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Nicole's
Travelogues and Budget Travel Tips..
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DERRY, IRELAND
We decided to do a day trip to Derry from Belfast, as we wanted to see where our great-great-grandmother was from and where the Civil Rights Movement started. We called the night before to arrange a Free Derry tour at 10am.
Anyway, our Free Derry Tour guide, Ruairi O'Heara, came to pick us up at the community center and asked if we could go get some coffee. Sounded good to us, so we walked uphill, through the wall, for a few blocks to a cafe and ordered coffees to go. The first thing we noticed was that Derry was really really hilly! Ruairi gave us a brief history of the area as we were walking around the walled portion of the city.
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Even though it took a little longer than the bus, we took the train since it was more comfortable and scenic (going along the coast for the last stretch). We went to the Great Victoria Station about a block from Jury's Inn and caught the 6:55am train to Derry (or Londonderry as Lisa's English in-laws call it) for £9 standard fare. The train was comfortable but once we got going it was freeeeezing! Don't know why the heat wasn't working but it was hard to doze on the train because I was starting to get frost bite! I listened to my Ipod trying to ignore the cold, enjoying the sounds of U2 and Snow Patrol while watching the gorgeous Irish scenery go by. As we got closer to Derry, I listened to U2's Sunday Bloody Sunday to get ready for the tour. Yep, it was a geeky moment (similar to listening to The Specials' Free Nelson Mandela on the way to Robbin Island) and I would do it again! 
We arrived about 9:30am and stayed at the train station standing under the heaters for 15 minutes to dethaw. Then we took a cab to the Pilot's Row Community Center (on Rossville Street in the Bogside) , where we were supposed to meet our guide. While we were waiting, the guys at the center were cleaning everything pretty vigorously. I did notice that everything in Ireland was sparkling clean. I mean even the bathrooms at the train station (usually notoriously disgusting) were spotless. American cities are filthy in comparison! 
We visited then visitied the Fountain Estate (population of less than 300). It is roughly bordered by Bishop Street, Upper Bennett Street, Abercorn Road and Hawkin Street, and has remained a Protestant stronghold in the predominantly nationalist cityside area. The Fountain derives its name from an actual spring that served the needs of the people during the Great Siege of 1689. Again, we saw the curbs and posts painted red, white, and blue. There was a huge 'peaceline' fence surrounding the area - like the ones we saw in Belfast. However, the fence has done little to deter people from throwing 
