Category Archives: June 21

Ulster Museum, Our Last Day In Ireland

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Today was our very last day of our program and in Ireland. This is an incredibly upsetting thing to write right now, because I’ve had the time of my life here. Today I felt was the perfect last day. We ended going to the Ulster Museum and the botanical gardens which were both absolutely massive. The photo above is of the glass house in the botanical gardens and I thought this house was amazing because all of the plants were so unique. Afterwards we went to the museum which had a lot of history of how Northern Ireland came to be. There was a part of the museum I opted out of seeing, which was the natural history section that was full of taxidermy. As a vegan I don’t agree with the ethics of this, but other than that part I found the museum to be amazing. The Troubles exhibit was my favorite because it was really powerful to see all of the propaganda throughout the streets of Ireland, and I had no idea that all of these things happened to recently. The museum really opened up my eyes into the brutal history both Ireland and Northern Ireland faced. After the museum we went on the Black Taxi tour which I felt was extremely one-sided. The tour guides only talked about how horrible the IRA was and not really about what their mission was. I did enjoy all of the art and memorials on the streets because something about going to a place where a major thing happened makes it all the more powerful. Our dinner was a nice wrap up of our program, the food was incredible as well as all of you people that were apart of this wonderful trip. I honestly believe that I had made lifelong friends and I will never forget this experience.

Last Day in Ireland

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Today was our last day in Ireland, and I couldn’t be more reluctant to leave. It is difficult not to note the drastic differences between Belfast and Dublin. Even though we only spent two full days in Belfast, it’s very obvious that Belfast is not quite as lively or touristy.

First, we took a walk to the Ulster Museum and Botanic Gardens. Since the weather was nice, I decided to walk through the garden before the museum. The glass house was absolutely breathtaking and I could not believe how many different types of plants could live (and thrive) in one place (I have a hard time keeping succulents alive)! A bit further along, we came across the rose garden. I’m pretty sure I smelled just about every single type of rose in the entire garden. One of them in particular smelled like a Lush store, and I was tempted to take one with me!

We decided to explore the museum for a little while, and I found myself interested mostly in the exhibit on The Troubles in Ireland. I learned a new stance on the issue between Northern Ireland and the Irish Republic when I walked through this exhibit, which I anticipated. Later on when we had our Black Taxi Tour, I was really surprised by how one-sided the information seemed. I completely have sympathy for the innocent victims who were needlessly killed, but I think they could have touched on the brutality that was received by victims in the IRA as well.

Aside from that point, I really enjoyed the tour and think I won’t forget it, as seeing the faces or innocent victims was incredibly sobering.

Rocks, water, cliffs and other awesomeness!

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An image will be here shortly…. Wifi problems!

The Giant’s Causeway tour was incredible. Each location superseded the last, and Whitney, Shanna and I were consistently blown away. After a quick stop at a 12th century castle along the Irish Sea, we got the opportunity to cross over the infamous rope bridge (which we thought had been closed!!). The experience was terrifying but still amazing and definitely unforgetable.

After, we made the short drive to the most breathtaking scene:  the actual causeway, which we learned is the product of ancient volcanic eruptions. However, local legends about the causeway claim that giants built the structures of perfectly squared, oversized stones stacked atop one another. Since science tends to be incomprehensible to me, both options are equally logical in my eyes. If I was to connect this scene to the ideas about “place” we have discussed on this trip, I would propose that this place is made meaningful by the absence of memories. Sure, geologists can pin down the origin on the stones, but the system through which they took on their unique shape is practically inaccessible; therefore, we are left to fill in the gaps with folklore and other made up tales that work towards explaining things beyond our understanding.

Whitney and Shana found themselves shouting random adjectives at the cliffs, saying “astonishing,” “amazing,” “spectacular.” And while all of this was in jest, I can’t come up with any other way to describe the experience of the causeway. All of us have seen beautiful beaches and shorelines, but something about this place stood out. We couldn’t pin down if it was the contrast between the deep blue water, the grey stones and the green grass or the magnificence of the stones overall—or if we were made privy to something special since the day had turned out to be so beautiful. For a measly 23 pounds, we got an experience of a lifetime, in places that we couldn’t have even imagined.