Derry (Warning!!! History lesson!!!)

We took a trip to Derry or Londonderry. We pretty much did the same thing as yesterday. Had lunch, walked around the city and then met my MIL again.  Except Derry has so much history right under your feet. I'll tell you the history and walk you through our day with pictures!

Glenshane pass on our way to Derry

Center of Derry



Shipquay St. On of the steeper streets. It's wicked it walk up it. You can smell the burning clutch from all the people who can't do a hill start.



Lunch! Took a while to find a sandwich shop that had a high chair. It was nice for another girls day out.

Eating chicken!

The view outside the shop. The old walls of Derry. I know I've mentioned them when we went to Derry for St. Patrick's day.



This is what the wall looks like from the top. You can walk the entire thing.

St. Augustine's church. It was one of the orignal churches in the city on a monastry site. It became too small for the population so they built St. Columb's Catherdal which you'll see later on.



Just as a helpful guide. When it says plantation settlers it means the lowland Scottish farmers the English government brought in to try and slowly convert the Irish population or "conquer". However Ulster, one of the 4 proviences of Ireland was the most heavily or strongly Catholic.  The history in Northern Ireland is a long and bloody one after the plantation settlers came over.

Graveyard of St. Augustine's church.

O was very good again today. Didn't whine at all. I can't believe how good she was. Also I can't believe that I would ever have to use sunscreen in March, lets hope it stays this way for a while.

A canon used on the battlements.

This is looking down at Bogside. Bogside is where the Catholic population lived in Derry since William of Orange took over. As I said before the history in NI is tragic. It has filled hundreds of books and is too much for me to tell even a wee bit of it . The mural on the building is one of 11 that show the history of the troubles since the beginning.

A broader view of the Bogside. This is also where Bloody Sunday took place as well.

Another look at the wall from the defending side.  This is looking down at Bogside.

A map of the walled city. It looks much bigger than it really is. I would say it's about a quarter to  half a mile across from the middle.

Each gate is marked by their name. They all had signs with the history behind each name.

Derry is a very hilly city. This is one of staircases I had to carry the stroller up and down. Walking around the walls with one of those is the best work out ever! I seemed to be the only one with a stroller on the wall. So I either stood out like a tourist or was just a crazy local.





The front of St. Columb's Cathedral. It looked they're restoring the whole thing. I can't wait until it opens.

Another part of the wall. There were only two of these turrets.  It did look like much of the wall was restored. The Butcher Gate had been rebuilt.

This was taken from the other side of the wall looking at the Waterside. This side is the Protestant side. As you can see by the mural, there is still is some tension.

The west bank





Another look at the wall coming down the hill.

This is the Tower Museum. I'm dying to find out the history. Will try and take our friends here when they come to visit us next week. Luckily one of them is a history major too!

Going back up the hill

Posing in front of the American tourist and the walking tours. I heard alot of American accents today. I hate to say this, but we stick out like sore thumbs when we travel, unless you're "disguised" by a local family like I have been. I will say that living in Europe will change your dress. I just have to take less pictures and then I won't stand out as much.

This is a hidden side street. It's called the Derry Craft center and connects Shipquay St to the where I took the picture of going up the hill. If you stay within the walls it's very easy to learn where to go in Derry. 

I would love to live in a area like this. It was quiet and just had such a quaint feeling.

Thought this was funny. It's the cafe you see in the first picture of the craft center. Why it was called Boston Tea Party I have no idea. Either to attract tourist or because America was able to kick the British out. I love that is says American muffins. Didn't realize there was a big difference.

 It was a great day today all around. Another sunny day! After my MIL got done where her meeting, we went and got a cup of tea and biscuits and walked around one of the shopping centers, or what we would call a "mall". Did pick up a parenting magazine. I'm sure I'll be telling you all the differences I found. Anyways O fell asleep on the way home. All the sun and fresh air wore her out. Tomorrow I'll be getting the house ready for A & D then a nice quiet weekend until they get here.

oíche mhaith

Happy Saint Patrick's Day

St. Patrick's Day is definitely not as big as it is in America. Yes they talk about it on the news, but you don't really see a lot of people wearing green except for the younger kids. They do however get the day off from school. Paddy's day in Northern Ireland is also different as well. It's supposed to be a non-sectarian day, meaning both Protestants and Catholics should be celebrating his day, but sometimes it's not always the case.  Here's a piece of information I didn't realize: You aren't really supposed to fly the tri-colored flag (Ireland's flag) because the Republic of Ireland came way after St. Patrick did. He has his own flag, which looks like St. Andrew's flag of Scotland but white with red X. The parades around Northern Ireland were more about the celebration of myths and legends, much like the Derry one we went to.

We started our day going to Mass with my mother-in-law and her parents. I wish I could have heard mass, but O wanted to walk around outside. The church is very small and there is no reception or waiting area. It was a nice day again, so that helped. They had a small band that played afterwards.  R and I then took O to Londonderry or Derry. They say you'll know if a person is a Protestant or Catholic on how they say the town. It was in Derry where William of Orange took hold of the Northern Irish population in the 1600's then change to Londonderry after English control. I won't go into the history, that's for another day. But Derry is in the mountains towards the very middle of N.I. You have to go through the Glenshane pass to get to it. I wish I could describe how beautiful the mountains are. My camera would just not do them justice. Maybe next time I'll try and take some pictures. The tops of the mountains had snow and below were fields of heather and green.

Derry did a festival, but we were late so we just walked around the city for a little bit, listened to the band and drove home. It was a lovely day, wishing we could have gone to the pub, but I am already in the "settled in" mode for the night. Maybe next year. Hope everyone had a safe holiday or has a safe day.

Below are pictures from the day, they highlight everything a little better. 



O walking around the church yard during mass. We went with granny and the two greats to St. Patrick's mass in Desertmartin. I unfortunately missed all of it because she wanted to run around and there was also no room to sit down in the back. It was very crowded today.




The view looking outside the church door. It was another clear sunny day.




The Desertmartin church




This is the Irish band that played before and after mass. They were very good. No bagpipes in this band.



Granny and O wearing their green

This is banner that lead the small parade through Desertmartin. It is the A.O.H or Ancient Order of Hibernians. It's an Irish Catholic fraternal organization.

The other side of the banner

Dancing to the beat of the drums

This is a picture of part of the walled city of Derry. On the maps it's called Londonderry, but it was originally Derry before the English took over. Derry is where Bloody Sunday took place.



Some dressed up as a Leprechauns. There were alot of tourist in Derry for the carnival.



The tail end of the parade. We were running late and missed it. This was a dragon whose head touched the crowd. The theme for this parade was Myths and Legends from all over the world

As you can see it was very crowded, but very peaceful. Mostly tourist and families out for a fun day since all the schools close over here for a long weekend.

People watchin in her stroller

They had a band playing after the parade. Could not tell you their name, but it was mostly traditional, or trad music. They had a few bag pipers and 3 Irish dancers as well.

Us enjoying the music

Another section of the walled city or Old Derry

Sleepy after a long ride and long day

The view looking out into the east of Northern Ireland. You could just see for miles and miles. To get to Derry you have to go through the mountains or on the Glenshane pass. I could not tell you how many miles above sea level, but it feels like you are very very high up.

oíche mhaith