Background: Great Britain, the dominant industrial and maritime power of the 19th century, played a leading role in developing parliamentary democracy and in advancing literature and science. At its zenith, the British Empire stretched over one-fourth of the earth's surface. The first half of the 20th century saw the UK's strength seriously depleted in two World Wars. The second half witnessed the dismantling of the Empire and the UK rebuilding itself into a modern and prosperous European nation. As one of five permanent members of the UN Security Council, a founding member of NATO, and of the Commonwealth, the UK pursues a global approach to foreign policy; it currently is weighing the degree of its integration with continental Europe. A member of the EU, it chose to remain outside the Economic and Monetary Union for the time being. Constitutional reform is also a significant issue in the UK. The Scottish Parliament, the National Assembly for Wales, and the Northern Ireland Assembly were established in 1999, but the latter is suspended due to bickering over the peace process.
May 5th 2008Europe » United Kingdom » Northern Ireland » Ballycastle Jessica found out that Rathlin Island, which is just off the coast of Ballycastle, was the hiding place of Robert the Bruce, the (brief) King of Scotland. This became one of the infamous side trips su ... [full story]
May 4th 2008Europe » United Kingdom » Northern Ireland » Ballycastle Sunday was our travel day. We got a late start since we didn't get in until 2:30am. We skipped breakfast so we could sleep longer. We got up and packed everything so we could head out to Northern Irel ... [full story]
May 4th 2008Europe » United Kingdom » Northern Ireland » Belfast I'm finally out of Galway. Weirdly, it was very hard to leave. I had this sad little goodbye on a rainy day.
Before the goodbye though.... On Thursday I met a girl from Toronto named Agnes who was ... [full story]
April 26th 2008Europe » United Kingdom » Northern Ireland » Belfast Catching up on a blog we didn't get around to a few weeks ago now. Good place.
They say pictures say a 1000 words so there's no need for us to ramble on.
Stay tuned for the next episode of "Dav ... 15 photos[full story]
April 16th 2008Europe » United Kingdom » Northern Ireland » Belfast Last weekend five of the american girls and me went on a couple of tours up to northern ireland, into belfast and over to the giants causeway.
we had to be in dublin by 8 am, which meant leaving wh ... 17 photos[full story]
March 25th 2008Europe » United Kingdom » Northern Ireland » Antrim EASTER MONDAY (2008), NEWCASTLE, NORTHERN IRELAND. It was a non-working holiday and I joined for another walk organised by Whiteabbey Presbyterian Church where (sometimes) I also attend Sunday mass. ... [full story]
March 22nd 2008Europe » United Kingdom » Northern Ireland » Londonderry Leaving Derry, we headed north up to the coast. Our first stop was the Giant’s Causeway where Susie, Brooke, Sam and I took the scenic route along the cliff for some amazing views. The Causeway ... 30 photos[full story]
March 27th 2008Europe » United Kingdom » Northern Ireland » Belfast Hi there people,
After much pressure from Stace Coops we've hauled ourselves to the Internet cafe across the road and written a few blogs to keep you updated (it's only been 3 weeks Stace - gees!)
... 10 photos[full story]
March 24th 2008Europe » United Kingdom » Northern Ireland » Belfast It has been quite some time since my last entry and to friends and family at home I apologize for failing to keep you updated as things develop. To say that the past couple of months have been busy i ... [full story]
March 17th 2008Europe » United Kingdom » Northern Ireland » Londonderry I went to my first St. Patrick's Day parade today, so it seems fitting that my first one would be in Northern Ireland (don't hate me). It was really interesting and a lot of people were packed in to s ... 18 photos[full story]
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