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Belfast 2012

5th Year Trip to Belfast (April 2012)

We pushed for abroad. We did. It’s not like we were ever going to win that coin toss though. Belfast was on the cards from the day we came into fifth year, Spain, Italy-not so much. That was okay; grand, done. Technically it was a different…country? The trip to Belfast would take five hours, and if that wasn’t grueling enough, the doped up passengers strung out on travel sickness tablets made for lacklustre travel buddies. But good victims for photography blackmail. 

We first stopped at Enfield for an hour, where too early to dig in to a burger we looted the hot food counter before loading the bus once more for the water park in Drogheda. Three water slides, one game of bowling later we were off. This time without any pit stops to slow the tumulus journey to Belfast to a near crawl.  Except the raid made on ASDA for various necessities, chocolate, crisps- teabags. We arrived at Jury’s Inn in early afternoon, swamping the lobby, sticking out with the thick bogger accent and the gaggle of loud boisterous teenagers.  

We then made our way to the cinema. Stopping for a photo in City Hall before we got to the Odeon cinema where we flocked into American Pie: the Reunion. ‘Little Stiffie’ may have been cringe worthy and the stage five clinger following Jim awkward if not so ultimately hilarious. After we returned to the hotel, and endured some additional beverage problems and sleepwalkers we all retired to our rooms or so it goes.

Everyone was up for breakfast at nine o’clock and shopping soon thereafter. We all split up and toured the architectural city for clothes and souvenirs for two hours before we were on the road again. This time headed for the Giant’s Causeway and its hexagonal pathways. Although some were unimpressed with the climbing and stumbling we all ended up posing for photos with the smashing waves at our backs and the Carrick-a-Rede Bridge dauntingly in front of us. Carrick-a-Rede Bridge represented a cruel adversary for many reasons- the imprudent fee (which Ms. O’Neil picked up for all of us, which was mighty! Thanks Ms!) and the one hundred and fifty seven steps back to the bus. Red faces, water bottles and grunts weren’t uncommon until exchanged for Magnums and cookies. 

After returning to the hotel for half an hour and righting the shell shocked look about us we moseyed swiftly along to the Ice Rink. The laughter and glibness of most died down while they shifted their gazes from burger, to ice rink, to friend, to burger. Some glided, a perfect rendition of Something-Something on Ice, majority took a nose dive into the ice…repeatedly, or danced stationary to the music. I have to say, ice skating, though painful and detrimental, was definitely a major highlight.

We checked out of the hotel the following morning after an outing into the shops and made for our final target- Titanic Belfast; Harland and Wolfe, an monumental structure solely engineered to share the history of the ’unsinkable’ ship. Which, in vivid detail it did, with interactive boards and voiced rides. Finally, after one last group photo we were off- designation: Into the West! Everyone agreed it was a great trip and wouldn’t have been the same without Ms. O’Neil, Ms. Griffin, Ms. Burke, Mr. Tiernan and Mr. Conway looking after us so well.

 

 

Glenamaddy Community School, Church Street, Glenamaddy, Via Castlerea, Co. Galway, F45KF50 

 

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RCN: 20149543