Day 11 - Two Times Around Belfast

Today we opted for an easy start with no alarms, and no rush to get going. After waking up we relaxed at the apartment drinking coffee/tea, eating toast with jam, and watching the British morning shows. It was a nice way to start the day.

Around 10:00 we got ready and headed over the bridge to start our Hop-On-Hop-Off tour around Belfast. Uncle Doug once recommended HOHOs to me as a good way to get the feel for a city, and learn some good history. I have since done them in Grenoble, Edinburgh (a few times), Seattle, Dublin, and now Belfast, and I have never been disappointed. I really enjoy them, and also highly recommend them. As we did in Dublin, we did the whole loop once before deciding where to get off on the next loop.

Jojo In Front Of City Hall At Stop #1

After the first loop we hopped off to grab a coffee/tea and warm up a little. Jojo has decided that he likes lattes this trip, and might be inclined to have some more when he gets back home.😁 After some discussion we decided on two HOHO stops - Queens’s University/Botanical Gardens, followed by the Peace Wall/ troubles area.

The first stop at Queen’s University Belfast/ botanical gardens was very pleasant. On campus we toured around the Lanyon Quadrangle and looked in at the Great Hall. It must be summer term as the campus seemed very quiet. Next we headed over to the botanical gardens and had a peaceful stroll around the grounds. The trees and gardens were immaculately kept and very lush.

Jojo In Front Of His Alma 

The Great Hall

Once we were done at the gardens we flagged down a HOHO bus and headed over the Peace Wall to tour around the Irish and British sides. This part of the day was very interesting for us. There are still two very divided parts of this city, and it is very clear in West Belfast which side is being supported depending on where you are.  We walked along the Peace Wall first. The Peace Wall or peace line is a series of fences or barriers that were built to separate the Irish republican or Nationalistic Catholic from the British loyalist or unionist Protestants. Some of these walls are over 20 feet in height, and there are gates that are still closed every night to maintain peace between the neighbourhoods.

Jojo In Front Of One Of The Peace Wall Gates

There is a lot of street art that has been painted in the walls promoting peace in Northern Ireland and in other parts of the world.  It has become tradition for tourists to sign the walls with messages of peace and hope. We looked for Bill Clinton’s, Barack Obama’s, and my mother-in-law Annette’s signatures, but to no avail. We added a bilingual message of our own before heading over to the Protestant/unionist part of the city.

Jojo Signing The Peace Wall

Our Simple Message

Jojo In Front Of The Peace Wall

One thing that was immediately clear when walking through both sides is that there are many scars remaining from all of the tragedies of the troubles in the 60s, 70s, and 80s.  There are many  murals, memorials, and plaques detailing the events, the victims, and the lasting feelings towards the other side.  We felt sad, humbled, and grateful all at the same time.

Unionist Side #1

Unionist Side #2

Unionist Side #3

Republican Side #1

Republican Side #2

After we were done touring around both sides we caught the HOHO back downtown and headed to the apartment for a rest before dinner.  Our late afternoon breaks have been a blessing, and have been a nice way to break up the day.  Despite all of the fun we are having, I think we both appreciate this little bit of downtime that helps recharge us for the evening.

Tonight we ended up at The Garrick Bar for dinner.  It was a very cozy place with delicious club sandwiches!!  It turned out being MNF (Monday Night Football) tonight so we decided to stay and watch the first half of the Leicester City v. Liverpool match.  Liverpool has a very big following in Belfast so we were careful not to cheer for Leicester.  No worries though because Leicester are one of the three teams likely to be relegated when the season ends in three games, and it was 2-0 for Liverpool at the half.  It was fun to be part of the group, watching the game together in the local pub.

Tomorrow we had planned to head over to Giant’s Causeway but the thought of getting up early to sit on another bus for two hours isn’t thrilling us tonight.  We will likely look for another activity, closer to the city - maybe the Titanic museum, or maybe a local distillery tour.  We’ll keep you updated tomorrow night!  Thanks again to anybody who’s reading.  I hope we are telling an interesting story, and providing meaningful information.