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Day 2 In Belfast
Dec. 5th, 2007 07:24 pmThe second post! Day 2 of the weekend extravaganza, in Belfast. Well, beginning with Saturday night. We went down the street to the Bot (the Botanic Inn), a bar that had been reccommended to us by a northerner at the Gaiety. It was loud and crazy but loads of fun; we got drinks and danced around & were talked to by drunk boys, including one who butted into our group, put one arm around Charlotte and the other around me & started swaying back and forth with us like we were at a folk rock concert, and another who was flirting hardcore with Nora, mostly about her hair.
In the morning, Kate, Lee, Nora and I woke up early and tried to find a Catholic church to go to mass, it being the first Sunday of Advent and all. We had the lady at the hostel give us a map and draw on it where to go, but we still managed to get lost, our feet soaked within minutes, and getting very cold. We managed to somehow nearly get onto Falls road, but thankfully we finally found the church. There was still an hour before mass so we went to McD's for breakfast (classy, I know), & then back for mass. It was short and simple, but really lovely.
We found a cafe to get some warm beverages (harder than you'd think...everything is closed until about 1pm on Sundays), and met up with the other girls, to go on a Black Cab Tour. This is where a taxi driver will take you around Belfast and tell you about the politics and history. If you're lucky you get to go to both sides. We were lucky.
Our driver (who never gave us his name) first took us up Shankill road, which is the Protestant side of Belfast suburbs. Falls road is the Catholic side. They're separated by the Peace wall, and no one really crosses sides at all. In the city centre, Catholics and Protestants mix with no problems; there isn't really a lot of violence anymore. But still no one goes to the other side of the wall. We stopped off Shankill road to see the murals. Similar to Derry, people on both sides of the wall have painted murals about their history in the conflict (though in Derry as far as I know it's mostly the Catholics?).
(This one's a mural of Protestants defending their homes from an attack. The words read, Can it change? We believe!)
( Belfast murals, etc )
Now we're in our last week of classes...everything finishes for Enriqua tomorrow. Friday is a semi-showcase of devising stuff at the Gaiety (should do my research (read: watch Bugs Bunny cartoons on youtube) for that soon), & rehearsal with Antoinette. The weekend is our own. Monday and Tuesday we have rehearsals; Wednesday is the showcase; Thursday is Peter's Seagull reading; Friday is packing & cleaning the apartment & last hanging out with people; next Saturday we all go our separate ways. 10 more days.
In the morning, Kate, Lee, Nora and I woke up early and tried to find a Catholic church to go to mass, it being the first Sunday of Advent and all. We had the lady at the hostel give us a map and draw on it where to go, but we still managed to get lost, our feet soaked within minutes, and getting very cold. We managed to somehow nearly get onto Falls road, but thankfully we finally found the church. There was still an hour before mass so we went to McD's for breakfast (classy, I know), & then back for mass. It was short and simple, but really lovely.
We found a cafe to get some warm beverages (harder than you'd think...everything is closed until about 1pm on Sundays), and met up with the other girls, to go on a Black Cab Tour. This is where a taxi driver will take you around Belfast and tell you about the politics and history. If you're lucky you get to go to both sides. We were lucky.
Our driver (who never gave us his name) first took us up Shankill road, which is the Protestant side of Belfast suburbs. Falls road is the Catholic side. They're separated by the Peace wall, and no one really crosses sides at all. In the city centre, Catholics and Protestants mix with no problems; there isn't really a lot of violence anymore. But still no one goes to the other side of the wall. We stopped off Shankill road to see the murals. Similar to Derry, people on both sides of the wall have painted murals about their history in the conflict (though in Derry as far as I know it's mostly the Catholics?).
(This one's a mural of Protestants defending their homes from an attack. The words read, Can it change? We believe!)
( Belfast murals, etc )
Now we're in our last week of classes...everything finishes for Enriqua tomorrow. Friday is a semi-showcase of devising stuff at the Gaiety (should do my research (read: watch Bugs Bunny cartoons on youtube) for that soon), & rehearsal with Antoinette. The weekend is our own. Monday and Tuesday we have rehearsals; Wednesday is the showcase; Thursday is Peter's Seagull reading; Friday is packing & cleaning the apartment & last hanging out with people; next Saturday we all go our separate ways. 10 more days.
