Ireland - Day Four

Yesterday, was the day trip up to Belfast. I had always wanted to visit this city, but didn't know if or when I would ever get to go. Enter Paddywagon Tours. They offered a cheap one day trip package up there with stops in Drogheda and at Monasterboice. The buses are Kelly green with leprechauns emblazoned on them. Really obvious and bizarre. Unmissable, really.

I was able to catch a quick nap on the way to Drogheda, falling in and out of consciousness as the bus driver gave his spiel about the counties we were driving through and what we were going to see at our destination. Our first stop, St. Peter's Church, we were given about 15-20 minutes total to visit and see the remains of Oliver Plunkett. His head is the highlight and I was surprised that it's just out there in the sanctuary for everyone to see. If you regularly attend services at this church, you might possibly end up sitting in a pew that has a direct view of his relics, and his head! Too creepy.

Our next stop, outside of Drogheda, was Monasterboice monastery. The sun was out in full force. This was picture perfect considering there were lush green open fields surrounding the monastery. Our group was fairly small and we had the place to ourselves, making it out just as one of those mega tour buses pulled up.

We arrived in Belfast a half hour early. This worked in our favor because we now had more time to spend there. We arrived in the city centre and transferred over to the Black Cab tour, which took us to both the Shankhill and Falls Road areas of Belfast. What I saw will stay with me forever. Shankhill Road is the Protestant (or loyalist) section. Falls Road is the Catholic (or nationalist) section. The murals were fascinating, some of them very disturbing. Our tour stopped at the Peace Wall. It was amusing to be handed markers and crayons and told we could write on the wall.

We returned back to the centre with a few hours to kill. I had become chummy with some of the group so we headed to the Victoria Square Mall to see the city from the observation dome. Our group then split up and myself and another person walked over to the Crown Pub. On our way there, we passed a woman with who appeared to be her daughter. This kid was probably no older than six. Passing by them, the woman was scolding her, hissing "stop being a little wench!". We were flabbergasted. Because of time restrictions I ordered only tomato soup. As delicious as it was, I sorely regretted not getting the Irish stew that passed by me. The Crown is a historic Belfast pub and it's stunningly gorgeous inside. Across the street is the Europa Hotel, which has the distinction of being the most bombed hotel in Europe.

We had a little time to kill over by the pick up spot and listened to the symphony warm up for the BBC Proms that were taking place on the lawn of city hall. We ended up getting back to Dublin early, giving me time to eat at Beshoff's and get ready to go out.

My time in Belfast, though short, further enriched my trip to Ireland. It was quite the learning experience. Seeing some of the differences in partitioned country was eye opening for what little I saw.