To Belfast!

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Luckily, I could sleep a bit this morning because my first train wasn't until 9:33 am. I got up at 8:30, took a quick shower and was on my way. Walking to the train station I ran into someone I knew! What are the odds?!? Especially since at 9 am this city is still asleep. It was Basel, who we'd last left in Perth. I stopped for a second to say hi and meet his friend Wendy and was on my way. The train ride to Glasgow was a strange one. There were a lot of older, louder people on it and I was just irritated. When I walked into the coach the place got quiet. Strange, maybe their not used to seeing young people. I had no choice to where I sat though because this train was required reserve seating. I awkwardly waved 'hi' and took my seat. At Glasgow I quickly walked from Queen's station to central station and continued to Stranear Bay where I needed to catch the ferry. We arrived and I went through security and checked my backpack. The guy assured me that I wouldn't want it on board. He was right. the ferry was like a mini, moving mall. A cruise ship. There were restaurants, arcades, casinos, nail saloons, movie theaters, etc. IT was pretty insane.
I grabbed a quick bite to eat and sat by the window at a table with an older lady, Dennice. She slept much of the ride and I just stared out the window and people watched. The ride across the Irish Sea was only an hour 45 minutes. We finally arrived and I got my bag from baggage claim. I was in Northern Ireland! I hopped on the shuttle bus to the train station because it was free, not because I wanted to go to the train station/bus station. From there I followed the directions to Paddy's Palace hostel and checked in. I met some of my roommates Tim, Simon, Rachel and we hung out in the lounge discussing each others trip. I was so tired, I called it an early night. But not before exploring Belfast. I went to the carnival at City Hall and walked around admiring the murals. I went to Europa Hotel which was bombed over 50 times. You could tell that this city has recently been through a lot. I didn't for a second feel unsafe though. The people seem genuinely happy. Since it was a Sunday, much of the shops and places were closed. The mall which by the dress of many of the locals seems to be the big thing. I've never seen a religious city that had so many tight skirts and low cut shorts in the middle of the day on Sunday. This wasn't just the younger generation, middle aged women as well. I tried to buy my train ticket early, but they don't accept credit cards on Sunday's because the bank is closed. I'm not used to this, because in the US, banks are basically 24/7. I walked to each of the Cathedrals. St. Anne's stood out the most to me. I wanted to get to the peace wall, but it was getting late and I wanted to sleep. I was exhausted!

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