye (which is also amazeballz). And when I say we all went, I mean Kerry, Emma, Luca and I went because John and Jaime were scared. To put it bluntly, it was stunning. To see a city with such visible barriers and divides were really fascinating. It’s nothing like Dublin or any other place I’ve been.
On a heavier note: Belfast is definitely not the city I was expecting it to be. Honestly, it didn't feel like must of a city. Similarly to how Pyongyang is supposedly a "fake city," there is something about Belfast that just didn't feel real. City Centre was alive and kicking, like Grafton Street or O'Connell, but as soon as you walked out of that zone, we were met with artillery lines, a mortar wall, and military police. It's as if the entire city is all a charade.
On a heavier note: Belfast is definitely not the city I was expecting it to be. Honestly, it didn't feel like must of a city. Similarly to how Pyongyang is supposedly a "fake city," there is something about Belfast that just didn't feel real. City Centre was alive and kicking, like Grafton Street or O'Connell, but as soon as you walked out of that zone, we were met with artillery lines, a mortar wall, and military police. It's as if the entire city is all a charade.
Top Moment --
(in a Belfast pub)
John: Well maybe one day there will be a unified Ireland.
John: Well maybe one day there will be a unified Ireland.
Me: I’m pretty sure you don’t want to say that here. Just a thought.
So, until the next time I go to a still politically unstable country/province/state ...
-E
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