Today was our outdoor study for social psychology. We took a trip to the Bogside to see the murals. We drove by these murals a couple times before, but it was better to be up close and personal. We managed to take a photo in front of them! They told the various stories of the troubles, from Bloody Sunday, to the little boy in the gas mask with a fire bomb, a hunger striker, protesters running from tear gas and armored vehicles, and a peace mural.

There were few more murals we missed, but they were scattered about the Bogside.

This day was our relaxing day, which was much needed after days full of activities. So, the four of us wandered about the town. I found a lunch box from one of my favorite video games in an antique shop’s window. That was one heck of a find, and why a lunch box from 2008 in an antique shop, I don’t know.

Walking around malls, shops and cafes with a laptop is highly not recommended unless you have a laptop bag to hold it; I made that silly mistake for 5 hours.

In this city of cafes, Molly’s cafe was one of my favorites. It was a quaint little cafe with good food at decent prices, the service was nice too.

From breakfast to 2:45 one part of the group went off to find the Dublin Castle and St. Patrick’s Cathedral. The walk was shorter than I was expecting to the Castle, and we were greeted to an impressive site; Dublin Castle is a combination of a couple buildings, parts of the old castle with a government building and a small cafe. We stopped in a tiny museum in the building. It was called the Revenue Museum that displays old communication technology with several newer movies, including contraband and stamps a couple display cases away. Afterward, we walked to St. Patrick’s Cathedral. We took plenty of good pictures outside of the Cathedral but we did not go inside. The four of us headed back to the hotel and grabbed some lunch along the way; I’ll miss KC Peaches when we leave.

Later on we left Dublin for Derry, and our driver, Wayne, made the ride interesting with his sense of humor. As we were leaving Dublin, Wayne pointed out some areas of interests. Once leaving Dublin we finally got to see the gorgeous landscape; the vast green, rolling hills spotted with with farms, houses, and numerous sheep/cows. There’s something picturesque about the little decaying stones houses sitting there peacefully on the countryside. I wish I had charged my camera before we left and that we could of slowed down just enough to get better shots…

Also, when we crossed the border into Northern Ireland Wayne made an interesting comment, “I’m now a foreigner here”; sad, but true to the situation.

We arrive at the Clarence House around 8 and get to meet Mr. Slevin and his dog Clay, who is adorable! Seeing Clay made me homesick for my 4 dogs, even if it is peaceful without them. The Clarence House has a homely feeling to it and the room are very quaint. Can’t wait to see Derry tomorrow!