Belfast

To celebrate Rachael's birthday we (MC, John, Matt, Rach, Huia, Kelly, Krystal and Dan) popped over to Northern Ireland for the weekend to visit Belfast and its surrounds.

One of the highlights of our trip was a black cab tour of Belfast, during which Ken the taxi driver took us on a fascinating and enlightening trip around the political murals on both the Protestant (Loyalist) and Catholic (Republican) areas of Belfast. There is a huge wall (the Peace Wall) dividing the city into Protestant and Catholic parts, complete with doors at many points that close in the evening and open in the morning. I think we were all quite surprised that the tension between the Protestants and Catholics is still very much alive.

Mural on the Protestant side condemning IRA killings of Protestant civilians.
Dan, Matt and John at a section of the Peace Wall.
One of the many political murals on the Protestant side. These are painted on the side of houses.
The Bombay St memorial on the Catholic side. The high fence at the back is the Peace Wall, also note the 'cage' at the back of the house to defend against bricks, petrol bombs etc being thrown over from the Protestant side.
Mural on the Catholic side depicting Bobby Sands, an IRA member who died on hunger strike while in prison. There is also a Banksy on the right hand side.

Roadside murals on the Catholic side.
The Titanic was built in Belfast.
Waterfront in Belfast.
John and Rach outside City Hall.
Matt and John outside Belfast's best-known pub, the Crown Liquor Saloon.
You can't see much from the photos but it is a beautifully decorated Victorian pub with elaborate tiling, stained glass and woodwork.
City Hall by night.
Belfast-style police cars - armoured Land Rovers.
Pretty Belfast Castle.
Rach and John at Belfast Castle.

Rolling Irish countryside.
We hired a car for the day and drove the stunning coastal route from Belfast up to the Giant's Causeway.
Nice beaches.
The Giant's Causeway.
The Giant's Causeway consists of 38000 interlocked basalt columns, the result of ancient volcanic eruptions. The tops of the columns form stepping stones that lead from the cliff foot and disappear under the sea.


More huge columns on the cliff-face form the 'Organ Pipes'.
Legend has it that the Irish warrior Finn McCool built the causeway to walk to Scotland in order to fight his Scottish counterpart Benandonner. One version of the legend tells that Finn fell asleep before he got to Scotland. When he did not arrive, the much larger Benandonner crossed the bridge looking for him. To protect Finn, his wife Oonagh laid a blanket over him so he could pretend that he was actually their baby son. In a variation, Finn fled after seeing Benandonner's great bulk, and asked his wife to disguise him as the baby. In both versions, when Benandonner saw the size of the 'infant', he assumed the alleged father, Finn, must be gigantic indeed. Therefore, Benandonner fled home in terror, ripping up the Causeway in case he was followed by Finn. (Thanks Wikipedia).
Rach and MC and a well-timed frisbee throw from Matt.

The road-trippers.



Pretty green countryside.
Carrick-a-Rede Rope Bridge from the mainland across to Carrick Island.
You can see Scotland across the North Channel.
A soldier in mortal danger at Carrickfergus Castle...
MC at Carrickfergus Castle. It was built way back in 1177.

Matt and Rach.
The castle is on the shores of the Belfast Lough, the gateway to the Irish Sea.
The Belfast Lough, in the town of Carrickfergus.
John and Matt making friends with the pirate.
Matt and Carrickfergus Castle.

Scorching sunny Sicily!

To celebrate the beginning of her long, lazy summer, MC jetted off to Sicily for a girls' week away with Rachael, Huia and Naj.
Rach and Naj outside the cathedral in Palermo. We stayed here for two nights at the end of our trip.
Interesting gesture from this figure outside the cathedral.
Beach huts at Mondello, a lovely white sandy beach just out of Palermo.
Mondello, the sea was amazingly warm.
Out for dinner in Lettojanni, a wee town outside of Taormina (where we stayed for a week).
The girls on the balcony of our apartment in Taormina, a village which is perched on a cliff overlooking the Ionian sea.
Cute wee cafe we found in Taormina.
The view from MC's bedroom at the apartment in Taormina.
Isola Bella in Taormina.
MC and Rach all set for a day of swimming and sunbathing (and unfortunately also some stinging - from a nasty little jellyfish!) at Isola Bella.
View of Taormina from the Greek amphitheatre.
MC and Rach at the amphitheatre.
Climbing up the hill to see the Saracen Castle above Taormina.
The view of grumbling Mt Etna (Europe's largest active volcano) from the Saracen Castle.
More views from the climb up to the castle.
Naj, Huia and Rach.
Pretty piazza in Taormina.
Mazarro Beach in Taormina.

Amalfi coast, Italy

To celebrate MC turning 29, we headed for a long weekend of sunshine and sea on the Amalfi Coast in Italy. We stayed in Positano, a pretty village built into the cliffs above the coastline but did a few daytrips to the surrounding towns in the area.

In Sorrento, with the fan that John bought off a bum for one Euro because he's a true Brit now and can't handle a 25 degree day!
Sorrento
We took a boat to Capri for the day.
Beach in Capri.
Cannabis-flavoured chocolate??Us after a hot, steep walk up to the top of Capri.
Arriving by boat in Capri.
MC strolling in Ravello, a tiny village above the town of Amalfi.
View of the Amalfi Coast from Ravello.
In Amalfi.
MC swimming in Amalfi - the water was lovely!
Church in Amalfi.
Our love affair with the scooter continues...
Nocelle, a wee village in the hills above Positano.
John admiring the view of the Coast from Nocelle.
We walked up to the hole in the cliff above Nocelle - see below - and encountered lots of lizards along the way! Legend says the hole was created when the devil challenged the Madonna to a contest: whoever pierced the rock would own the village. In 10 attempts, the devil could only scratch the limestone, but when the Madonna touched the rock, it crumbled, the sky appeared, and she walked right through, sinking the devil into the hole.
View of Positano and the coast.

The lovely view from our hotel room.
Birthday girl and a rainbow in Positano.

In Positano.
One of two beaches in Positano - no golden sand here though!


On the walk down to the centre of Positano from our hotel - 336 stairs to be exact.
So we had a lovely weekend and MC has had her last summer birthday!

MC now has only 2 weeks of work left before becoming a lady of leisure. She has a few holidays booked to keep her occupied over the summer - a girls' trip to Sicily in July and in August we are both going on a self-drive canal boat trip on the Canal du Midi in France with a group of friends. The rest of her unemployment will be spent planning a 2-month trip through the USA on the way home and packing our life here into boxes!