Belfast

I found Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland, to be a very interesting place. However, I am not really sure how to sum what I saw in Belfast in only a few words. When we arrived in the city, we parked near City Hall and walked around the main shopping district and had a pretty sweet lunch, including a mean baklava. This part of the city was great. Taxi's in Belfast were like you would think of those in London. We had a driving tour on the way out of the city, including trips down Falls Road, Shank Hill and Sandy Row. We drove past the Hotel Europa, the most terrorized hotel in the world, it has been bombed 29 times. We drove past a car that looked as though it had been set on fire just a few days before. We also saw some interesting street signs, for example one sign warned of elderly people crossing the street. (almost as good as the one we saw in Salt Hill, that had a cliff a car and a circle with a line through it) The murals on Sandy Row, Shank Hill and Falls Road were something else. Amazing art and powerful messages, but very sad to see all the tension and hatered on both the sides of the divide. I did not get to take enough pictures because we were in the car. I cannot comprehend what life must be like growing up in these neighborhoods. The two pictures I have, do not do justice to the atmosphere of these neighborhoods.

Belfast Street Corner

City Hall Belfast

Irish Murals on Belfast
street corner