Megan in Ireland - v. 2.0 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2003-10-06: Belfast - Trip numero uno So, now that I am on programme, I actually have access to computers during the day, and so I can type this up on one computer and then post it on the one with internet. So, ta da...the Belfast posting. I can't even remember when it was that I went to Belfast, but it was a while ago. I thought that since I am going to Belfast this weekend, I better put together some kind of posting now. So, there was a group of Global volunteers down to Glencree (the ones that pay to come and volunteer for two weeks), and there is a trip to Belfast for them on one of the weekends that they are here. The opportunity arose for me to join them, and so I hitched a ride with them to Belfast. We went to the Farset (hotel/hostel) where we met up with Margaret Rose (former intern from Belfast). Margaret Rose had invited me to stay with her, so I thought that would be great. She lives in the Falls which is the Catholic/republican/nationalist side of Belfast, and the name of the Protestant/Unionist/Loyalist area is Shankill (this is derived from the two roads which run parallel to each other), in East Belfast. This is where the fighting was most predominant, and where "peace" lines and walls still run. This is also the area with all the murals that you would often see in the media. Margaret Rose is in her mid-20s, so she grew up right at the height of the troubles, and told me that she didn't find anything unusual about her life until she traveled to the USA and talked with people about her life in the north. So, the first night, Margaret Rose gave me a lift to her house, and then her boyfriend, Cormac, came and collected us and we went on a brief tour of some of the P/U/L areas to see the murals and the public display of nationalism (such as flags everywhere) and the C/R/N areas and then to a few bars. First we went to a local (ie C/R/N) pub, then to the Europa (the most bombed hotel in Europe), then to the Crown (a really old and interesting pub), and then to a club right downtown which was really cool. The next morning, I met up with the Globals at the Farset after Margaret Rose and I brilliantly attempted to turn her daddy�s car into a water-loving vehicle by driving it through a giant river left from a fire hydrant which had been opened the night before. Actually the night before was the C/R/N equivalent of the July 12th marches and bonfires. �Luckily� the IRA decided it wasn�t in favour of the people showing the bonfire kind of support, so they went around policing that evening. And thus my first night in Belfast ends. So, anyway, we eventually managed to get me to the Farset. Then I went with the Globals to check out a P/U/L store, and then above it to meet with Frankie Gallagher who is a member of the UPRG (P/U/L). Then we went for a bite to eat in downtown Belfast, and then off to the city hall where we met with representatives from the PUP (P/U/L), SDLP (C/N/R), and the UUP (P/U/L). By the way, my classifications are highly simplified - I will have long discussions with all of you when I get home in an attempt to impart my wisdom I�m sure (lucky you). Then Margaret Rose picked me up and we went walking around downtown Belfast a bit. Then she had to go home and get ready to go to work, so I came with her and got ready to go out. Cormac and some of his mates came and picked me up and we went to a club inside the Odyssey complex called the Beach. Oh my gosh we had so much fun!!! They bought my drinks all night, and the staff did crazy dances (think Coyote Ugly) and there were super short mini skirts and crazy 80�s heels. The only other girls were from Italy (?), so we danced up a storm. Seriously though, have you ever tired to understand a Belfast accent in a loud club after a few drinks - yah, not so easy. Cormac, one of his friends, Margaret Rose and I went on a bit of a road trip the next day up the beautiful Antrim coast. Wow, some of the pics! They all thought I was mad because I would see water and want to be in it really desperately. Then we went to the Carrick-a-Rede rope bridge which is a suspended bridge high above the ocean used to cross from the mainland to a small island. Next we drove to the Giant�s Causeway which is a really amazing rock formation caused by lava bubbling up in hundreds of cylindric shapes at the edge of the ocean. We ate lunch that day in a pub - with a pint to wash it down of course. Then we headed back to Belfast to try to find a place to eat dinner, but all that was open was a Chinese food place. So, we had Chinese which was fantastic! The next day Margaret Rose took me for a day of shopping and hanging out in Belfast. We had a real Ulster fry (they even fry the bread!), which tasted so good. Then we walked around Belfast and ended up in a pub in the middle of the day, where we met up with a real live P/U/L who was actually friends with Margaret Rose, the C/R/N (oh my gosh!!!). So I had a few pints and then got on the bus to go home, and realised that I was a wee bit drunk and really had to pee. Bad combo = have to pee + bus ride. Anyway, I made it home happily and my Glencree family picked me up at the DART, and I realised how much I missed them (and not just Warren)! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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