July 15, 2012
We are off to Northern Ireland today. This is all very exciting as neither of us has been there before.
Our little hopper flight from Gatwick to Belfast City Airport took just over an hour so we were on the ground headed for our first Guinness by 11am.
A brief overview of the Troubles in Northern Ireland (thanks Wicki):
The Troubles refers to approximately three decades of violence between elements of Northern Ireland's nationalist community (who mainly self-identified as Irish and/or Roman Catholic) and its unionist community (who mainly self-identified as British and/or Protestant). Use of the term "the Troubles" has been raised at the Northern Ireland Assembly level, as some people considered this period of conflict to have been a war. The conflict was the result of discrimination against the Nationalist/Catholic minority by the Unionist/Protestant majority and the question of Northern Ireland's status within the United Kingdom. The violence was characterized by the armed campaigns of Irish Republican and Ulster loyalist paramilitary groups. This included the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) campaign of 1969-1997, intended to end British rule in Northern Ireland and to reunite Ireland politically and thus create a 32 county Irish Republic; and of the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), formed in 1966 in response to the perceived erosion of both the British character of, and unionist domination of, Northern Ireland. The state security forces—the British Army and the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC)—were also involved in the violence. Between 1969 and 2001, 3,526 people were killed as a result of the Troubles.
One of the first things we saw walking down the city street was this plaque on the side of a building marking the spot were an IRA member was shot by the British army in 1972. These are found throughout the city and a constant memory of the conflict.
Bap (often a larger soft roll, roughly 5-6 inches in diameter).
Dough can contain fats such as lard or butter to provide tenderness to
dough. Can come in multiple shapes dependent on region. Baps as
traditionally made in Scotland are not sweet, unlike the Irish version which may contain currants.
It didn't take us long to find our lunch. There was a Paella stand with a long line and we just knew from the smell and the line that this was the place. Paella is a traditional Spanish dish and is usually made with rabbit, chicken or duck. Here they had this whole leg of cured pig (prosciutto) that they were carving off to add to one of their enormous skillets of rice, vegetables, beans, saffron, etc. that is the heart of paella.
Chris and Julie Anne at the cupcake stand. We bought a dozen small cakes to snack on later.
Our next stop was Bittles Bar. The building dates to 1861 and is one of those curious triangular structures. The lounge is decorated with portraits
and pictures of Ireland's most celebrated literary figures, from Wilde
to Yeats, Joyce and Beckett. There are also paintings of Ireland's most controversial political figures and the period know as The Troubles when the Catholics and Protestants were killing each other in the streets.
Here, Oscar Wilde is behind the bar. Also Beckett, Joyce, Yeats and other literary figures.
Go here for a great video on the huge collection of political murals in Belfast: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KhvYMZ1e_U4
We move on up the beautiful coast of Northern Ireland in my next post.
We are off to Northern Ireland today. This is all very exciting as neither of us has been there before.
Our little hopper flight from Gatwick to Belfast City Airport took just over an hour so we were on the ground headed for our first Guinness by 11am.
Our first view of Northern Ireland as we came into Belfast from the air. And, the sun is shining!
Our hosts - Chris and Julie Anne
Julie Anne is a colleague of Rowan's and Chris is her hubby. They live a ways up the northwest coast outside of Belfast. You will see more of that later.
The Troubles refers to approximately three decades of violence between elements of Northern Ireland's nationalist community (who mainly self-identified as Irish and/or Roman Catholic) and its unionist community (who mainly self-identified as British and/or Protestant). Use of the term "the Troubles" has been raised at the Northern Ireland Assembly level, as some people considered this period of conflict to have been a war. The conflict was the result of discrimination against the Nationalist/Catholic minority by the Unionist/Protestant majority and the question of Northern Ireland's status within the United Kingdom. The violence was characterized by the armed campaigns of Irish Republican and Ulster loyalist paramilitary groups. This included the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) campaign of 1969-1997, intended to end British rule in Northern Ireland and to reunite Ireland politically and thus create a 32 county Irish Republic; and of the Ulster Volunteer Force (UVF), formed in 1966 in response to the perceived erosion of both the British character of, and unionist domination of, Northern Ireland. The state security forces—the British Army and the Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC)—were also involved in the violence. Between 1969 and 2001, 3,526 people were killed as a result of the Troubles.
One of the first things we saw walking down the city street was this plaque on the side of a building marking the spot were an IRA member was shot by the British army in 1972. These are found throughout the city and a constant memory of the conflict.
We made our way through the city streets to St. Georges Market. The market is in an old train station and houses many vendors selling art, goods, antiques and of course FOOD! That is the main reason we came here as it is lunch time, and of course we need to eat before we have that Guinness :o)
Here is a fantastic table of cakes that we will come back to later.
Here is a seafood paella. You can see the mussels around the edge and shrimp on top. The paella is cooked in this large skillet called a paellera.
It was absolutely DELICIOUS!
You can tell how good it was by the look on Rowan's face :o)
The very cozy inside of Bittles.
Ahhhhhhhhhhh........ This is definitely the REAL THING!
Some of the paintings:
Gerry Adams (Irish Republican leader of Sinn Fein) is in the center.
Paintings showing important moments in the conflict know as The Troubles.
We left Bittles for a walk around the hustle bustle of Belfast City.
Here is another statue of our friend Queen Victoria.
You will find a representation of 'Vicki' in every former and current British colony in the world. This woman really gets around! A woman to be reckoned with! I mean, would you mess with her?
You will find a representation of 'Vicki' in every former and current British colony in the world. This woman really gets around! A woman to be reckoned with! I mean, would you mess with her?
Julie Anne decided we needed to get in the car and take a tour of the different parts of the city.
The city is famous for its many political murals about the conflicts here. As we drove around, I made some movies of Julie Anne and Chris telling us about the history of the city.
Some mural pictures.....
We move on up the beautiful coast of Northern Ireland in my next post.
