The name Burren is from the Irish - bhoireann meaning a stony place. Its formation has lain unspoiled since the ice-age and is composed of karstic limestone, the largest area of such in western Europe. This is another place that I need to go back to as there is a lot to see.
I also had the chance to visit Ireland's beach. It was funny, but I had heard about the beaches from the radio, and they talked about how beautiful they were and I was lucky enough to find it out for myself. It was some what of a grey day, but it made the water just beautiful.
Back in Dublin, I was able to get my car back to the rental place at the airport, catch a bus to the train station and then took the train up to Belfast. Now, me, being a ignorant American, thought that I would be able to just get pounds sterling and be able to use them anywhere, right? I mean, I am in Great Britain, right? Well, for future reference, when traveling in Great Britain you should get Irish pounds in Northern Ireland, Scottish pounds in Scotland, and English pounds in England. I was able to use the Northern Irish pounds but not without a lot of weird looks and nice people that "looked the other way" and took my money. Another thing that I did't do was plan enough time for travel. I always ended up later at my destinations than I had intended, and it was the same with Belfast. This being the case, I didn't get to see much, but I did see a bit. Enough to see a big difference in the feel between Belfast and Dublin. Belfast felt British with an Irish influence where Dublin was all Irish. Mainly it was the architecture, as I will now show...
This church was just down the street from my hotel.
I walked down to the main part of old Belfast and ran right into Queen's College and the Botanical Gardens.
Queen's University Belfast has a record of academic achievement which stretches back more than 150 years. Founded by Queen Victoria, the Queen's University in Ireland, was designed to be a non-denominational alternative to Trinity College Dublin which was controlled by the Anglican Church.
The University was made up of three Queen's Colleges - in Cork, Galway and Belfast. Although it was the first University in the north of Ireland, Queen's drew on a tradition of learning which goes back to 1810 and the foundation of the Belfast Academical Institution.
First established in 1828, the gardens have been enjoyed as a public park by the people of Belfast since 1895. Situated near Queens University Belfast, the Botanic Gardens is an important part of Belfast’s Victorian heritage and a popular meeting place for residents, students and tourists.
I took this because I thought it showed a nice contrast between modern and aged
This is just great architecture!!!!
All in all, I enojoyed my short time in Northen Ireland and would like to go back and see much more, as there is a lot more to see.
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