Northern Ireland Day Seven: Our Tourist Day!!

Wow! This is my last Northern Ireland post! And only three and a half weeks after I went . . . Sorry about that.

Our last day in Northern Ireland was a lot of fun. We went to Carrick-A-Rede rope bridge, Giant's Causeway and saw where some of Game of Thrones is filmed (and who is excited for Sunday's premier?).

On our drive up the scenic Causeway Costal Route, we passed by the Carrickfergus castle. At the castle there was a life size statue of King William III, who was actually quite short. In all of this other paintings in Belfast he is pictured on his horse so he is much taller.

We passed some amazing views of the Northern Irish coast, although I wish that it had been sunnier. We went through small towns and a few other castles.

Sheep Island

Then we made it to our first real stop: Carrick-A-Rede rope bridge. There is a half mile walk from the parking lot to the bridge with amazing views. When I saw the bridge that I would have to cross twice, I started freaking out. It was quite windy so the bridge was swaying a bit. I was shaking before I stepped on the bridge, while I was on the bridge, and after I made it to the other side. Then I realized that I would have to cross back!!

About to go on the bridge!

Our group crossing the bridge!

My friend Anna and I!

Right by the parking lot for the bridge is one of the filming locations for Game of Thrones. It is where Renly Baratheon's camp is in the second season. The first photo is the shot from Game of Thrones and the second one is my photo.

http://www.titancon.com/images/photos/renlys_camp.jpg

So the location is right around the wall on the right!

The next stop on our tour of the Antim Coast was Giant's Causeway. We had lunch at the Nook, which is right next to the tourism center for Giant's Causeway. Apparently you have to pay to get into the official gift shop and tourism center, but close to it is the Causeway Hotel where there is a gift shop. 

Briggitte, Sam and I were the "trifecta" roommates on the trip!

I had an amazing time in Northern Ireland and I learned so much. I would love to go back to Belfast, Derry-Londonderry, and visit the places that we were not able to go to. Since we went on the trip, our class has been compiling the research, collecting data from surveys, and making a video showing our trip/research. Now I am off to see the cherry blossoms!

Thanks so much reading!

Kara

Northern Ireland Days Five and Six: Visiting Schools

Hello everyone!

I didn't take many photos Thursday and Friday because we were at two schools during those days. Thursday we went to Lagan College, an integrated school, and Friday at St. Dominican College, a Catholic Maintained school.

Getting to visit these schools was really interesting. At Lagan we toured the school, sat in a couple of history schools (that were both discussing the Civil Rights Movement), ate lunch at their cafeteria, and then met with two students. We were also invited to their annual Ceili, which is a type of Irish folk dancing. There were student dance troops, professional dance troops, and then we got to do some group dancing. On the whole it was a lot of fun! (Pictures can be found on their Facebook page)

St. Dominican College was an interesting experience. There was a transportation strike that day so the only students that were at school were the ones that we talked to. For lunch we walked into the cafeteria and there were two tables done up with tablecloths and place settings. It was a bit off putting because it felt like we were an event.

We spoke to students in the political science class about how they have experienced discrimination or just about their lives. What struck me most was how most of the girls said that they don't really know any Protestants. That is something that I never really thought about.

They also planned a panel with different politicians from different parties to debate issues. They talked about shared versus integrated education, whether a Northern Ireland will ever happen, and the current issues of the country.

We walked around the school and went into the church where the girls go to mass. It is a beautiful little church.

Our last day in Northern Ireland was our tourist day and we visited Carrick-A-Rede bridge and Giant's Causeway. The Northern Irish coast is beautiful and I can't wait to post all of those photos!

Thanks!

Kara

Northern Ireland Day Four: Derry-Londonderry

Hello!

Wednesday was the day of our voyage to Derry-Londonderry. Now you might be wondering why this city has two names. Well the unionists (mostly Protestant) call it Londonderry and the republicans (mostly Catholic) call it Derry. To be politically correct we called the city Derry-Londonderry. But when we went to the Catholic school on Friday, the girls there told us to just say "Derry," and the man at the Orange Order (a unionist organization) said "Londonderry." It is another one of those disconnects that separates the two communities.

The train from Belfast to Derry-Londonderry is about two hours. Our train left Belfast at 7:10, so the train ride was a perfect opportunity to catch up on sleep. I was also able to read part of the current book that I am reading called Elsa Schiaparelli: A Biography by Meryle Secrest. It is quite interesting so far and I can't wait to finish it!

I don't have any photos from the train ride because it was a foggy and rainy morning, but it is one of the most beautiful train rides ever. Here is a link to some photos from Google. 

Once in Derry-Londonderry we went to Lisneal College, which is a state (Protestant) school. We spent the morning and lunch there learning about their school system, extracurriculars, how they do shared education, and their take on teaching divided histories. 

We then went to the Nerve Centre, which is the organization that we partnered up with. We learned more about their "Teaching Divided Histories" program and other projects that they have going. 

After that was our tourist time. Me and a couple of friends wandered around the walls of Derry-Londonderry looking at the murals in the Bogside and scenic skyline. Here are where the photos come in!

We then went to dinner at a restaurant that we found near city centre. We had to walk across the peace bridge to get to the train station. The peace bridge connects the more Catholic areas to the more Protestant areas. It is looked gorgeous as the sun was setting.

We had a fantastic time in Derry-Londonderry and I would love to go again. We then hopped back on the train back to Belfast. It would hit me then that we would only have three days left in Northern Ireland. I wished that I could stay forever!

Thanks!

Kara