Ireland, days 8-9

On my last day in Belfast, I went to Ormeau Park with the hopes of seeing what the local city parks were like, and having a relaxing morning. This would have been great -- had I not managed to get us hopelessly lost all the way across town.

It wasn't that bad really. We took a left where we should have taken a right. When we finally hiked it in the correct direction, we went straight where we should have turned. Eventually we found our way there though.

I was pleasantly surprised when we got there. Although the park had that typical manicured look we had seen all week, it was a unique design. Apparently, it had been designed by a member of the community back in the 19th century, and the design remains roughly the same.

It's a delightful combination of evergreens and deciduous trees, wildflowers, green lawns, landscaping, and winding pathways throughout.

After spending some time at the park, we poked our heads into St. George's Market, which was basically an enclosed street market. It sold an extremely wide variety of goods, ranging from food to hardware, to jewelry, to clothing.


The day was still young and we were planning on returning to the market the next day for one of my friends' research projects, so two of us departed to go off and explore the city a little bit. We went into City Hall, which was quite ornate, and walked around in its public courtyard a little.

For some reason there was a giant tourist ferris wheel on one side of the Hall. It seemed a little out of place, but made for an interesting feature in the middle of the city.

The only thing I didn't like was that the ferris wheel was unfortunately blocking some interesting memorial statues, such as this one commemorating the HMS Titanic. In fact, although we didn't get to go to any of the exhibits, the Titanic had been built in Belfast and I believe it was the last city she departed from before her fateful voyage across the Atlantic.


The next day, we returned to St. George's Market, which -- if possible -- had an even wider array of offerings. There was every kind of food you could imagine (with lots of free samples!), including entire roasted hogs skewered on gigantic spits; cheeses of every possible kind; raw fish and meats; delicious tarts, cakes, cookies and pies (lots of gluten-free pastries too); and all sorts of fresh fruits and vegetables. There were also tons of craftsmen, artists, and people selling pretty much anything they could get a hold of.

So, after an entertaining morning at the market, we rode a city bus to Belfast City Airport, cruised through security (except they stopped me to do a random check of my electronics) and lounged at the airport for a couple hours.

Out the window, you could see Cave Hill, with McArt's For at the top, and Belfast Castle at the bottom a little to the left (see picture). It was really amazing to se how far we had gone.

About an hour before our flight was scheduled to depart we noticed a note on our boarding passes: Have passport checked before boarding. Somehow we had skipped this step and no one had stopped us (Great airport security!).

>We ran back down and asked an officer what we should do. They laughed at us a little, but one officer kindly led us back out to the passport desk where we were stamped, issued new boarding passes, and instructed to go back through security. And so we did. And, once again, I was randomly called into the security room, this time so they could do a fabric swab on my coat. I was cleared to go, and soon enough we were back on our way.

The flight home was extremely short -- about 45-50 minutes, but it was lovely watching the English countryside down below. From there, we took an 1 1/2 hour coach back into the city, and finally took the tube home just after dark.

We had made it! I couldn't help but be a little astonished we were all alive. Sure, we had our mishaps, miscommunications, misjudgments, and so on, but considering we're all slightly naive 20-year-olds who have only known each other about a month and a half, I'd say it wasn't too shabby.

It was a truly wonderful trip, and I learned a lot not only about Ireland, but also about myself, traveling, and just life in general. There really is so much in this world; so much to experience and to love and to see. It really makes me grateful for the time and opportunities I have here.

Tales from zero degrees longitude

Be forewarned -- this post may be very long. It'll be heavily made up of photos though, so hopefully it won't be too boring.

Yesterday my class took a field trip to Greenwich, led part of the way by the British Politics professor who insisted we get there by boat. I have never had this professor for any of my classes, but he is apparently very popular and has connections all over England. It sounded like a great opportunity.

As it turned out, our boat got stuck under a bridge and arrived over 40 minutes late to take us to Greenwich. Noneheless, everyone was very good natured about everything. I mean, really, how can you complain while you're waiting for a tour boat under the watchful London Eye on one bank and the regal Big Ben tower on the other, with a bagpipest is playing Scottish tunes somewhere in the distance?

Eventually we got off the dock and the tour boat began its slow progression own the Thames. It was freezing cold and windy, but I sat on top anyway to take in the views.

Shakespeare Globe Theatre

We crossed under many of the landmarks I've seen from the shore -- it's really interesting to see them from the water, as it gives you a new perspective on where things are in relation to one another.

Picture courtesy of Christy Wright

Tower Bridge was one of the main highlights of the boat ride. I've sort of come to feel that, like the London Eye, Tower Bridge is just a little overdone; that said, it's still a beautiful and recognizable icon of London.  

Tower of London is another major attraction -- again, an impeccable piece of architecture and feat of ancient engineering, but overpriced and a bit overdone. Definitely a cool feature of the skyline though.

Prof. Mortin talking about the Hall

We arrived in Greenwich about an hour after we'd left London. The professor took us up to the Old Royal Naval College and into one of the most remarkable buildings I have ever seen. Appropriately named "Painted Hall," every square inch of the interior was adorned with massive murals. Unfortunately, we didn't get to stay very long at all, so I wasn't able to learn much about the building or its history.

Next we were swept off to the Chapel, which resembled some of the other churches I've been in recently. Again, it was gorgeous and very peaceful, but we didn't stay long.

We had lunch in Greenwich Street Market, which sold lots of antiques, silks, and vintage items. I took a picture of this booth for Ellie -- it had quite a few very old mounted animals! They didn't look nearly as good as hers, but I thought she'd get a kick out of it. :-)

For some reason, I thought of Dad when we found this place. Think of the movie Chocolat, only with every kind of candy you could imagine! Ironically called "Mr. Humbugs," the store was like stepping back in time to some Willy Wonka scene. The guy could tell you everything about every kind of candy he sold, the history of candy, and even what kinds of candy you would like.

All too quickly we were swept off again, up a tall hill, and to the Royal Observatory wherethe Prime Meridian can be found.

The famous line, above, indicating the Western (left) and Eastern (right) hemispheres!

Had to get the classic picture standing in both at once...

My whole class at the Prime Meridian (Photo by Christy Wright)

By the time we made it to the meridian, we had very little time left before we had to catch the ferry back to London. I went through the little museum at the observatory which had information about the first telescopes, clocks, and navigation systems. I didn't have time to check out the planetarium or the maritime museums though, so I think I'm going to take the Tube back sometime to check those out.

Greenwich was totally a worthwhile trip -- I just wish we could have had more time there. Great experience though!

The London street scene

Okay, it's *really* hard to get any studying done here. This city is such a hub of activity and stimulation, even when I sit down to do my homework it's no use. London is too exciting! Hence why my textbook is laying open beside me, and I'm sitting here blogging, rather than reaing...

This morning one of my roommates and I went to check out some of London's many street markets. We decided to start with Petticoat Lane Market, towards the East side of town. As we got out of the Tube station, we realized we were practically standing under London's iconic "Bullet" building! After a quick detour to snap some pictures of it (at which point I realized I had left my memory card at the house, so thanks Lizzy for letting me use your pics here!) we found our way to the market.

It was only a couple blocks long, but the street was crammed with clothing and textiles of all kinds for ridiculously cheap prices. It didn't take long to walk through, so we headed onward to the next closest market, known as "Old Spitalfield."

Random bunny rabbit statue on the way to the market...

Spitalfield was semi-indoors, and slightly larger than Petticoat Lane. It sold more jewelery and accessories than the other one, but also included a wide array of clothing and artwork.

On our way to Camden Market, we stopped at King's Cross Station to find Platform 9 3/4 (yeah, I know, kinda touristy) just for fun.

Camden Market was by far the biggest street market I've ever seen. It was huge, densely packed, and maze-like, covering multiple blocks of the street just outside the Tube station. This one, too, sold tons of clothes of all types, knicknacks, accessories, bags, jewelery, and lots of fresh food.

Tomorrow we're planning on taking a coach to Dover to go see the white cliffs. It's a 2 1/2 hour ride, but I can't wait. It's sure to be quite the adventure. Then I definitely have to spend all of Sunday studying.

Cheers!