Wednesday, January 12, 2011

Ireland - Part 2!

I thought I'd give you a little more about our trip to Ireland over the holidays before taking up the home improvement adventures again! One day a few of us were able to go explore the city closest to us - Londonderry, or Derry, as some refer to it! (More on this later)


Londonderry is known as "The Walled City" because the original city wall still stands.

However, as you can see above, today the city extends quite beyond the walls themselves, such that the walls really only surround the city center.
 You can walk all the way around the city center on the walls themselves...

 ...and see a lot of the history of the city that was...


  ...and some of the history that still is...
The reason the city is either called "Londonderry" or "Derry" is due to the religious or political affections of the people - "Loyalists" are true to the crown (UK) and even paint their curbs to show their loyalty. They refer to the city as Londonderry, as it was originally named.

 From a religious perspective, the Protestants are also generally associated with the Loyalists.

 On the other side of the city are those who generally want Northern Ireland to leave the UK and join with the Republic of Ireland. Generally, they are of the Catholic faith, and do not want the city to be associated with London, hence the name "Derry".


Looking from the city walls on the southern side of the city, you can see several murals painted on the side of apartment buildings. These murals recount times of political unrest during the "Troubles".

 
Looking towards the city from a bridge crossing the river Foyle. The bridge is a double-decker, so there are two ways people/traffic could get into and out of the city.

And yes, they still care about their money, whether it's dollars or pounds! We found this and stopped in to see what you might find in a "Pound World"! (Think Dollar Tree)

Well, if there is one thing the Irish love to eat it is their sweets (of course along with their tea)! We brought back some European goodies, most of which involve chocolate, and a few that involve potatoes! (Meat-flavored potato crisps!) What an experience!

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