Jul. 12th, 2011 | 10:39 am
Welcome to Belfast! I tried to do the pics in order this time and let me just say Photobucket has the WORST organizational "tool" ever for their albums. I got the pictures in order right up until I had to get pics from a different disk, then, no dice. I have no idea why you can't just drag/drop your photos wherever you like, but no luck, believe me I tried. So, the long and short of it is, the bulk of the images are in order for this one, but if you're looking for your "Welcome to Belfast" the sign is on page three. More later, I need to go find a drink after this two hour waste of time! :-)Photobucket is very strange
smg.photobucket.com/albums/v624/CindyM99/U
Okay, next time I will just keep to my "back to front" picture order for each of the tours, trying to put them in order just didn't work because as soon as the page flipped over, all bets were off.
Anyway, picture issues aside, we hit the Antrim coast in Belfast. You can see how green it is. I don't think I've ever seen any landscape that has ever looked like this. The beauty/colour of everything almost hurts your eyes. It's like traveling inside a vivid colour film.
We did feel like we were flying past everything too quickly though, I marvel at how beautifully the photos turned out because we were speeding past on the bus. I wish I had had time to get out of the bus and really look around. I told Mom, I wanted to grab a rock and slip it into my pocket. To have something from each of these breathtakingly striking places would have meant a lot to me.
As you can see Mom did manage to get out (ten minute stop since human nature was calling a lot of people) and take pictures around the small harbour. It's so funny, as I upload the images, this is the first time I'm actually getting a really good look at them all. When you are in it, living it, it's an entirely different experience.
I asked the driver if this was the "real" Ireland. He laughed and said "No people retire here, and it's a good idea to have some money saved for one of these places on the shore." I had asked him to slow down so we could soak it in, but he had a second tour of cruise passengers to worry about, that's why he had been barreling through, seemingly breaking all speed records That was disappointing, I wish the cruise would have built in some "breathing time" here. I suppose they thought they were doing that with the stop at Glenariff Park...
I felt like I was in Austria wisked back in time, transported to the set of the "Sound of Music." I mean, look at these green hills. I feel like I'm saying "breathtaking" way too much, but there it is. Yes, it rains in Ireland, yes I'm sure it's residents get tired of it on occasion, but to have the privilege to look at that kind of green? Wow.
The driver remarked to me that he would often take his children here when they were small for picnics. There is a full-on walking trail around the park and not far off, a natural waterfall. Of course, neither activity was something we could attempt with the chair, but believe me, I would have wanted to have a look around.
The stop included tea/coffee with a "clotted cream" scone. Not a fan:-) Way too sweet, which is funny because I SO have a sweet tooth.
Once I saw that the driver wasn't surrounded by a crowd, I approached him asking about the Belfast fires from the night before. We were nowhere near the city, but I was curious. I asked him how big of an area the "fires" covered. He pointed to the parking lot we had pulled into. "About an area that size," he laughed.
It turns out, things "flare up" in this area every few nights until the "leaders" step in and talk everyone down, then things settle down until the next issue. It's a VERY small area. In fact, the driver told me it's one particular "court' where the majority of residents are Catholic but a few Prodistents are sprinkled in with them and for whatever reason, this is a real problem.
He mentioned that his kids are "pretty much integrated" so it seems to be bad blood from a generation ago. That said, we found out from one of the guides, that Ireland is undertaking a HUGE building project (we saw the cranes they call David and Goliath) surrounding the shipyard where the Titanic was built and that a Prodistent CANNOT get a job there. It's baffling to me as I certainly wasn't aware of any similiar issues in other areas that we travelled to. (It doesn't mean they weren't there, I just never heard anyone mention anything like this.)
Anyway, back to the bus driver's take on the "outbreak" in Belfast. Listen up Canada, take note. "The riots I saw on the news in Vancouver after their Stanley Cup loss was WORSE THAN ANYTHING I'VE SEEN IN BELFAST IN YEARS." I was SO EMBARRASSED when he said that. If you think others in the world aren't aware of your actions, think again. Belfast gets a very bad wrap in the Western media and I must say, after asking around and getting a few viewpoints on everything, it's VERY unfair.
**steps off soapbox**
Anyway, it was nice just sitting around in the park (pretty much a figure of speech since I "sat around" everywhere:-)) It was nice to chill out looking out over the hills and catch a glimpse of the sheep off in the distance.
BTW, the stone fences of Ireland are making a real comeback. A guide mentioned that it was becoming a "lost art," but that it is becoming popular again with the current generation. I hope that's true, looking at them stretching across the landscape was one of my favourite things about the UK.
Warning! Lot's of pics in this entry, as on here, I can place the pics in order and you can see what I'm talking about. This was very much a "visual" tour. So feel free to skip ahead if you get bored! Yes, the roads were as challenging as they looked. The driver was "motoring" along this winding road like a nascar speed racer, heart in my throat more than a few times! Yikes!
It's a shame that the buses reflective windows got "in the way" of some of these shots, this is where I would have liked to have been in a hired cab, taking pictures and chilling out on the shore. Next time!
Since it was back on page three thought I'd include it here! :-)
Numbers on the sheep/colours indicate who owns them/identification
Sorry for all the pics but they tell the story better than I ever could. Hope it wasn't boring for you. Home sweet cruise ship! :-)
We were supposed to head in to the city (Belfast) once we got back to the ship, but the weather kicked up so we were cold and hungry, not a good way to go into an unknown city. So we copped out and hit the ship early. My biggest regret. This means I HAVE TO GO BACK so Jeanette (Peanut) has been informed that I'll be happy to stay at her place and see all the parts of Ireland that I missed. (including Giant's Causeway) so I'll make my reservation now...:-)
Green, green, green that's what I'll forever remember of Belfast. That, and the quiet serenity I felt watching the cattle/horses/sheep graze in the wide open spaces. Some things defy descriptipn. Living there definitely speaks to the "Luck of the Irish."
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