New Thing #81 - L/S/I, Day 12 - Belfast/Giant's Causeway

Wednesday, May 22, 2013

Dammit, we really need to cut it out with these early ass bus tours. Good God, we were up at 5am to get ready for our trip up to Belfast and Giant's Causeway. I'm pretty sure we're certifiable. Who does this kind of stuff while on vacation? Anyways, we were kind of tired of the cereal/pastry hostel breakfast, so we opted to try to find something on the way at a small cafe or something. What we didn't anticipate is that no one else wanted to be up that effing early either so everything was closed. We finally found another convenience store where I stopped for a muffin and a nutri-grain bar. Damn, I was really starting to miss my morning eggs for a little protein burst. No wonder I was so tired.

We hopped on the rail to head to the hotel where were would be picked up for our trip. Great, another bus tour. This time, we made sure to wait about 3.5 inches off of the curb so we would be the first ones on. We were determined to get as close to the front as possible so we wouldn't have to deal with the terrible shock issue again. I was prepared to throw some 'bows if necessary. Luckily we made it fairly close, only a few rows back, and settled in for yet another long day of driving.

Jim, our tour guide, informed us that we would first be headed up to Belfast where we could take a black taxi tour or visit the Titanic museum. They both sounded amazing, but from we had heard, the black taxi tour was the way to go. It was considered a not-to-be missed tour. We settled in to the bus ride as Jim lulled us into a trance with his stories. I'm sad to say that I didn't catch all that he was talking about, mainly because I was quite literally exhausted, and I found it difficult to stay awake. Not because he wasn't interesting. Quite the opposite actually. What I do recall was fascinating, everything from the political and spiritual unrest in Belfast that led to such horrific conditions, cultural and historic facts about the landscape, the people and Ireland at its core. He was damn good at his job. I just sucked at listening.

Lunch was super fancy today. We picked up some sandwiches/wraps on the fly at a gas station before we made it into Belfast. I opted for a pre-packaged chicken caesar wrap and hoped it wasn't terrible. I also hoped it would keep on the bus while we were on our tour, because after we all made it back on the bus we were told that we would be eating AFTER the tours. Clearly Jim didn't understand my eating habits and that a hungry Heather is not to be trifled with. Nor should you put food in front of her and then ask her to wait two hours to eat it. Not a wise choice, my friend.

We made it to the Titanic museum where we would rendezvous with our taxi driver, and the museum goers could get out. I'm still bummed we couldn't go in. From the outside, it's just plain stunning. The architect behind it was brilliant because it's absolutely gorgeous. And unmistakable as a Titanic museum. But enough about that, we headed to one of the black taxis, along with three other people, and met our driver Tom. We headed out, followed by another taxi and wound our way through the streets of Belfast.

In complete silence.

Ummmm, is there going to be any talking? Or are we supposed to just look out the window and figure it out for ourselves?

I was thoroughly confused at this point and the three of us just kind of looked at each other like what the eff did we just get ourselves into? We soon pulled over and Tom had us all get out, along with the people in the taxi behind us, as he started the tour. And what followed was one of the most powerful, awe-inspiring and scary two hours of my life. I can't even begin to describe all of what Tom told us, because I will fail miserably and not even do him justice.

Titanic museum.

I love how this is a stylized version of the bow of the ship.

One of the first few stops. Belfast is the #1 open air art gallery in the world. There are murals everywhere. And most of them are related to politics and the world's events and human rights. This wall changes on a regular basis except for this one section. This one was done by Pablo Picasso and it never changes.

The wall is huge. And that's Tom, our guide.

We picked out a few of the murals for him to explain and he knew everything. Deep down to the core of each piece, he told us about the struggles and the human condition and what spurred the paintings in the first place.

Enormous.

Bobby Sands, a member of the IRA and the first person to die from the hunger strikes in the 80s. This mural will never be removed.

If you're unfamiliar with Belfast and northern Ireland in general, then you've clearly been living under a rock. It was the site for decades of unrest, bombings, killings and all sorts of other atrocities due to the political and religious disconnect between its citizens. Ireland as a whole is a Catholic nation, but Northern Ireland, where Belfast is located, is Protestant. They're also under the rule of the Queen of England and belong to the United Kingdom. So, despite the fact that this area is on the same island as Ireland, they hold strong to their beliefs and the loyalty to the Crown. Needless to say, it's apparently impossible that people with differing opinions and beliefs can live peacefully in the same area. There's way more to it than that, but you get the gist. Clashing people=bloodshed.

Tom was telling us all of these stories as a born and bred Irish Catholic, and the emotion in his voice as he's talking to us is hard to ignore. He's just a man trying to live his life and all of this hate and violence has been a part of his day to day world his entire life. He used to be a regular taxi driver taking people where they needed to go until he eventually retired from that and just did the tours exclusively. He told us that years ago when it was near its worst, children couldn't even walk to school without fearing for their lives. So old black taxis were bought and brought over from London. They used those taxis to transport people around the city so they wouldn't be out and about and vulnerable. Over the years they've started using them for tours instead.

At one point Tom became very calm and told us about a day he remembers quite vividly less than ten years ago. He was at a stop light and another taxi pulled up next to him. He looked over to see one of his good friends, also a taxi driver, and waved to say hello. That was the last time he saw him alive. Out of nowhere a car flies by spraying gunfire all over both cars, killing his friend instantly. In a somber voice, Tom tells us that it could just as easily have been him if he was in the other lane.

We're all pretty shaken up at this point, and to be honest, I was ready to get the heck out of dodge. I know they're semi peaceful now, and I'm not sure there has been any major violence as of late, but it's always under the surface. We asked Tom if he ever felt unsafe or canceled tours, and he said he's been around long enough to feel what's going on. If he's getting a sense that it's unsafe, he'll cancel a tour. And then he chuckled and told us that if he starts to run, we better keep up. Um. Not funny, dude. Not funny at all.

On the Catholic side.

A memorial to people who have died.

This is the wall that separates the two halves.

These people have metal cages on the back of their houses to protect themselves. Um, no thank you. I think I'd move.

Their "back yard".

Tom took us around to the other side of the wall, known as the Peace Wall, and let us sign it. His hope is that one day the wall will come down, much like the Berlin Wall, and we'll all be a part of history.

More of the art on the Peace Wall

According to Tom we could sign anywhere but on this face. Apparently the dozens of other people who signed it didn't get the same memo.

Tom on the left, and the other driver on the right, who was a Protestant. They joked around, but at one point it got pretty heated. We thought they were joking around, but I'm not so sure anymore.

Trying to promote peace through art.

Wherever you walked, the shooter followed you. It was pretty freaky.

We ended our black taxi tour, back where we started and I was still a bit shaken up by everything Tom talked about. It gave me chills just thinking about how bad it really was, and the fact that it's still not even a super safe place to be. I'll be honest. I was pretty damn happy to be out of there when we finally left.

But enough sad stuff! Back on the bus and we started our coastal trek to Giant's Causeway. Fortunately, my wrap was still edible because I was beyond starving at this point. Jim regaled us with lots of stories on our way up north, but I don't remember most of it. I just tried to enjoy the scenery, which was a bit difficult because I was on the left side of the bus and the coast was on the right.

Leaving Belfast

Out on the open road.

Trying to take pictures from the middle of the bus through the windshield = fail.

I'm glad these bus drivers know what they're doing, because damn these roads are bonkers.

We arrived at Giant's Causeway, and like the Cliffs of Moher, we had a few hours to ourselves to wander and explore. From what we had read, GC was an area of around 40,000 or so interlocking basalt columns plunging upward as the result of an ancient volcanic eruption. They are mostly hexagonal and vary in heights, making for a natural playground of sorts. There is also evidence of these same columns in Scotland, which would make sense since the two islands were connected a few million years ago. I had no idea what to expect, but knew it was not to be missed. Before we made our trek down to the shoreline, Jim told us the "fable" behind Giant's Causeway.

According to legend, there were two giants, one smaller in Ireland and one larger in Scotland. They would yell across the sea at each other, hurling insults about their counterpart's lack of strength. After some rather degrading smack talk, the Irish giant, Finn McCool, decided to build a bridge over to Scotland so they could duke it out like normal giants. After finishing, he was pretty damn tired because building bridges is tiring work, so he laid down to sleep. When the Scottish giant, Fingal, approached, Finn's wife couldn't wake him up. When she realized just how large Fingal really was, she panicked because she knew Finn didn't stand a chance. So, she dressed him up like a baby to fool Fingal. When he saw the baby, he nearly shat his pants because damn, if the baby was already that big, the daddy giant must be downright enormous. So, Fingal fled back to Scotland and destroyed the bridge in his wake. There are varying details to the fable that I've read online versus what Jim told us, but the gist is the same. I think it's a pretty fun way to describe the area.

Getting closer. Do not be fooled. This beach was not warm. Or inviting.

Heading down the road/hill to the columns.

Nikki is super excited!

Gotta love iPhone panoramas!

Yes, I was cold. Yes, I was wearing gloves and ear muffs. Yes, I was wearing two coats. No, it was not flattering. Don't judge me.

Shorter columns.

Brenda is the Queen of her domain.

I'm the Jester of my domain.

Little bit of an algae problem.

So, Brenda and I agreed to take these totally unstaged and natural looking photos of each other staring out into the great yonder. My totally "casual" look apparently looks like I've just smelled something foul. Way to go me.

These things were bonkers. And beautiful. And super fun.

Yep, they got pretty tall. and yes, we could climb on all of them!

Pretty. Damn. Cool.

I loved taking pictures of them!

Moving from column to column was tricky business. One false move and you'd pretty much die. No joke. Imagine falling on those things.

Just chilling.

No clue what I'm doing here. But, clearly something is pretty damn hilarious.

We asked a guy to take a photo of us. He took 37.

Brenda is quite majestic. And photogenic.

We tried to parkour, but turns out it's a bit tricky to do here. And we suck at parkour.

Oh hey. Just chilling on an ancient volcanic eruption. No big deal.

I see you.

This lady was bold. I don't think I would carry my baby around on those columns. That is just a horrific accident waiting to happen.

We had a blast climbing all over the columns, taking a million photos and enjoying the scenery, but eventually it started to rain. And, I'm not sure what you've heard, but Bon Jovi knew what he was talking about. Basalt columns in the rain = slippery when wet.

Heh. See what I did there?

And since I prefer to go out in a blaze of glory rather than sliding to my death in the Northern Atlantic, we decided to leave. And luckily, we weren't too far up or into the columns at that point, because the few that I had to traverse to get to solid ground tried to murder me. We made it out alive though, and hopped onto the shuttle bus to take us back to the top. We would have walked, but I was tired of rain at this point, and didn't really feel like walking in it.

We stopped at The Nook, a little restaurant, to have some food before the bus left us. Turns out it almost did leave without us because we could never get a waitress to bring our bill, and then we could never get anyone to take our money. I've never dined and dashed before, but we almost had to. We managed to give the bartender some money at the last minute and just made it back to the bus with a few minutes to spare.

The Nook.

Mmmm...brownie. What I wouldn't have given for a nice tall glass of cold milk to go with that brownie.

It was a rather long bus ride back to Dublin, but I managed to get a nap or two in. Jim continued to tell us stories, but much like the rest of the day, I eventually tuned him out. He was an absolutely fabulous storyteller and full of random facts, but I just couldn't absorb any more history or culture. I just wanted to sleep. He did tell us a lovely Irish Gaelic saying though: "Toge Go Boge" (pronounced Toe-gay gu Bow-gay) and it means "Take it Easy".

We didn't stop at this castle, but Jim did tell us a rather sad story.

Apparently the man who owned the castle was set to get married and his new bride would move in to live with him. A new wing was built out over the cliff to hold all of the wedding guests.

On the day of the wedding, almost all of the guests were in the new wing when it crumbled into the sea below. Except the bridge and groom. After that, she refused to live in her new home and it was soon abandoned. I'm not sure if anyone else ever lived there, but it's pretty much in ruins now.

The turtle has mad zooms.

More Irish countryside.

We drove through Bushmills, and as it happens, passed by The Old Bushmills Distillery - the oldest distillery in Ireland. I managed to capture a photo before we passed by it.

After making it back to Dublin, we decided to meander around until we found a place to eat. We once again ended up in Temple Bar District and found a little Italian place to satisfy our cravings. We headed to another pub for drinks afterwards and enjoyed some more live music and some more adult beverages. That was one of my favorite things about Ireland. Live music just about everywhere we went. As well as beer.

Didn't think I'd see a Heineken building in Dublin.

So handy!

After looking at about a dozen restaurants, we finally stopped in to this little place. Super delish.

Fettuccine in a wild mushroom and rosemary sauce. So good!

Our pub of choice.

They had lots of small local brews which was pretty cool.

Five Lamps Beer.

I loved the architecture in the building.

Our spot at the bar. The musician was at the other end. We had a great view to people watch.

The guy with his back to me was a mega hot bartender who spoke little but flirted his butt of with us. I was super mad when I saw him talking to the trashy girl who I can only assume was his girlfriend. That didn't stop me from flirting back with him though. And I never got a photo of his face. :(

In honor of our Scottish bar crawl, I asked him to play Livin' on a Prayer for us. Needless to say, his rendition was quite a bit better than ours. Sadly, you can't see him, although the guy advertising erotic lap dancing girls is quite visible. And clearly I had been drinking because I couldn't keep my hands steady to save my life.

I didn't get a video of it, but our other favorite song of the trip (besides Galway Girl) was Whiskey in the Jar. Click here for our favorite version of it. Just about everywhere we went, someone sang it. :)

So Flirty McBartender was taking our coasters from us and then throwing them back at us. When I complained that I didn't have any coasters for my drink, he gave me the entire new stack. So, I used the whole stack as my new coaster. Your move, sir.

After many drinks and a long exhausting day, we stumbled back to our hostel. No funyuns or pizza tonight. I did manage to get a hug from Flirty McBartender before we left, so I'll call it a win. His girlfriend can suck it.