Day Trip to Belfast and Halloween Weekend

Hello friends. I know this post is long overdue. This week I had a treatment due for my screenplay, plus I been tired. Last weekend on Saturday Tisch took us on a day trip to Belfast, Northern Ireland. The trip was lead by the Irish History professor Tommy Graham. We left at 8 AM, but no one was happy with getting up at 7 AM. I fell asleep on the bus and woke up right when it was time to get off the bus. It was really cold up in Belfast. Tommy took us on a tour of the political murals in the city. They each highlight an important in Northern Irish history, especially during the Troubles.

These murals are all over the city. Belfast is literally divided between Catholics and Protestants (British Loyalists). There is a "peace wall" that divides them. When we first arrived we were on the Catholic side. We were all nervous, especially since Tommy was talking very loudly about history and we were afraid of offending someone. He took us to see a few more murals and cemetry.

Tommy then took us to the Loyalist neighborhood. It didn't look that much different, except for the British flags waving around. Tommy took us to one suburb where there was a few Loyalist murals.

After the political mural tour we all stopped for lunch at the Crown Bar, courtesy of Tisch (thank god I didn't have to spend money in British pounds). The food was good, and we got our own private booths. Belfast's city centre looks a lot more European that Dublin does, I guess cause it's under Britain. After lunch Tommy took us to the old Parliament building, and then we went to the Ulster Transportation Museum. I guess we were supposed to see a Titanic exhibit because it was built in Northern Ireland, but the exhibit was closed for renovations. So we just walked around looking at planes, trains, and automobiles (and bicycles too).

A real de Lorean! They were made in Northern Ireland

After the museum we went back to Dublin. I went out Saturday night in Temple Bar with some friends. Dublin has been celebrating Halloween all week, and Saturday night Temple Bar was crowded with costumed people. It was like Halloween in NYC, except this was the day before Halloween. All the bars were crowded. We didn't stay out for too long, and when we came back we watched Paranormal Activity in my room. That was a scary movie. We were screaming by the end.

I didn't go out on Halloween. The Screenwriting kids had a treatment due Monday, so that's what we were all doing. Except Colin changed the deadline to Wednesday, but I still didn't go out.

This week was a good one. Our Irish Theater class took place in the Irish Museum of Modern Art. We looked around at a exhibit before having class in the museum cafe. Wednesday in Screenwriting Colin brought in his friends who directed the film Cherrybomb (starring Rupert Grint) and they talked to us about their experience making the film.

I did some shopping today before going to Tisch to watch Pirates of the Caribbean (the first one) with the screenwriting class.


44 days left!

Galway and The Aran Islands

Hello everyone! I had a really great weekend. As courtesy of Tisch, everyone was taken on a weekend trip to the city of Galway and The Aran Islands on the west coast of Ireland. We left at 10 AM on Saturday by bus to Galway, which took three hours. The scenery was beautiful! I saw so many cows and sheep and horses on the way because we passed  through the country.

Susanne took us out to the city centre, and then we were left to explore the city for 4 hours. It was very crowded and filled with tourists. There were lots of Irish gift shops and jewelry shops that sold Claddagh rings (apparaently Galway is where they originated). Our group split up into smaller groups. Some of us went to lunch (I had to resort to McDonald's because I couldn't remember my PIN number) and some went off to get Claddagh rings. We walked around the city, looking at the various shops. We stopped in a second hand bookstore and had books for pretty cheap. Eventually we walked out of the crowded city to the water.

After walking by the water we went to a local street fair. I bought a homemade donut and ice cream and it was delicious. By then there wasn't much else to do, and we all got bored. We had to be back at the bus by 5, so we just sat around until it was time to go.

We got back on the bus and headed to the dock where we would be taking a ferry to the Aran Islands. The ride took about 45 minutes. I went outside to take some photos (and was really cold!) and then went back to my seat inside and dozed off for a bit. The island we were going to was named Inis Oirr.

By the time we got to Inis Oirr it was already night. All of us were staying in a hostel. We put our bags away in our rooms and went out to dinner at a local pub/restaurant called Rauiri's. I had fish, chips, potatoes, and apple pie for dessert. I was definitely tired after that meal. Susanne took us next door to the pub where live Irish music was playing. It was getting crowded because a concert was ending. I was too exhausted to really enjoy myself, so I went back to the hostel with some others. The hostel so was cold that night, no bueno...

The next day we had breakfast provided to us by the hostel, and then we went on a walking tour of the island. Our guide was a local who knew the history of the island and most of the people who lived there. Before the island was inhabited it was made completely out of rock. then when people came over, they moved rocks around and somehow managed to make fertile land. During our tour we saw some people  building a stone wall. Apparently they do it every year. The whole island is filled with stone walls that separate the houses.

The island was beautiful. The tour guide kept us walking because it was cold, but we warmed up walking up all those steep hills. 250 people live on the island, and everyone knows each other and their family histories. It's all about the family history in Ireland.

Our guide took us through the island and to the top, where there were some ruins. There was an old school, a watch tower, and castle ruins. Our walking tour was 2 hours. It was nice though.

After the walking tour we had a horse and trap tour of the island. We split up into 2 groups and took a ride in a horse-drawn carriage of sorts. We saw even more of the island, including a lake and a shipwreck. That tour was only an hour, and then we had lunch! Soup, sandwiches, and chips (aka fries). After lunch we had 2 hours of free time before we had to take the ferry back to the mainland. I was too exhausted to do more exploring, so me and my friends played on a playground and then went to a local pub for coffee and hot chocolate.

The journey home was long. I slept for most of the ferry and bus ride. It was a great trip though. I have lots more pictures, if we're friends on Facebook you should check out the albums!