Friday 27 July 2007

At the hotel in Glasgow. I have a limited amount of time to check in before the Last Supper with the rest of the tour group, so I'll make this a bulleted list and try to hit all of the highlights, lowlights, and other lights:

• From Derry, we headed off to Belfast via the northern coast of Northern Ireland. This coast is arguably the most beautiful of all of Ireland. We stopped on the Giant's Causeway to hike the amazing hexagonally shaped rocks that dotted the shore. It really is something to be seen.
• Belfast was fantastic. We had a wonderful local tour guide named Rosemarie who took us on a 3-hour bus tour. She started off by noting that tourists generally don't visit four places starting with B: Baghdad, Beirut, Bosnia, and Belfast. Fortunately, that's all starting to change for the fourth one. I last visited Belfast about seven years ago, and even in that short amount of time the city has taken off with its booming housing and shopping industries. Pictures will follow once I get them posted.
• Ever ride a tour bus only to have the luggage doors fly open and suitcases fall out? It's really a sight to behold. Only slightly less dramatic is watching your Irish bus driver jog INTO ONCOMING TRAFFIC to retrieve two lost bags. Extra tip money to Tony for putting souvenirs and clothes before himself.
• We're staying at the Radisson in downtown Glasgow. Apparently, this is a nice hotel because the Chelsea Football Club just checked in. I thought there was a fight outside until I noticed that people were cheering and taking pictures. I actually excused myself past several of them to get off the elevator. Sorry I didn't get any photos or autographs, but wouldn't it be better if I knew some of the players to begin with? Maybe I'll see a few in the bar in a few minutes...
• I'm coming home tomorrow! Wish me luck that all of my smelly clothes and Guinness souvenirs make it home too.
  

Final report to follow when I get home. Best wishes.

As Always,
Riley