Despite booking a hostel on the wrong date, Ann losing all of her valuables, being stuck in Dublin on a Saturday night with no place to sleep, and
making the mistake of accepting a pint from an insolent and inebriated Irish man...our trip to Ireland was anything but platitudinous! I met up with my dear friend Ann Su
llivan (a.k.a. Sully) from sunny Boulder, CO for a quick 3 day adventure in Ireland. The highlight was Belfast and the pulchritudinous and rugged northern co
ast of the Giant Causeway. The overwhelming feeling of melancholy can be felt throughout the city of Belfast. You can feel the pain, sadness and hope left from years of brawling between the Catholics & Protestants. We toured the badly abused neighborhoods and were surprised to see, despite the peace agreement in 1998, "peace 
walls" dividing the 2 neighborhoods. Ironically, just within the last month the peace walls received a "face lift" in the form of a higher wall...I'm not sure that sends a message of *peace*! In addition to the elevated peace walls, the
neighborhoods have used art as a way to heal; colorful yet disturbing murals with powerful messages are painted on the side of buildings (see pics). The Bush mural was priceless (seeing this mural more than paid for the tour), "America's Greatest Failure!" This last pic is at the antiquated Trinity College in Dublin, a beautiful campus dating back to the 16th century, where I found a comfy seat in the sun and read about higher education governance (how appropriate!).
neighborhoods have used art as a way to heal; colorful yet disturbing murals with powerful messages are painted on the side of buildings (see pics). The Bush mural was priceless (seeing this mural more than paid for the tour), "America's Greatest Failure!" This last pic is at the antiquated Trinity College in Dublin, a beautiful campus dating back to the 16th century, where I found a comfy seat in the sun and read about higher education governance (how appropriate!). 
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