June 29

Journal June 29

It's so difficult to think that it's now 10:45pm and time to sleep and yet it's still not really dark outside. The problem with that is that morning wil arrived soon and the sunrise will be waking us up about 6am.

Today was also a long drive day and I've actually taken a nap after we got back to the B&B. Once we organized our washed clothes, we headed out of Derry, the “maiden city”. Named that for all the “maids” who worked in the linen industry at one time. The Gaelic translation came from a translation of place of the oaks because of all the oaks in the city. The walled portraits from the resolution of Bloody Sunday are amazing. And the ancient walls surrounding the city are a site to behold. We did actually walk from one gate to another.

Just for clarification, the town council has removed the “London” part of Londonderry, but signs and people still refer to the town by that name. It's doesn't matter if you are inside or outside the walls, it's officially called Derry. The city as a whole is 75% Catholic, 25% Protestant, with the Bogside 100% Catholic, and one area of Waterside 100% Protestant. There is another part of Waterside that is 50-50. The town is going through a huge regeneration and growth. New hotels, business and shopping centers are going up all over.

We did find Sandinos, but passed on it for lunch. I hate to say this but is looked like a trashy biker dive and didn't seem to serve food. Also very tiny inside. Instead we ended up at Beckett's down the street. Very traditional and great food.

We did a bus drive around the city and got some great pictures. The tour guide was full of historical information and we hit most of the sites. After a little walking on the city wall, we headed for Lough Swilly for a quick stop, and they on the road back to our B&B (a good 90 minute drive)

Another great dinner and some rest for the intrepid driver. Tomorrow is a light day with sightseeing around Dungannon. The Waterford crystal factory and showroom has closed down and we found that Tyrone Crystal factory is actually older than Waterford. We're going to see that and a few other sights tomorrow along with hopes of finding some internet to check emails and for me to post my blogs.

Was going to post a pic or two but can't do this from the library, so it will have to wait until next time.

Time to hit the hay. Laters.....

P.S. I'm posting this while sitting at the Dungannon Library on a rented computer. Was even having trouble getting my saved posts from a flash drive to their computer. The computer just notified me that I only have 10 minutes left, so I had better get finished with emails.