Day 10 – Antrim & Belfast
The thing about the weather in Ireland is that the forecast always says rain. Every single day I have looked at the weather, it has shown clouds and rain. Most of the time it rains somewhere, just not necessarily where you are. Much of the time the sun also shines for some part of the day.
When we woke up on Monday, it wasn’t just raining, it was POURING! The wind was gusting and the Irish were evening commenting on what a nasty day it was. The plan had been to drive through the glens of Antrim, stopping for a hike along the way. As we were headed down the road we came across a car that had been blown into the side of the road and clearly lost control. We decided it wasn’t a day for being outside.
We headed south to Belfast and entertained ourselves by making videos along the way. Here is one that shows the fabulous horn on our Nissan Micra. I am sure the neighbors LOVED us.
We got to Belfast around 12, a couple hours earlier than expected. We went looking for the B&B recommended by the guidebook, but it didn’t seem to be where the guidebook said it was. We later learned we were on the wrong street, but since it was raining so hard, we weren’t exactly wandering around looking! We found another B&B in an old manor house that was just lovely.
The proprietor was this little old Irish man who was very helpful and set up a West Side Taxi ride for us. During the 70’s and 80’s, all the public transportation into and out of West Belfast was stopped, due to the Troubles. The two communities, Loyalists and Unionists (Protestants and Catholics respectively,) each set up their own taxi companies to serve as transportation into and out of the neighborhoods.
After the troubles calmed down and public transportation was returned, those same taxis started to do business in the tourist industry, giving tours of the neighborhoods and explaining the history.
It was possibly the coolest history lesson I have ever had. Our guide was an Irish man who had grown up in West Belfast. He did his best to give an unbiased account, but he was clearly Irish Catholic and a Unionist. We saw the murals and were able to ask for first hand accounts about the times. He told us stories about the protests, the fighting and about the peace process. He explained Sin Fein and the IRA as well as the SPLD. It was fascinating.
We then went to the City Hall and stayed for half a tour that paled in comparison. By the time we left, the rain had stopped, so we walked to a pub, had a pint and then walked back to our B&B. We had dropped off our laundry to be done while we toured around, and it was excellent to have clean clothes!
By the time we went out for dinner, it was pouring again, so we didn’t go far. The Barking Dog was just on the corner, and definitely made it into the top 3 dinners in Ireland. I had a lovely asparagus and poached egg starter while Jared had the scallops. For dinner, I enjoyed the hake over a fresh pea and mint risotto and Jared had the sole with chips and homemade tartar sauce. We splurged on desert with some honeycomb ice cream. It was divine.
Then we headed to the bar for some golf and pints before curling up in bed with Juno on TV, a nice quiet evening after a very wet day.
