Gypsy Kristi

I'm packing my bags again for a weekend in Belfast!  Belfast is the capital of Northern Ireland, strangely a different country than Ireland.  Northern Ireland is a part of the United Kingdom and ruled by British Parliament.  Their currency is pounds sterling, the same as when I traveled to London.  When Ireland got independence from England, the British were greedy and decided to keep six counties for themselves.

Belfast is a city that's rich in history.  It went through a pretty recent civil conflict called The Troubles from 1969 to the late 1990's.  The conflict was between the Roman Catholics or the "Republicans" and Protestants or the "Loyalists".  Car bombings, assassinations, and street violence were prevalent during this time. To this day neighborhoods are still strictly segregated and there is still tension.  I'm sure I'll have more to share when I get back.

Meghan, Ross (a friend on our trip from ISU), and I are hopping on a bus tomorrow at 7am to go to Dublin.  Our new friend Davin will be picking us up there and we'll be driving another two hours in a car to Belfast.  We met Davin in Galway when we went for Meghan's 21st birthday.  He is a local from Galway.  Davin came to Cork to hang out with us the weekend that my friend Hannah was here.  We were planning this trip while he was visiting and he asked if he could be a tacky tourist with us since he's never been to Belfast.

It should be a fun weekend!