And her heart, it is in Ireland, deep within the Emerald Isle

This past weekend, several friends and I made it to Ireland; it only took a bus from our res hall to Victoria Train Station, a train to Gatwick Airport, a plane to Belfast, a taxi from the airport to the city center, and a bus from Belfast to Dublin. Despite the long travel hours, it was a great weekend. Our ultimate aim was to get to Dublin, but since the cheapest flight flew into Belfast, we thought we should explore the city a little. Before leaving, we found a taxi service in Belfast that gives tours, so we requested one. Ireland has a tumultuous history with Great Britain, and Northern Ireland still belongs to the United Kingdom. Our tour guide took us around the Catholic portion of the city and told us about "The Troubles." Peace between the Catholics and Protestants has been a somewhat recent development, within the last decade or so. There is still a wall between the two portions of the city, and the gates close every night at 6:00 pm. As seen in the pictures below, political murals cover the walls. Sadly, the first reflects Ireland's, and most of Europe's, opinion about President Bush. It shows President Bush sucking the oil (and money) out of the Middle East, with the straw supported by Great Britain.



A few weeks ago, my Censorship class watched a new movie called "Hunger." It was about some members of the IRA who were imprisoned and went on a hunger strike to get Maggie Thatcher to recognize them as political prisoners. Bobby Sands, whose mural is shown below, was the leader and was even elected to parliament in Westminster before he died from the hunger strike. I didn't know anything about Ireland's history before coming to England, and it was really interesting to see the movie and then the actual city where it took place.



Below is the green wall that separates the Catholics from the Protestants.



Below is another mural. The gun points at the viewer, regardless of where they stand.




After the tour around Belfast and Irish stew at a pub dating back to the 1850s, we took a 3 hour-long bus ride to Dublin and spent the evening walking around and enjoying the Christmas decorations. The tree below changed colors.




Saturday was filled with visiting places in the city, including Trinity College, where the Book of Kells is kept.




After viewing the beautifully illustrated, 7th-century collection of the four Gospels, we spent the early afternoon walking around Dublin. My fellow travelers (from L to R) were Kinsey, Kaitlin, Kristen, Kyle, Ryan, and Craig (Katelyn met up with one of her friends and spent the afternoon with her).




To finish off the afternoon, we took a tour of the Guinness Factory. It covered everything from the ingredients to advertising schemes, and it included a pint at the bar at the top of the building.



Water, one of the four main ingredients (barley, hops, and yeast are the other three), was demonstrated with a waterfall in the middle of the factory.



Below, Craig and I are in the tasting room, getting a sample of the brew.



Sunday, we trekked to the Writer's Museum, before heading back to Belfast. Since we got there early, we hung out and explored around the neighborhood a little.





Overall, we had a great trip, and we returned to London with the realization that we will be home in only three weeks!