Belfast and the Antrim Coast

Friday night in Belfast was hoping. We wandered down about 6:00pm and walked around. The first stop was the Crown Liquor Saloon. It is owned by the Heritage Trust and is a tradition city pub, complete with ornate carvings, a beautiful bar, little booths with doors that close for privacy, and lots of local characters. We managed to get into on of the booths and enjoyed some drinks.

Next we wandered around downtown and enjoyed the sights. City Hall was impressive. There was a large Ferris wheel standing there, like a little sister to the London Eye. We ended up at a more modern pub and had some snacks. We ate the largest fries (chips in the UK) I've ever seen and prawns on salad.

Saturday we headed up the Antrim Coast. The three things we wanted to see were the rope bridge at Carrick-a-Rede, the Giant's Causeway, and the Bushmills Distillery. All in all we were not disappointed. Both the Giant's Causeway and the rope bridge are part of the Heritage Trust and had admission charges. The weather was not pleasant as it rained, at times very heavy.

Sunday was a sunny day-my first since arriving here on Tuesday. Jack and I took another spin into Belfast. As touristy (is that a word?) as a bus tour sounds it was well worth it. The wind was still chilly but we sat in the top of a open air double decker bus. The tour covered the Holland & Wolfe shipyard where the Titanic was built (my favourite part of the tour). We also went by the parliament buildings, some historic sights, and spent quit a bit of time driving through the Catholic and Protestant parts of Belfast. The history surrounding what the Irish call The Troubles was interesting, along with the bombings, the courthouses, and the jails.

The city is divided up by Peace Walls that divide the two sides. In some cases the walls are over 70 feet tall. Even now the walls still stand and serve to keep the peace. There are also lots of interesting murals all over the place depicting fighters, victims, organizations, and others involved in The Troubles. They stand as a memory and a reminder to what happened. Another interesting point is that the Belfast Giants, the local hockey team, was brought to Belfast as a neutral sport to help the locals get behind a common team.

I'm going to try to post some pictures too but if this doesn't work it will have to wait until I get home.