We have to get up at WHAT TIME???

That's how Thursday night ended. I want to go on record by saying that Beth planned this entire crazy itinerary that I wanted to do herself, she has done a wonderful job. She got a little help from the Rick Steves web site but she basically did it herself. So it's expected that there will be a few snafus. For example this morning. Friday morning was suppose to be easy. Get up. Go to the airport. Fly to Belfast. The only problem was that the "airport" was a 45 minute train ride from the hotel. Oh... and it's a different airport then the one we flew into last Sunday and we have to be there so early, that the Underground doesn't run yet. So even though there is an Underground station walking distance from our hotel and even though we have to catch a train at ANOTHER Underground station across London, we had to take 20 Pound cab ride to get there. Frankly I think the cab driver was driving in circles but he also coincidently offered us one last look at basically every sight we had seen all week long.

So, Beth says that she learned a very important lesson this morning... "cheaper is NOT always better". Yeah, the plane flight from Stansted was a little bit cheaper then flying out of Heathrow, but we spent everything we saved on cab fare and the train tickets... Oh well, live and learn.

We flew on "easyjet.com", the Southwest Air of Europe. Everything was orange.

As usual, we arrived before our room was ready. In Belfast we are staying in the Windermere House. Again a Bed and Breakfast place but it appears that they actually do something more then leave a basket with some fruit in it on your bed every day. (This is what we had in London).

One of our first views of the Irish landscape.

We sat down and talked to this couple from England. We didn't get their names but he was in town for a Judo tournament. They were interested in things about the states and wanted to one day go to Hawaii. We told them that because of the current exchange rates now would be a great time.

Then Des showed up. He was to be our driver on a 1 hour long "political tour" of Belfast. Des proceeded to, in the best way he knew how, to describe the 900 year long clash between the Irish Nationals and the, uh, the other side.

Des (Desmond) our tour guide. His accent was so thick we couldn't understand him half the time.

Here's the basic rundown. Ireland was Ireland. Britan sent in some dudes and the King gave away some of the choice land to the dudes and drove the Irish land owners up into the hills where the farming wasn't as good. So for 900 years there has been the Irish, or Nationals or Catholics against the British, or Republic or Protestant. I asked Des why religious labels get attached to this clearly political issue and he said that basically MOST people are not very religious but that the labels are more historical then anything else.

This is a famous mural. It very sarcastically highlights the IRA's commitment to peace.

We talked about monuments and "wall murals" and discussed if they were a good memorial or a painful reminder. Des was all for honoring the dead and never forgetting. I wasn't advocating forgetting but it seems like these people surely need to forgive. Too many people have died over a feud that has gone on for 900 years.

Des said that they encourage tourists to sign the wall, we told him that instead of leaving our mark
we would rather take away a photo to tell the story to others.

Des took us by the wall that cuts the city in two. He told us how it was built in the 70's to minimize the fighting. He told us how a whole block of homes were burnt down in the early 70's and the Protestant police just stood by because they were Catholic homes. I told Des that in the US in the big cities like New York, Chicago and San Francisco that MOST people in the law enforcement sector are Irish Catholics. Des said that the Catholics in Belfast don't trust the police and surely don't want to join them.

All in all, it's a really sad story but Des told us that things are getting MUCH better and the two sides are working toward a peaceful future.

The front of Windermere House where we stayed. Our windows are on the second floor
right above the round bay window.

After we got back to the room, which was now ready Beth brought up the one question that we never asked Des... was he Protestant or Catholic. I think he is Protestant and therefore favors English presence in Northern Ireland. Beth seemed to think he was more sympathetic to the Catholics.

To make the matters of jet lag worse, now we had to deal with the fact that we got up at 3AM and basically we lost the battle. Beth was getting a headache (sure sign she hadn't slept enough and even I was very groggy so basically we both crawled into bed and slept till about 6PM... so much for getting on local time.

Nap time. This room is about 3 times the size of the one we had in London.

Oh yea, the weather. Today on the news they said that the weather in London was 30 degrees Celsius, uh... that's hot. However, in Belfast it feels like a winter day in Northern California, cold, wet and dreary and they say it will be worse tomorrow, oh well.