Belfast City Tour

Hi there everyone,

It's good to post for you again! Because today was our free day, which consisted of shopping and eating in Belfast, I'm going to tell you a little bit about our events yesterday. Then in a little while Elizabeth will be writing about the day before that. Sorry for the delays, but I'm sure you will understand that we are quite busy here.

To continue with the topic, though, yesterday our group went on a tour of the city of Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland. It was probably one of the busiest days we've had on our trip, so I will just give you a very brief summary of all the sites we saw.

Political sites. Some of the places we visited were political in nature: the Belfast City Hall and Stormont, or the Parliament building. The City Hall was mainly interesting for its incredible designs--such as marble stairs and impressive chandeliers--and memorials--such as one to those who died in the first and second World Wars. Parliament, though, was more interesting for its living history: we were able to see chambers in which political members, both Unionist and Nationalist, meet and debate.

Industrial sites. A few other sites were related to an industry that no longer dominates Belfast but used to make it a central hub in Europe: shipbuilding. We visited the city's official Harbor Office to learn about the industry in general and the building's historical significances. Then we ventured to Belfast's dry docks and an old edifice for ship planning, both of which were involved in the creation of the Titanic. Yes, the Titanic was built in Belfast; the Harbor Office still has a table that was designed for the ship's captain but never delivered to him.

Historical sites. One site in particular was historical in nature: the Belfast Castle. Originally a private residence and now a public park, the castle is notable mainly for its own beauty and incredible view of the city of Belfast. This makes it a prime location for many types of events, such as weddings. At this visit, we were able to see one of the many ways in which historical buildings are used in the modern world.

Fraternal sites. Some of our last sites yesterday were lodges of the Orange Order, a fraternal organization that was founded in the 1600s for the protection of Protestants in Northern Ireland from the Catholics. Because much of our trip to Northern Ireland is meant to involve the history of the Ulster-Scots, who began the organization, seeing these lodges and their members was a vital link to their culture. We saw traditional music and learned about the philosophy of the Orange Order, both of which deepened my understanding of this organization and its people.

Cultural and literary sites. Our last site--or, more properly, event--for the day was a Robert Burns dinner. This dinner is rather formal, including musical and dance performances and traditional foods like haggis (basically a mixture of sheep guts cooked inside its stomach, which I was unable to eat due to my vegetarianism). It has been held for over 400 years in Northern Ireland to commemorate the island's national bard, Robert Burns, who has been an inspiration to poets and songwriters of the past and today. As one of my majors is English literature, I was very interested to hear about Burns' poetic skills, which include shedding light on social ills and speaking from the voices of diverse peoples. I would greatly suggest reading some of his poems; you can access many of them through this site.

Well, that is an extremely short summary of our very busy day yesterday. You can imagine that we were quite happy to have a free day today, and will still be grateful for our half day tomorrow. We will write soon about our last few days in Belfast; then, we will get to see Ireland's capital, Dublin. Shortly after that, we'll be on our way home; time sure flies when you're as busy as we are!