Boring boat trip.

From Ireland I took a ferry across to France, so as to get to the city of love and romance, Paris. I learnt a lot on this ferry trip...most importantly... take along something to do. Something that can keep you busy for between 16 and 18 hours... unless you are a seasoned traveller and have learnt the art of sleeping anywhere, anytime (lucky you). I unfortunately had not learnt that skill quite yet, and so was wide awake (with the exception of a restless hour or so) for basically the entire 18 hour trip. Usually you would have Wi-Fi available, and it's free at that, so make use of the time to upload some of your photo's, without having to pay crazy internet cafe prices, or rely on, sometimes "iffy", hostel internet. Unfortunately the Wi-Fi wasn't working, so unfortunately YouTube videos, Facebook and Twitter were out of the question. Movies saved to my computer, writing in my journal, and making friends with random strangers (who are now not so strange) sufficed none-the-less.

If like me, you are trying to save money, book a seat instead of a bunk and make sure you have your sleeping bag with you. The seats recline, but I found crashing on the floor was a bit easier. The floors are carpeted with about 30 seats in a room with plenty of space around the seats, so you should have space. If you are willing to pay a bit more, go for a bunk. These are apparently a lot comfier and more private, especially if you are travelling in a group.

Be prepared to spend a little more on the ferry. Prices are rather high for food and the cinema etc., particularly when converting Rand into Euro's, so take a packed lunch, snacks and something to drink if you want to avoid paying. That, my friends, is how to travel cheaply/like a student.

My ferry trip was pretty boring, and excruciatingly long, but I did meet some really wonderful people. Take the time to chat to people around you. If you are lucky you might meet someone who is from the place you are visiting next. They can give you some tips on sites to see, cultural expectations, laws you may not have known about, and most importantly may help you overcome the language barrier a little. I was extremely fortunate to meet a lovely French girl who helped me learn a few phrases and wrote some things down for me. She also helped to find someone who was going to the station in Cherbourg, and so I was able to walk with someone who knew his way around.

I have met the most interesting people on my limited travels and have been so incredible amazed to see how kind and helpful people can be, regardless of culture, nationality or language. It is simply about taking the time to get to know someone, sharing a story or two and making a friend. :)

Unfortunately no photo's for this one, but please continue to read this blog and subscribe if you like.
Have a blessed week.

Beautiful Belfast...

It seems I have once again been neglecting my blog. My apologies. :)

On my 21st birthday, I had the privilege of visiting Belfast. Yes, that's right... Birthday in Belfast... has such a cool ring to it. A family friend, who had studied at Queens University in Belfast, took me through. It was truly an incredible experience.

Visiting the Titanic Museum was one of the most educational, interesting places I visited, and definitely, worth the money you pay to get in. So a definite gold star from my end. With floors and floors of Titanic information, you can fully understand the immensity of it all. Each floor tackles a specific aspect of the Titanic. With the bottom floor giving you a rollercoaster-ish type of ride "through the ship yards"... showing exactly how it was built. The middle floors show you exactly what life on the ship was like, giving you an idea of how everything looked and what exactly was on board. Another floor shows you all the movies, books or songs etc that have been made based on or in tribute to the Titanic. Whilst yet another floor focuses on the discovery of the Titanic (you can even watch a film of the underwater exploration). To add to the experience you can see the infamous Samson and Goliath from outside the museum. These are two giant cranes, with Samson being the bigger of the two, situated in the Harland & Wolff Shipyard.

Taking a "black taxi" tour of Belfast is awesome. You get an inside view of how Belfast is, and more importantly used to be. It is incredibly interesting, and if you know to ask, as did I, you can ask them to take you past Campbell College, which is where the famous author, C.S. Lewis went to school. You can even sneak a photo at the famous lamppost from "The lion the witch and the wardrobe."

If you're lucky, you might get to see the Parliamentary Buildings at Stormont... from the outside. They were preparing for the Queens arrival on my visit there.

One of the things I found most fascinating were the murals all around Belfast. They take you back in time and show you the history of Northern Ireland in beautifully, yet sometimes quite frightening, pictures, painted to represent the fears, beliefs and feelings of the citizens of Belfast. These murals vary depending on which side of the city you are on. Specifically whether you are on the side of the Catholics or the Protestants. These two sides are separated by a wall, now termed the Peace Wall. This was my favourite site in Belfast. It is quite scary to see how the wall was extended through history as fighting intensified. Now, as an attempt to beautify this, everyone is free to write or paint on it... basically acceptable graffiti. :) The messages of peace, love and hope are inspiring and beautiful.

Finally, I ended off my day touring around the breathtakingly gorgeous Queens College. With incredible old buildings and incredible botanical gardens next door, it was the perfect way to end my Birthday in Belfast before heading back to lovely Dublin.