Just kidding, it was probably only like half of the beer in Ireland ;) But it really is the end of our trip and we can't believe that it's gone by so fast! Our flight leaves in a few hours for home so this will be our last post from Ireland. I don't have time to post pictures from the last few days but I'll post some once we get home. For our second day in Belfast, we took a "Black Taxi Tour" around the city, where the taxi driver basically showed us around the parts of the city having to do with the Troubles while explaining to us some of Belfast's history. We were surprised to see that there's still a wall up that seperates the Catholic and Protestant communities and the gates through the wall are still closed every night! While on our tour we saw lots of different murals that had been painted on the walls of different buildings and towards the end of the tour, we even saw the man that has done most of the murals in the Catholic district working on a new mural. We got our picture taken with him and he was a very nice guy. Once we got in the cab, we were then informed that he was an ex-IRA member and had been recently released from prison (for robbery and attempted murder) when all political prisoners between 1990 and 2000 were released due to a cease-fire treaty! But we still made it back just fine and we even saw another interesting person on the streets of Belfast, Lady GaGa! After Belfast, we checked out nearby Shane's Castle and then headed back into Ireland. We stayed the night in Drogheda and then went into Dublin. That night, Casey got the tattoo that he'd been wanting but that wasn't even the most interesting thing that happened that night! As we were walking back to our hostel at about 8pm, an Irish guy who was about my age stopped us on the street and said that he'd just some from watching one of the football games and asked if we wanted to go to the pub with him and his friends to celebrate the match! We were told by our mother to go with the flow, so we said yes and the next thing we knew, we were having a couple pints with a bunch of new friends! After getting a bite to eat, the lads invited us to come to one of their friends' house, so we went there next. After meeting even more cool people and sharing a couple beers, they then took us to a club in south Dublin and got us into the VIP section! That night would seriously make a great beginning to a movie! :) The next day, we went to one of the football matches that were being hosted in Dublin (that's gaelic football, which is something like a cross between soccer and rugby) and that was very cool! Then we went to the Hill of Slane, north of Dublin, where St. Patrick lit the first Paschal Fire in defiance of the pagan Kings of Ireland at the time. We also checked out the Hill of Tara, which was the seat of the High Kings of Ireland. After that, we headed back into town, packed, and got some much needed sleep. Well, this has been an amazing trip and we really love Ireland, but we're definitely looking forward to getting home! Thanks for reading our blog and we can't wait to see you all!
The wall separating the Catholic and Protestant neighborhoods in Belfast
The first church to be attacked at the beginning of The Troubles
Us with Danny Devenny, an ex-IRA member who painted most of the murals in the Catholic district
Aye, it's mine
The stone covering the graves of Saints Patrick, Brigid, and Columba
At a Gaelic Football match in Dublin
The view from the top of the Hill of Slane
The wall separating the Catholic and Protestant neighborhoods in Belfast
The first church to be attacked at the beginning of The Troubles
Us with Danny Devenny, an ex-IRA member who painted most of the murals in the Catholic district
Aye, it's mine
The stone covering the graves of Saints Patrick, Brigid, and Columba
At a Gaelic Football match in Dublin
The view from the top of the Hill of Slane