Blogs from County Antrim, Northern Ireland, United Kingdom, Europe - page 38

COUNTY ANTRIM IS ONE of the territorial counties in Northern Ireland where you could find several interesting places to explore. One of them is the coastline where two well-visited tourist attractions could be found, namely: the Giants Causeway and the Carrick-a-Rede hanging bridge. Aside from these attractions, there are beautiful beaches and parks found in the county which I will also covered in my travel blog in the near future. In this journal, thru my photographs I mainly focused on the amazing formation of the Giant's Causeway as a world heritage site in Northern Ireland. There are interesting features associated with this Giant such as the camel, the granny, the wishing chair, chimney tops, giant's boot, and the organ which could be seen in the photographs. Often referred as the 8th wonder of the world, the ... read more

Due to Travelblog's system failure, this article had to be re-published. Apologies, apologies... and Hi from London Blind History Ireland’s warm apple pie with a dollop of fresh cream was Belfast. I went into the city ignorant. I couldn’t recall any knowledge, any history or awareness except snippets of conflict and violence. Nothing in my textbook days could inform me of the current issues within the region. I remember the stress on American history… and American history. I remember creating colorful cornucopias around meals with friendly, newly arrived Europeans and hospitable natives dressed in tan loin clothe. I remember the civil war between the north and south and the abolition of slavery. I remember the World Wars, the Cold War, the presidencies within and between, and the Vietnam War (called “The American War” by Vietnamese in ... read more

Woke up feeling semi-refreshed. Would've been much better without the 2 hour alarm interlude. Noted that my jeans and bra were still rolled up besides my runners, just in case... Stepped into the shower, and I'm really not leaving here now. Rain shower head. Ahhhh. After pampering myself a bit, I head down for breaky. A hot Irish breakfast is included, and Black & White Pudding is once again on the menu. Still not going there! Very windy today, and it's sunny one minute, and rain showers the next. Walked around the main area of town. Belfast city (downtown) is actually quite small. It's a real mix of new and old. Can't say that there is anything distinct about it. Wide streets, and while at first it looks clean, you would be shocked by the ... read more

I finally made it to Belfast and to the hostel after the usual unguided lap of the city. Just when I thought that Dublin was good Belfast has snuck on in there. After arriving a little late into town I went in search of food, not wanting to dine on the finest kebebs that Belfast could offer the choice was down to KFC. Oh well it had to happen sooner or later. The hostel was conveniently located around the corner from the Golden Mile or one of Belfast's main pub strips. This was a handy distraction to have around the corner. After the usual menial tasks, it was time to venture out and see what Saturday night in Belfast had to offer. From first looks the bar looked good, all the Hens nights that didn't make ... read more

We made it up to Belfast Thursday morning. Since there aren't a lot of sights to see -- just Northern Ireland joie de vivre -- we decided just to spend a day here, before heading up to the more scenic coastal areas. Sadly, since this is technically a British territory, we have to spend Pounds here... and the exchange rate is even worse than that of the Euro (two to one). But besides that, everything else is dandy. There's a lot of energy here right now, with the ruling Protestant unionist powers now sharing the government with the Catholic Republicans. Just two days ago, the leadership was sworn in. Will it bring an end to decades of violence and hatred? Maybe even the eventual reunification with the Republic? Who knows. But there's a sense of optimism ... read more