This weekend was jam packed with trips and experiences that will stick with me. It started off on Thursday and Friday, going out with my friends from California before heading up to Northern Ireland. The entire time we were driving to see the Titanic Museum in Belfast, I was confused on why there was a museum there. Come to find out the Titanic was actually built there. I had no idea, but learned so much during the visit. Afterwards, we went on a Political Taxi Tour. I was aware that there were conflicts between Catholics and Protestants, but hearing and seeing it in Belfast truly put it into perspective. It’s still a prominent issue, with rules such as closing some gates nightly at set times. I was very happy that we slept in a hotel room while in Belfast. I had quite a unique view from my window: a towering bonfire structure. My boss warned me about Bonfire Night, but I was definitely not expecting the towers to be so large. Later that day Kate and I went to grab dinner at Common Market. I love places like this where there are multiple restaurant options inside that you can choose from. (quick thank you to our taxi driver for the rec) After our stomachs were full, Kate and I walked around Belfast and discovered some amazing art work throughout the city streets. That night Colin, Nathaniel, Kate and I headed out to the Dirty Onion. (another rec from the taxi driver) The bouncers were turning a bunch of people away, but when I got to the front, he asked if I was American and immediately let us in. I really enjoyed this place a lot! They had a live band that didn’t have a set playlist and followed the energy of the crowd. I’m not sure what happened that night, but when I woke up on Sunday, I completely lost my voice! (rough weekend I guess) That morning we headed to Carrick-a-Rede and the view was stunning. I was a bit skeptical of how sturdy the bridge was, but I went across anyway because I’m only here once. Next was the Giant’s Causeway and this was my favorite trip we went to all weekend. The legend about the two giants was a good little story and I liked how there were no barriers, just the open coastline for us to walk about. I honestly wished more of the places we saw were like this. My second favorite part of the trip was the Sheepdog experience. While waiting for our tour to start, Lily kept me quite entertained. She ended up giving a couple of us some new and interesting nicknames. My favorite nickname was definitely Cookie. Once the demonstration started, I was shocked by how many commands the dogs understood. It’s honestly incredible how smart dogs are. I also found it interesting that the owners have records of each dog’s bloodline. Being at Glenshane honestly reminded me of my home in rural Northeastern PA. There were so many fields, barns, and animals which are very similar to what I see day to day where I live. Even though I’ve held lambs before, I was still super excited to do it again at Glenshane. On our way to Derry, Lily had me listen to some songs she created and I was shocked by how good they all were. My personal favorite was song number 20. Then we stayed at another Holiday Inn in Derry. This time the view from my window was a bit of an upgrade, a construction site from the building next door. It was nice to be able to sleep in a bit on Monday morning. We wrapped up the trip with a tour of Derry City along with visiting the Museum of Free Derry. Then we grabbed some lunch, free time to walk around, and were on our way back to UCD.
Image 1: Me and my friends from California!
Image 2: A wall full of blue tiles in Belfast
Image 3: Giant’s Causeway
Image 4: Me holding a Lamb
Image 5: Me staring out in the distance wondering how I lost my voice
