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Nicole's
Travelogues and Budget Travel Tips..
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BELFAST, IRELAND
After a few days on my own in Southern Ireland, I met my mom and cousin in Northern Ireland to travel with them for a week before we all returned to England. Of course, since I was with mom and my cousin we had to stay in a hotel instead of a hostel. We were arguing for a few weeks prior to the trip trying to agree on where to stay. I wanted to stay at Arnie's Backpackers but my cousin wanted to stay at the 4-star Hilton. So I was mature (ha ha) and conceded for the sake of the group and we stayed at Jury's Inn Hotel (Great Victoria Street).
Anyway. I took the train from Dublin to Belfast on Saturday morning. I bought my train ticket in advance online from Irish Rail for €33 (standard). I left Dublin Central Station at 11:00am (an hour before the 'Dublin Riots') and arrived at Belfast Central at 1:15pm. Yeah! I'm finally in Belfast! You can ride the bus into the city center for free if you show your train ticket but it was a nice day so I decided to walk. I followed the signs to the city center and arrived about 10 blocks later. I went into a record store to get directions to the Jury's Inn and was there about 5 blocks later. I tried to check in but my credit card wouldn't work. Ahhh! I've had trouble all trip using my ATM cards. I brought a visa Bank of America card and a regular Wells Fargo ATM card. Anyway, so my credit card didn't work at the hotel, I couldn't check in, so I waited on the lobby couch for mom and Lisa. By this time, it started snowing lightly, so I decided against walking around the city center and decided to read and listen to the Ipod. They arrived about 2 hours later because their flight out of London was delayed but at least it stopped snowing by now! We checked in and walked to the city center to look around and find a place for dinner. We came upon Brights Restaurant near City Hall - it was really crowded, so we figured it was good. We weren't disappointed! I had delicious fish and chips dinner with a side of curry. Yum!!!
Then we went to a market and bought supplies for the room. Humm well we didn't really buy supplies - I think we just bought beer and a diet coke for mom! It was quite nippy but wasn't too windy. Pat (our Black Taxi driver) asked us why the heck we came to Ireland in the winter. We got that question alot while we were there! Actually, while I was in Ireland, it was cold and windy but it rarely rained or snowed. There were also very few tourists around, so it was a great time of year to see Ireland! Plus, drinking lots of pints tends to keep you warm!
While in Belfast, we also got on the 2:30pm double-decker city tour bus to see the city from the top deck. The bus has 8 stops at Castle Place, Queen's Road, Donegall Street, Crumlin Road Jail, Shankill Road, Falls Road, University Road, and Great Victoria Street. We passed City Hall, Queen's University, the murals of Falls and Shankill Roads, the Grand Opera House, the leaning Albert Clock Tower, the Big Fish sculpture, the Odyssey, and Waterfront Hall. |
Belfast is the capital of Northern Ireland, the Ulster provinces still under British rule. The area is fairly new to tourism, who have for the most part stayed away due to 'The Troubles.' 'The Troubles' is a euphemism that is commonly used in Northern Ireland, and the Republic of Ireland, to refer to the most recent period of civil and political unrest, and violent political conflict (from 1968 to the present). The conflict in Northern Ireland is usually explained in terms of the different constitutional aspirations of the two main sections of the community in the region. Many Catholics consider themselves to be Irish and are Nationalist in political outlook, that is, they would like to see the whole (nation) island of Ireland reunited (and independent of Britain). Many Protestants consider themselves to be British and are Unionist in political outlook, that is, they want Northern Ireland to remain part of the (union of the) United Kingdom (UK) of Britain (England, Scotland, and Wales) and Northern Ireland. It may prove as difficult to agree on a date for the end of 'the Troubles' as it is to agree on the date of beginning of the violent conflict.There have been a number of significant events and developments: ** the second IRA ceasefire (7/20/97); Political Parties in Northern Ireland Loyalist and Republican Paramilitary Groups
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Every 4th or 5th ATM worked and there was no rhyme or reason to which card worked at which bank. Sometimes Northern liked my B of A card, sometimes it would like my Wells Fargo card and sometimes it would like neither. It was really frustrating! It was the same at every bank using plus or cirrus network. Why my cards will work at EVERY ATM in Zimbabwe and Zanizbar and not in Ireland is a great mystery! By the way, the Northern Branch pictured above was the same one that was 
We walked around the humongous City Hall which seemed out of place in such a small city. A cab driver told us that only 14 people worked there but he must have been being cheeky! 
Humm I can't remember how long it took - maybe about 45 minutes, as we didn't hop off at any point. It was a nice intro to Belfast, even though it was butt cold on the top! Whew!