If you're on the shore, then you're sure not me-o

Hello again. I've had quite the week, so let's jump right into it! The hostel I was staying at in Belfast offers a free day tour of the Giant's Causeway, the Carrick-a-Rede bridge, and Derry, so I decided to do that on monday, and then just get off the bus in Derry for a few days. A free ride's a free ride right? The only problem was the bus driver was pretty cheesy, telling the same crappy jokes he obviously tells everyday. And man did he push having lunch at one particular restaurant. I say this without exaggeration...he repeated the same thing about lunch at the restaurant a minimum of 10 times within 2 hours. It became a bit of a running joke with my friend Dylan (the brit who came on the black taxi tour as mentioned previously). “Know anywhere good for lunch?” “I heard there was good lunch there. Oh yeah, where'd you hear that?” He was obviously getting at least a free meal out of it, if not more. Ah well. We started with the bridge, which has some amazing views along the path to it. It's a big rope bridge about 100 feet above the sea that leads to a little island. It was originally built by fishermen so they could cast nets off the island. It was a bit of a rip off to pay for crossing the bridge, but it was still pretty cool... it's very high up and the rope sways, so it's definitely not for the feint of heart! Next it was onto the giant's causeway, which has some corny folklore behind it, but really it's on a coast where volcanic eruptions occurred a long time ago, and formed some really cool rocks and formations. Very impressive. Then it was on to Derry. The group did a walking tour but I skipped out and set off for my Derry hostel.

If ever you're in Derry, go to the Derry City Independent Hostel... cleanest hostel I've ever stayed in. It was basically somebody's house, so it had lots of character, with plenty of cool decorations and a really nice atmosphere. I was planning on having a quiet night in for my first night, but the guy running the hostel came in and said a bunch of folks were going out, so out we went. Hit up a small pub with a couple guys who were playing some traditional folk/rebel music, which was awesome. And then the Irish carbomb happened. Not the drink... an actual car bomb. It went off around midnight when we were still out. It wasn't really close to the pub thankfully... about an 8 minute drive away. Naturally, hearing this, I became a little nervous at first, but it seemed to be pretty much business as usual for most of the locals. If something like that happened in Ottawa, the city would be shut down for days I think. So I decided to not worry about it since it seemed to be more about making a statement and disrupting business (it went off outside a bank) than it was about harming people.

The next morning I met up with one of the girls who had been out the night before, Danit who was from Israel (look at me Dana!), and we went out on the Free Derry walking tour. This is run out of a small museum and it takes you along the road where Bloody Sunday occurred, which is essentially what kicked the troubles into high gear for the next 30 years. There are some murals with stories behind them. The guide for this tour was incredible. He had spent 7 years in jail for being a member of the IRA, possession of explosives, and suspicion of assassinating a British soldier. He didn't really confirm that last part, but he wasn't really denying it either. Regardless, the subject matter was obviously very personal to him, which made the tour fascinating and authentic. If you don't know much about bloody sunday, the troubles, or Derry-Londonderry (I admittedly didn't know much before coming here), I highly recommend reading up on it...very fascinating stuff. Even the name of the city is contentious... the English helped build a wall around the city a few centuries ago in order to help the loyalists fend off the Irish, and in return, demanded that the city be renamed Londonderry. So the republicans and unionists call it Derry on one side of town, and the loyalists call it londonderry on the other. You can give yourself away just by referring it to the wrong way on the wrong side of town...and apparently catch an ass whooping.

After the tour Danit and I walked around the town for a while and then took another walking tour along the walls. There was a lot of overlapped info from what we had learned in the morning, and this tour guide was crappy. He was just kind of on autopilot, reading from the script, telling the same corny jokes much in the same manner as the bus driver. At least this one didn't recommend a place to eat lunch. I spent the rest of the afternoon exploring the city and then finally had that quiet night in. We watched a movie in the common room with some popcorn and wine which was a good way to unwind after a long day. One funny note...when we were in the common room, the guy running the hostel came back into the room after talking to a couple guests and told me the guy who I was sharing a room with (rudely, apparently) requested a room change for the night because I had been snoring all night. I blame the Guinness! I feel for the guy, because having spent the last couple weeks in hostels, I know how brutal it is to be kept up by snorers...there's always at least one. Ah well...I got the room to myself, so I wasn't too heartbroken. He didn't realise though that I had befriended the hostel employee, so apparently he stuck up for me and almost kicked the guy out.

So the next day, Wednesday I suppose, I chilled in Derry for the day and the caught the bus back to Belfast. I returned to the same hostel I had been staying at because I had got to know a couple of the guests as well as the employees. When I returned, Sarah, who works there told me they were roasting a chicken with all the fixins and invited me to join them for dinner. This was a perfect end to a long day of travel...the meal was absolutely spectacular. I haven't eaten that well since I left Canada. Living on the cheap in hostels means a lot of pastas, soups, and sandwiches. So eating chicken, roasted potatoes, veggies, gravy, and stuffing was so good for the soul. I had also been bummed out because I had forgotten this coming weekend is Thanksgiving until my mom emailed me and said the whole family would be over on Sunday. I was sorry to miss it, so I guess this is next best thing. My favourite part was the yorkshire pudding. I haven't had that since my nana used to make it, and that would have been at least 10 years ago or so. So it was awesome being reminded of dinner at my nana and grandpa's place, who have both since passed away. No cabbage salad (family in-joke), but beggars can't be choosers! We finished it off with Banoffee pie, which I'd never had before but will definitely have again... extremely tasty.

So I'm off to Scotland right now. I'm currently writing this on the ferry (insert “I'm on a boat” jokes here) to Strenraer, then taking the train up to Glasgow, where I'll stay at least until the weekend. Until next time. Happy thanksgiving to all my Canadian peeps...have an extra slice of turkey for me!

Pictures: Rope Bridge and Giant's Causeway and Derry