A mural in Londonderry depicting the "troubles" in Northern Ireland
Londonderry
Murals of Londonderry
Cavehill, Belfast--the inspiration for the novel Gulliver's Travels. The author thought it looked like a giant sleeping on the countryside.
The beautiful beach at Castlerock, the town where Claire's cottage is located.
These next pictures are all from the Giant's Causeway. This is an amazingly beautiful place--definitely one of the highlights of my trip. The rock formations are a result of volcanic activity. You'll see some pictures of tall, pillar like rocks; these are nearly all hexagonal. It was really cool to climb up and stand on the pillars. 
The tops of the hexagonal pillar rocks.
Queen's University, Belfast. My hostel was just down the road.
The Peace Wall in Belfast--this wall was put up to separate the Protestants and Catholics during the "troubles" and to minimize violence between the two groups. Things are better in Northern Ireland now, but the walls remain as a reminder of how fragile peace really is. The wall is covered with signatures--of both tourists and some famous people, such as the Dalai Lama.
Signing the Peace Wall
...and again.
View of Belfast from the bus
Feeling the wind on an open top double decker.
Statue outside Belfast Parliament
Belfast Parliament
The Titanic's Dry Dock in Belfast
Funniest thing ever--while we were on a bus tour in Belfast, this little boy ran out in his footy pajamas with a lightsaber and started yelling at the bus and swinging the lightsaber around!! This is a terrible picture but I just had to put it up!
Our hostel in Belfast--"Vagabonds"....
Keep checking for new pictures! Hopefully I'll have some up from Dublin, London, Madrid, and Barcelona in the next couple days.
Beautiful pictures...I especially like the rock formations (pillars and hexagonal rocks)
ReplyDeleteI hear there is an interesting legend behind "Giant's Causeway." Have you heard it?
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