Belfast, The Walled City

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So I arrived in Belfast yesterday, and was greeted by some cloudy, misty weather. I arrived at the hostel, checked in, and then headed into the city centre to check out the tourist office and book my tour to the Giant's Causeway. They also had a big souvenir shop in the tourist office, so I thought that I would check out other shops and then maybe come back. Shops here seem to be open a little later than in England, until about 7pm, or at least on a Wed. night. I also saw the funniest of sights.... TIM HORTON'S COFFEE! It wasn't a regular restaurant or anything, but they were selling Timmie's coffee and donuts at the Spar convenience store, in at least two Belfast locations. What a surprise!

I thought last night that I had the whole room to myself, seeing as no one else had checked in by midnight, but I was wrong. I was just falling asleep around 12:30ish when a key in the lock was turned, lights were turned on, and then a bit of an exclamation of "Il y a quelqu'un la!" I had three new roommates, all French, who arrived by a late flight and made their way to the hostel in the rain. Anyway, they quickly turned off the light, and tried to get themselves organized in the hallway. Unfortunately for me, I did open my eyes a few times, and was greeted with the sight of the 50-60 year old man walking around in his bikini underwear. Don't these people realize that others will see them???? EEEEEEWWW! Good thing I wasn't wearing my glasses, or I would have been blinded.

Anyway, today I decided to wander around the city centre again, this time taking photos and seeing the sights. I think I saw most of them. No one was doing a walking tour on a Thurs., so I went out on my own. I also hit a shopping mall for a short time, and discovered a T.K. Maxx, sister to T.J. Maxx in the States. How funny! I used the washroom (for free, 'cause over here some places charge you) and then wandered around again. Good thing I brought my waterproof jacket, because all day long it was either misty rain or light drizzly rain. Yuck.

By 4pm, I wandered back to the hostel, deciding against trying to find the castle. Good thing I did, because I met two American guys, Colin and J-something (I can't remember his name!) and they were planning to take a Black Taxi tour, something I had wanted to do. It drives you around to the Protestant and Catholic murals and gives you the background and history of the problems that have plagued Belfast for the last almost 100 years, though really bad just for the last 40 or so. What a neat tour! I had considered going on my own by bus if I couldn't find anyone to share the cost with, but I lucked out. The tour was really interesting, and it probably saved me a ton of time and effort trying to figure out where they were. I never realized that there was a wall with gates that close every night (even now!!!) and are locked by police, or that there were watchguard towers throughout the city. I now have a very different feeling about the city than I did have yesterday.....

Tomorrow I'm off to the Giant's Causeway, the Carrick-a-dede rope bridge, Derry and a photo stop at a castle. I'm really looking forward to the day trip! I have no idea what I'm going to do on Sat. though, now that I've seen some of the murals in the city. There isn't a ton in Belfast to see, and I don't think that there are too many tours available to go other places in the nearby countryside. I have realized though, that to make my 10:40am flight, and grab the bus to the airport, I will probably have to get up and out of the hostel by 6:30am. Yikes! I may turn that into a baseball cap day..... 😉

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Comments

[michelle]

the black taxi tour sounds interesting...looking forward to seeing your photos soon! enjoy the rest of your trip :) m