Belfast

We managed to buy tickets for 15 Euros each to Belfast, leaving at 10am. It was a relaxing 2 1/2 hour trip north, and we stayed at the Europa Hotel, infamous for being the most bombed hotel in Ireland! There was certainly no sign of that, as it was so flash I was sure we were in the wrong place and waited to be told we didn't actually have a booking there. It was only 95 pounds for the night and would have loved to have stayed longer.

Across the road is the famous Crown Hotel with a history involving a Protestant/Catholic couple who once owned it (and it still serves beautiful meals).

We did another red bus tour that afternoon, this time to include the seedier side of town. I have always wanted to see the murals from IRA times and they were still there in all their glory. I did not realise though that there is still a wall separating Protestant and Catholic communities. A couple of weeks after our visit was the annual Protestant parade which brought new violence, but it looked like those involved were too young to understand the real meaning behind the problems.